The Year I Became Isabella Anders (Sunnyvale, #1)

“You’re still going to help me, right?” I ask. “You promised you would.”


“I told you I’d look into it, and I will, but I really think the best thing to do is talk to your father.” She pats my back. “Take a few days and let the trip wear off then call me, and we’ll figure something out.”

I nod, hugging her one last time before stepping away. “Thank you. Not just for the trip, but for everything.”

“I just want you to be happy, Isa.” She rounds the car and opens the driver’s side door, calling out, “And remember, I’m only a thirty minute drive away.”

“Aye, aye, Captain,” I holler back.

Laughing, she gets inside the car.

I’m about to start up the driveway when the passenger window rolls down and Indigo sticks her head out.

“You know, I’m going to be visiting at least once a week to make sure you don’t go back to your baggy clothes, caterpillar eyebrows, and furry beast legs look,” she warns. “And if you’re not living up to your full potential, you’re in deep shit. I’m talking hours and hours of reading beauty magazines.”

My face twists in disgust and I give her a salute. “Yes, boss.”

“And don’t you ever forget that.” She leans out to hug me. “I can also take care of your sister if you need me to. Seriously. I’m an expert in taking bitchy girls down from their pedestals.”

I smile to myself, thinking about how mafia her words sound, kind of like the last thing Kai said to me.

Kai.

I scrunch up my nose. He never did text me back after I sent that photo. I’m not sure why, but it really started to bother me. Not in an oh-my-God-it’s-the-end-of-the-world sort of way, but more in a why-did-he-bug-me-for-a-photo-if-he-was-just-going-to-dis-me way.

My gaze drifts to the house next door and then to my own oversized home. It’s weird being back, so close to Kyler, Hannah, and Kai, when I no longer look like Swamp Thing. But changing my looks wasn’t about any of them. I just felt an overwhelming need to change into a person who is more confident, and didn’t base her looks on the negative comments her mother gave her over the years.

After Grandma Stephy and Indigo pull out onto the street, I hike up the driveway, towing two of my four bags with me.

I can do this. I’m Super Confident Girl, who fears no evil, who skinny-dips in the hotel pool late at night, and who dances at overcrowded clubs and kisses guys on Ferris wheels.

By the time I reach the backdoor, though, Super Confident Girl has turned into Freak the Fuck Out Girl. I let go of the bags and stare at the door.

“You can do this, Isa. Just walk on in and tell them to go . . .” I bite down on my lip as fear pulsates through me.

“Tell them to go what?” Kai’s amused voice sails over my shoulder.

I sigh. Great. Just what I need right now. Intense, jokester guy next door who never texted me back.

“I was going to say go fuck themselves,” I answer, turning around to face him.

He’s rocking his typical look—a pair of shorts with no shirt. His blond hair’s a hot mess, and an amused grin is playing at his lips. But the smile vanishes as he presses his lips together. His gaze skims across the boots, black floral dress, and leather jacket I’m wearing, lingering uncomfortably long on my bare legs. When his eyes land on my face, I feel like that poser again, the one who stepped out onto the streets of Paris wearing that red dress. The feeling has faded over the last few months, but it was easier to be confident with who I am now when I was in a club full of strangers who didn’t know about my let-my-clothes-swallow-me-up-and-fade-me-into-the-background-of-my-sister’s-shadow phase.

“You look . . .” A somewhat perplexed, somewhat intrigued look crosses his face, and I seriously get a little excited over what’s about to come out of his mouth. “Weird.”

“Oh, for the love of God.” I turn back to my suitcases. Seriously. Seriously? All that changing and shaving and tweezing, and I get weird again.

“Hey, I didn’t mean that in a bad way,” he says, but I can hear him chuckling. “Seriously, Isa. I’m sorry.”

I hear a thump and then the sound of footsteps heading my way. I spin back around then stumble back when I realize Kai is way up in my personal space.

“It sounded a lot better in my head,” he says to me as I regain my footing. “But hearing it aloud . . . yeah, I’m thinking weird might not be a compliment.”

“It’s fine.” I brush him off. “But, just for future reference, maybe you should repeat your compliments in your head a few times before saying them aloud.”

“Duly noted.” He smiles again, going right back to his goofy, jokester self. “You know, that photo you sent me didn’t do you any justice. I mean, I could tell you looked different, but not this different.”

I consider asking him why he never texted me back, but don’t want to give him an opportunity to crack a joke about me obsessing over him.