“Have you told Thea?” Liv turned away from the laptop and kicked her legs up onto the chair beside her.
“No. I onlyjustsaw it. Besides, there must be some kind of mistake. Why would they wantme?”
With a shrug, Liv flicked her braided hair off her shoulders. “Maybe you should ask.”
Bryce eyed the email, gulping down the jitters rising in her throat before they could swallow her whole. She supposed there was no harm in asking. Clarifying. It wasn’t as though she would accept it either way, not without Thea, but knowing whether she actually had a chance…
God, she was being ridiculous. These things didn’t happen to her, and she was letting herself want something that hadn’t been made for her. A bad idea. She wouldn’t keep entertaining it.
To be sure of it, she closed the laptop a final time. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?”
Liv groaned like the attitude-filled teenager she was. “I’m not hanging out with you, if that’s what you think. I have a social life, you know.”
“Good. So do I.”
“WatchingScreamwith the curtains drawn so you can crush on Neve Campbell does not count as a social life.”
Bryce gave her sister a playful slap on the back of her head at that, though she couldn’t blame her for assuming those were her only plans, since they would’ve been, on any other weekend. “I’m going for a few drinks with Thea and Mikey and I don’t know what time I’ll be home. I’ll try not to make it late.”
Liv’s eyes brightened, a fact that only made Bryce regret her agreement to go even more. “Make it as late as you like. You’re allowed to have fun, y’know. You’re turning into an old woman.”
“Yeah, well, it’syouwho’s aging me.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, either. Bryce didn’tfeeltwenty-six — not at home, anyway. It was easier to pretend she was still young with Thea around, but she would always come home to these responsibilities. And she didn’t blame her sister for them, but shewasthe reason why. Bryce had been turned into a mother before she’d ever gotten a real chance to be a sister, and after sixteen years, it was … tiring. “And whateveryouhave planned, by the way, the answer is no.”
Liv scowled. “I was only going to ask if I could invite a few friends round so I wouldn’t be alone in the house all night.”
Bryce deliberated this with a huff of displeasure. “How many friends?”
“Four.”
“Two.”
“Three.”
Bryce’s shoulders sagged in resignation, and she had to remind herself that it was good Liv had at least asked her. Most teenagers wouldn’t. “Can I trust you?”
“You know you can.”
With those pleading brown eyes, it was impossible for Bryce to imagine Liv getting up to no good. Not without telling her. They’d always been honest with one another. Bryce had rarely scolded her for anything other than being a general pain in the ass, but then, all kids were a pain in the ass.
“Fine. No drink —”
“No drinking,” Liv rattled off before Bryce could spit out the rules, “no drugs, no sex. I know.”
“You bet your ass no sex!” Bryce guffawed at the mere mention. “What are you doing, amending my rules? Who ever mentioned sex? You know what, don’t answer that.” She waved her hands in disgust. “Just don’t go out after dark. It’s not safe right now.”
“I won’t. I’ll be in my PJs by nine, drinking strictly soda and watching a Disney movie.” With a grin, Liv batted her lashes innocently.
“I mean it, Liv.” Bryce jabbed her finger out in front of her, feeling far too much like the old lady across the street who yelled at the kids to get off her lawn. “I’m trusting you. Don’t make me regret it.”
“Can I at least do your makeup?”
Bryce grimaced at that, realizing only now that going out meant she should probably make at leastsomeeffort with her appearance. That wasn’t something she did often, both for a lack of energy and a lack of time. She didn’t even own a dress.
“Fine,” she agreed warily. “But no eyeliner.”
* * *
“Oh, God. He’s wearing eyeliner,” grimaced Thea, as Mikey approached the bar. “This is serious.”