Pepper never meant to lose her best friend. Lucas never meant to fall in love.
Yet the aftermath of broken hearts leads them to blur the lines of their friendship forever. When Pepper is dumped by her boyfriend and Lucas is led on by his crush, they...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I TUCK A BOTTLE OF MOM'S LIQUOR into my bag and seal it up with a zip!Pursing my lips, I glance around my room for any other last-minute items I might need this evening. A sleepover. I tap my thighs and try to keep myself from grinning like some childish girl. Yet electricity is zipping through me like strikes of lightning hitting the exact same spot over and over.
A sleepover!
The last time I ever hung out with girls my age overnight was in middle school. It's impossible to recall the last time I was invited to something that didn't involve Elliot. Sure, I don't know Lena and Martsia that well, and Pepper and I are slowly becoming friends; but this is obviously a chance for us to grow close. Maybe I'll have a group of girlfriends like they talk about in the myths.
A horn blares outside. My heart leaps into my throat. They're here.
With frantic hands, I zip up my coat and shove my arms through my night bag. In a flash, I'm racing across the hall and past the living room. The pungent odor of alcohol drifts from the sitting room and provides a wall for me to halt right into. I turn my attention to my mom lounging across the sofa in a mess of herself as usual. A shabby mustard-colored robe is draped over her frame with one arm dangling over our equally shabby sofa. "Hey, Mom?" I call while easing towards the door.
She releases a groan of consciousness and shifts back a mop of hair to reveal her makeup stained face. "Are you leaving?" she croaks.
"Yep! Then I'm going to Elliot's for Thanksgiving, so you might see me on Friday or something."
"Oh." Blue eyes travel over the bottles littered across the floor before she's resting back into the cushions. "Okay, honey."
"Kay. Bye." I step outside and smack into a wall of teeth chattering, blood-freezing, cold air. "Holy shit," I murmur and take my first step through the mountain of snow on my porch. It crunches beneath my boots and into the silent winter air. Lena's red Nissan is a ruby amongst a cloud of white parked in the driveway. I crunch all the way down to her car and slip inside, blessed with the blasting heat and essence of pinewood. "Hey, girls!" I chirp and position myself comfortably in the backseat.
Lena whips around in the driver's seat, fiery bob swishing around her angular face. "So you've finally decided to join us."
"Yeah, I guess so." A nervous laugh bubbles from my lips. "I've always wanted to get to know you guys a little more, and Martsia's pretty awesome." I glance at Pepper who sits on the passenger side. "Where is she anyway?"
"At her house." She offers a smile stained in timidity. "We actually thought you might be able to help us with Martsia...she's been-"
"Let's not talk about that yet," Lena interrupts her while backing out of the driveway. "Right now, we should be there to support her with our friendship. I don't want her to feel like a test subject."
