I swiveled around to see Lee standing in the doorway, worry etched onto his forehead. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and tried to make it look like I wasn't crying.
"Um, hey Lee. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." At the last word, my voice cracked and I couldn't help the tear that fell down my cheek. I turned away so that he wouldn't see me crying. I hated people seeing me weak. He walked over to my bed and sat down next to me.
"Livi, if you can't talk to me about this then how are we going to get through the whole year." He fluttered his eyelashes and stuck out his bottom lip, making me giggle through my tears.
"It's not a big deal, I shouldn't be crying over it. It's just that my dad and I have never really been close since my mum died, but I thought with me going to America he would at least try and talk to me but he just completely hung up on me." I let out an involuntary sob and forced myself to stop. Lee put his hand on my thigh, which comforted me.
"He's an ass. Sorry, but it's true. If he doesn't want to get to know you better, that's on him. It's nothing about you. This might be his way with dealing with your mom, which I'm sorry about, but don't think that he hates you and it's your fault." He rubbed my back and pulled me in for a hug. At first it was awkward, but it began to feel right. I cried into his shoulder and shrunk away. We both pulled back and looked into each others eyes. I felt as though he was truly my brother, not some boy I was infatuated with. I didn't feel that pull. He smiled at me and began to stand up, when we heard the door open.
"Livi, you okay?" I assured Emily that I was fine. Lee walked out of the room without a word.
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The week melted away and Friday came. We were going to a kick-off party for the year at some random person's house tonight. I knew I would stick by Emily the whole time, considering I still haven't made too many friends. As the bell rang, Emily grabbed my arm and we rushed out of the building to see Lee and Christian standing by the car.
"Dammit Lee! Am I really that bad of a driver?" She pouted as we all exchange looks.
"Well, you aren't terrible. But let's just let Lee drive. Yeah. It's cool." I giggled as I grabbed her arm and jumped into the back.
Riley and and Evie came over at around 6 o'clock to eat dinner and get dressed. We ordered two pizzas to share with the boys and ran off with one box and a liter of coke to our room. I was going through my clothes, throwing everything off the hangers looking for something to wear. I really wanted to impress everyone, but it seemed like I didn't pack anything impressive. Evie gasped and I turned around to see her holding my shirt.
"Oh my gosh Liv! This shirt is so cute. Wear it!" I looked at a shirt that I have had for 3 years and my lip curled up.
"Nah, I've worn that so much. You should wear it Evie! It'll look gorgeous on you." She shrugged off the tank top she was wearing and threw on the purple and blue patterned shirt that had a deep neck and was pretty long. I wore it with leggings, but I was a lot taller than Evie so she pulled it off as a dress.
I ended up choosing a white romper and greek sandals that tied right below half calf. I threw my hair in a ponytail and chose to forget the makeup since I would be sweating most likely. I through my phone, wallet, deodorant and makeup bag into a purse and turned around, noticing that everyone was just finishing getting ready. I went ahead and walked downstairs to grab a bottle of water and saw Lee, Christian and Shawn sitting at the table. I smiled at them and grabbed a water from the fridge. They were dressed in the same sort of clothing they had been wearing all week, this time with ball caps on.
I felt a hand sneak around my shoulder and whipped my head to see Shawn standing next to me.
"Hey Livi. How's America so far." I smiled and couldn't help the blush that flooded my cheeks.
"It's been great. Excited for the party? I doubt it will be as great as Australian parties." I ducked under his arm and sat at the counter, sipping at my water.
"Oh, don't worry. It will be so much better. I'll make sure to give you the full experience." He smirked at me and walked away to join the boys in the jeep, as we were taking Riley's tahoe. I couldn't help but smile because I knew I was developing a crush on Shawn, and I was pretty sure he liked me. I made a mental note to find him at the party.
I heard a rushing of girls down the stairs and saw Emily coming down last in skinny jeans and a white crop top.
"Alright Aussie, let's go to a southern high school party."
