“She has to talk to me.”
“It’s probably tough for her. I barely want to talk to you, and you’re my sister.”
“So don’t!” I snapped. “Stop pretending you care and leave me alone.”
“I care,” she said.
“Yeah, right.”
“I can’t believe you gave them that spell. What were you thinking, Kay?”
Despite everything that had happened and the fact that I really didn’t care what she thought anymore, something stung right behind my heart. “It’s not that different from the beauty spell. It means I don’t have to be alone.”
“You took a beauty spell?”
I rolled my eyes. She had to be kidding. “I wrote you and told you about it. Obviously you were too busy to notice.”
She shook her head. “You never told me that.”
“I did! What, you think I got gorgeous overnight?”
“You were always pretty,” she said.
“Don’t be stupid.”
“You’re my sweet sister. Everyone would love you if they got to know you.”
“Are you not paying attention? I’m not sweet little Katelyn. I’m the bad guy. I hurt people. I’m a life-ruiner.”
Mina uncrossed her arms and took a step around the island to get closer to me. I took a step back. “You’re not a bad guy.”
“Really? If I’m so great, why would you leave me?”
All the air was sucked right out of the room. Mina didn’t say anything.
“I was useful when you were sick,” I said. My voice came out hard like the bar of iron through Mina’s eyebrow. “I was convenient. But now that you’re okay, who cares about stupid, ugly, friendless Katelyn?”
Mina clutched her left arm with her right hand. That was the IV arm. It used to get so sore she couldn’t accidentally bump against anything without screaming.
“That’s not what happened,” she said.
“Liar. It is. You got better and couldn’t wait to get out of here. To change everything about yourself.” I knew I should take a breath to calm down but I felt too full already; I had to let more out. “So I changed, too. I changed my face. And I found my own friends. Ones who wouldn’t leave me on a whim. Ones who couldn’t leave me.”
I pulled up Diana’s number again, muttering “Pick up, pick up,” under my breath. Mina left me alone in the kitchen and went out the back door of the house. She started her car and was gone before I could run to the window. Fine, I thought, get out. I didn’t need her distracting me.
Hey, Diana, it’s Kay. Duh. I’m . . . worried about you. Please call . . . yeah.
So many things could have happened. A sudden flu, a slippery step. Leaving the gas on or dropping the blow dryer in the toilet. Diana could step off the curb without looking, or get into a fight with a stranger without knowing why.
All because I’d pushed her away.
Diana’s cell went straight to voicemail. Mrs. North picked up the landline.
“I wonder if you could tell me where Diana is?” I asked her, just after dusk on Friday night. I stood in my kitchen, peering out the back window as if Diana might emerge from the neighbors’ yard.
“Oh, Ari. I’m really not sure she would want me to tell you.”
“But you know where she is?”
“She needs some time. You can understand.”
“Mrs. North,” I said, trying to slow my words, overenunciating. “You’ve known me practically my whole life. Can you please just tell me where Diana went?”
There was a pause on the other end. “I believe she went to try to find Markos.”
“Markos?” I said. I nearly laughed in surprise, though it wasn’t funny. “Why on earth would she do that?”
“Well . . . maybe she’s forgiven him.”
No. Diana wasn’t that stupid. Markos had kissed Kay and broken her heart. “That’s impossible.”
“Markos has been working hard to earn her forgiveness. Not everyone would do that.”
I heard a slight admonishment in her words, though her tone was mild. “Not everyone would kiss someone else and break off all contact with her, either.”
There was a pause, and Mrs. North’s voice chilled. “Do you need me to talk to your aunt?”
“I’m fine,” I said. “Thanks for telling me about Markos.”
“Talk to Diana tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be able to work everything out then.”
I threw the phone down on the kitchen counter. From the living room, Jess called out “Everything all right?” and I said “Sure!” with such insincerity I sounded demented.
“Your mom and I used to fight like this,” Jess said, stepping in to the kitchen. “She was the cool older sister. She never wanted me tagging along.”
“That’s not how it is with me and Diana,” I said.