Chapter 9

I roll over sleepily and tap my phone.

11:34 a.m.

Shoot!

Rosalie is picking me up at 2; I still need a shower and pack my stuff.

In a rush to get up I fall flat on my face onto the cold wooden floor. I let out a cry at the exact time my door opens but instead of mum or dad it’s Lacey.

My lovely, sweetest, great sister.

“Hey Sizzle.”

I grumble. I hate that nickname.

“What are you doing here?” I ask as I turn onto my back.

“Firstly, my house too and secondly, universities have breaks as well.” She said with a smirk.

“But why can’t you bother your boyfriend?”

She and Oliver had been together since they were 15 and at 21, they seemed to most to still be going strong. However, that wasn’t exactly the truth they were constantly having fights and each time they fought it got uglier. That was probably the real reason she was here.

“We had a fight.” She looks down at her feet clearly trying to hide tears.

I may not like my sister all the time but darn I do love her and would defend her against anyone that said a word out of line or hurt her.  I don’t give a damn if that someone was six-foot muscley giant, he is dead.

Sometimes I truly didn’t understand why Lacey stayed with someone like him. She deserved someone so much better. I bit my tongue. I had told her that before only for them to end up back together less than a week later.

“I have ice cream in the freezer.” Ice cream fixes everything. Period pain. Heartbreak. A bad day.

“Cookie dough?” She asks me, looking up with her watery blue eyes.

Seriously she had wavy chestnut hair and blue eyes; not for the first time I wondered how she got all the good genes.

“Of course.” I roll me eyes, what else would I have. “Take a seat.” I gesture to my bed, “I’ll be back with the ice cream.”

It must be a world record how fast me and Lacey finished, or devoured shall I say, the tub of ice cream. While eating she caught me up on their argument apparently this time it had been about what they were doing after college, a pretty common one in the last couple of months. However, this time he had made a comment about how he wanted her to be a housewife.

Now I really wanted to beat him up. Lacey was currently studying to be fashion designer. From a young age she had been obsessed with dressing up and styling her barbie dolls. As she got older, she started designing and making her own clothes she’s even made me a few beautiful pieces over the years. But apparently this dude thinks that’s a stupid dream.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore “Lacey you have to break up with him. He’s a horrible, manipulative, I don’t know … a dick.” I’m about to continue my case but she puts her hand up signalling for me to stop.

“I know, I know. Let’s talk about you though. I hope your love life is going better than mine.” I know she’s trying to distract me, but I go along with it anyway.

Apparently filling your sister in on your love life is another cure because she was now obsessing over every little detail.

“So, what time did you say she’s picking you up?”

“Two after her shift at the coffee shop.”

“Uh… it’s half one.”

For God’s sake. I let my sister distract me. If Rosalie got here before I was ready, she will be paying crap boyfriend or not.

I rush out of my room at lightning speed. I took the quickest shower of my life and when I got back to my room, I see Lacey pulling out my backpack along with some outfit choices.

“You really need to let me take you shopping everything in there is just…” She shivers as if it disgusts her to continue.

“I went shopping last week.” I huff as wrap my towel tighter around myself.

“And you bought a cat top and joggers.”

“Don’t diss the top.”

“We’ve never even owned a cat if it was a dog maybe I would be kinder.” She says with a grin.

Point taken.

“What about the dress is that acceptable?”

“Surprisingly so I’m shocked you even picked it.”

“Well done, Cassie.” I mumble to myself.

“Whose Cassie?” Apparently now she has bat hearing. I hadn’t told her about Cassie because if I’m being honest the more, I thought about her the more I was questioning where the line between friendship and crush stood. If I just didn’t talk about it then maybe I could push whatever these feelings were away and focus on how I feel for Rosa, and what Rosalie feels for me.

“Nobody important. Anyways I need to get dressed and dry my hair so unless you’re going to help…” I gesture to the door.

But she isn’t a nobody.

“Alright ill help you look at least presentable out of the goodness of my heart.” She says with a chuckle.

“Oh, thank you my highness for helping me, a peasant.” I say with if it isn’t clear mock gratitude.

She sticks her tongue out at me.

“Would you grace me with my own clothes?” I ask with a tease.

“Well because yours are just…horrible I’m gracing you with my own clothes.”

Oh god.

She pulls out a top and skirt from behind her back that I didn’t even realise she was holding.

“Trust me you’ll like it.”

“It’s a skirt!” I could count on my hands the number of times I had willingly worn a skirt and today wasn’t going to change that.

“BUT it has pockets and shorts.” she argued. Alright that did pique my interest pockets and shorts were hard to come by.

“Fine.”

“Great.” She beamed, smiling so big that it could probably be seen from space.

She me handed me the top and skirt before leaving and shutting the door behind her.

I looked closer and saw that the skirt was denim with a flower stitched onto the back pocket it looked like Laceys handiwork. The top was long sleeved and sage green colour similar to my bed sheets.

I slipped it all on and turned to the mirror. I look…pretty.

Lacey knocked “Can I please come back in now?”

“You’re permitted into my lair.”

She chuckles and opens the door at the same time. Her eyes scan over my body before letting out a whistle.

“I have done my job well.” She muses.

“It’s fitted.” I tell her.

“Congratulations you have eyes!”

“It makes me look like I have…you know.”

She sighs dramatically “Like you have a figure.”

“It’s weird.”

“Well, it wouldn’t be so weird if you weren’t always wearing oversized hoodies all the time.”

Dammit second point taken.

“Well, I have-” I glance at the alarm clock on my nightstand. “Less than fifteen minutes until she’s supposed to get here so for only this once help.”

“Yay!” She squeals.

She helps me pack my bag. Toothbrush, another cute outfit of hers that she insisted I pack, book (she took it out, but I snuck it back in), underwear, and all the other bits bobs I needed but then came pyjamas.

I went to pack my favourite pyjamas, my Disney pyjamas, Lion King themed. But apparently, they were too childish.

“I don’t get it they’re pyjamas!”

“They tell someone everything about you.”

“So, what do you have instead because I think you’ll find it’s either this or my old baggy tops.”

“These.” She pulled out a two-piece short and top set it that has blue turtles printed on.

Where was she pulling these clothes out of? Thin air?

“But aren’t those childish?”

She shakes her head. “This is where you are uneducated dear sister of mine. There’s a difference between childish and stylish; this is stylish.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“That is a very smart move, Sizzle.”

We managed by some miracle to be ready five minutes before Rosalie is meant to be here.

2 o’clock and she’s not here. Probably stuck in traffic.

2:30 p.m. Still not here. Traffic still?

3:02 p.m. Not here. Did I get the time wrong? I check my messages – nope. I try and distract myself by playing cards, but I’ve lost ten times to in a row to Lacy at a game that I’m meant to be good at.

“Focus Sizzle! She’ll be here soon.” Lacey says at an attempt to calm me.

It does not.

Finally, at 3:37 I hear the doorbell go. I nearly trip to my death as run down the stairs. I’m huffing and puffing as I open the door.

In front stands me Rosalie-Mae Bradford.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I huff out.

“Uh I bought you these.”

I look down and see a box of chocolates. My favourite chocolates.

“Thank you!” I take them from her hands.

“Sorry about being late I forgot when my shift ended.”

She could’ve sent me a text. It didn’t matter anymore. She was here now.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll go and grab my stuff, gimme two minutes.”

I take the stairs slowly this time. I grab my bag and slip my converse on and head back down.

Only somehow in this space of what couldn’t be more than a minute I see Lacey, Mum, and Rosa chatting. This can’t be good.

“There’s Sizzle. She looks cute right? My handiwork.”

My cheeks warm. Did she really have to call me Sizzle in front of her?

“Serena it’s rude to not invite guests inside.” Mum chastises me.

“Sorry uh we better go.”

I grab my black coat off the hook and make my way towards Rosalie and the door.

“Excuse me.” Mum calls.

I turn “Yeah?”

“Leaving without a hug?” Don’t let her fool you that was not a question.

I give her a quick hug.

I’m so close to going but then Lacey pipes up “Not going to give your big old sister a hug, are we?”

I give her my biggest side eye although it’s clear I’m not getting out of here without doing so.

She’s barely holding in her laughter.

I give her the worst hug ever on purpose.

“Love you both.” I say and pull, gently, Rosa outside.

“What about a kiss?” she calls after me, laughing now. I ignore her and shut the door.

Once we’re in her car I apologize for my sister’s behaviour.

“No need they’re sweet actually.”

“I try and live with them.” I counter.

We both laugh.

A song comes onto the radio that we both know and we start singing, terribly, at the top of our lungs. Excitement fills my body; any worries or awkwardness blows away, out of the window.