“You’re so gross.”
“It’s why you love me,” I said with a grin. “Hollis is a pain in the butt, but I know you like him. You look at him with those googly eyes and blush every time he smiles at you. It’s textbook.”
I always enjoyed those innocent parleys with my best friend. Little did I know that night would change my life forever. Jane and I sat on my bed, giggling about kissing boys and planning who we would lose our virginity to.
I wouldn’t find out until later that my mother was listening in on the conversation.
She’d been standing right there in the doorway of her own bedroom as Jane, and I giggled during our sleepover. Jane and I spent the night listening to music and watching movies and eating junk she bought at the gas station before passing out on my bed.
And when I woke up, my mother was knocking on the door.
“Jane, I’m ready to take you home whenever you’re up,” my mother said.
“Okay, Mrs. Peterson,” she said.
“Five more minutes, Mom,” I said.
“Don’t take too much time. I have some errands to run soon.”
I sighed and rolled my eyes as Jane, and I fumbled out of bed. She pulled her clothes on as I shoved all the empty candy wrappers into the trash can. I looked at my best friend as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair and I envied her. I envied how thin her body was and how every single piece of clothing she wore seemed to fit her perfectly. I was a little on the thicker side, with boobs that hadn’t quite grown along with the rest of me. My hair was wild and curly, and my glasses were thick. Jane’s hair was straight and shiny, and her vision was perfect. She’d been my best friend since we’d been little kids, and I had it in my head that because we were so close, we would turn out the same.
But Jane was pretty in a way I didn’t think I’d ever be, so there was no reason to think Grant would ever like me.
>
Even though I wanted him to.
“Theresa?” Jane asked.
“Yep?”
“Your Dad sounds angry. Can you hear him out there?” she asked.
I furrowed my brow as I started walking down the hallway. She was right. Dad was arguing with someone. I immediately assumed Hollis had gotten caught sneaking back into the house. He was always doing stupid stuff like that; sneaking out with friends and joyriding into all hours of the morning. But my father wasn’t arguing with Hollis.
He was arguing with Grant.
“Daddy?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“You stay out of this,” he said.
“Don’t talk to her like that. Nothing’s going on, I swear,” Grant said.
“What’s he talking about?” I asked. “What’s going on?”
“Laura, get her out of here,” my father said.
“Come on, honey. Let’s get Jane home,” my mother said.
“No. Wait a second. What’s going on? Why is Dad upset with Grant?” I asked.
“Did you touch her?” my father asked.
“No, Mr. Peterson. I swear. I would never touch her,” Grant said.
“You’d better be telling me the truth.”
“Daddy! Stop! What are you talking about?”