She blinked in surprise, stood up and looked out the window, then back at me. Her panic was obvious.
“What’s going on, Nicole?”
She tried to look casual, hooking her fingers in the belt loops of her jeans shorts. “Nothing. Rachel’s parents are late.”
I sat on the couch. “Maybe I’ll wait with you.”
“Fine,” she said. But I could tell she was freaking out, a fine sheen of sweat making her face glow. She glanced at the phone.
“Do you need to make a call?” I said.
She glared at me, but I could see her thinking. “Maybe I’ll call and make sure things are okay.” She walked over to the phone, dialed a number.
“Hi, it’s me. I just wondered if your mom was coming soon?” She paused for a moment, then said, “Okay, I’m just hanging out with my sister.… No, she doesn’t have to be at work for an hour.… See you then.” She hung up the phone and walked back to the living room. “They’re running a little behind.”
“Who are you really meeting?”
“I’ve already told you, Rachel’s parents are picking me up.”
I took my coffee to the kitchen and picked up the phone. “Then I guess if I hit redial I’ll hear one of them answer, right?”
Before I could do anything, she ran over and shoved me hard, pushing me into the edge of the counter. I was so surprised that I dropped the phone. We both reached for it at the same time, struggling as we scrambled on the floor. She was stronger than I remembered, but I was finally able to straddle her.
I held the phone up in the air, started fumbling for the button.
“Toni—please!”
Nicole’s face was so desperate and panicked that I hesitated, the phone still in my hand. I really wanted to know who she’d called, but then I noticed the diamond flower pendant sitting in the hollow of her throat. I’d never seen her wear it before. It must have slid up from under her shirt during our fight.
“What’s going on with you?” I said.
She started to cry. “It’s a secret, okay?”
“Are you sneaking off to see that boy from the party?” I pointed to the necklace. “Did he give you that?”
She nodded, tears rolling down from the sides of her eyes. “He’s in college, okay? Mom and Dad wouldn’t approve of him. We want to spend the whole weekend together. You understand, right? It’s like you and Ryan.”
I sat back on my heels, still straddling her. “I don’t lie about him being my boyfriend.” I narrowed my eyes, thinking. “What else is wrong with him?”
She hesitated, then said, “He works for Dad.”
Holy shit. Mom and Dad would be so pissed if they knew she was messing around with one of their employees. I tried to think which one it might be, but Dad had a lot of young guys working for him on a few different job sites.
I handed her the phone, then stood up and glanced at the clock. “Is that the time? Oops, I think I screwed up. I do have to leave for work now.”
She jumped up off the floor, her hands on her hips. “You bag. You were just messing with me!”
“It’s not fun, is it?” I grabbed my purse and keys, then paused at the door, looking back at her. “Are you okay, going off with this guy? Some of Dad’s workers, they’re pretty sketchy.”
She nodded. “It’s totally safe—we just want to be alone.” Her face was pleading. “Don’t tell Mom and Dad. I love him, and they’ll make us break up.”
I thought of my own relationship with Ryan, how I thought I’d die when they grounded me for that month and I couldn’t see him as much.
“I won’t.”
Later, at the restaurant, I wondered if I should have found out where they were going. What if this guy did something to her? Should I tell my parents what she was really doing? They’d flip, and I’d have hated it if she ratted me out. Despite how shitty she’d been that summer, Nicole was still my sister.
*
A few days later I was at the beach with Amy, relaxing and enjoying the sun, talking about our guys. Ryan and I had looked at some apartments, feeling very mature as we discussed pros and cons of the various buildings and locations. Amy was jealous because her boyfriend didn’t want to move in together yet. Amy and I had been getting closer as I slowly let down my guard, and it almost felt like old times that day. Eating chips, reading magazines, laughing.
Then Shauna, Cathy, and Nicole showed up.
I don’t know where Rachel and Kim were, but they both had summer jobs. Kim was now living full-time with Rachel. She’d gotten kicked out of her home in July, but no one was really sure what had happened. I had a feeling it had something to do with her being gay—her mother was supposedly a religious fanatic.
Amy and I were sitting on our blankets and talking as they walked by.
“Hi, Amy,” Shauna said.
Amy said, “Hi,” and Shauna moved on.
I shot Amy a glare and she gave me an apologetic look, whispering, “It was just reflex.” It bugged me that she was still so nervous about Shauna—that we were both nervous.
The girls spread out their towels a few feet away from ours.