“I hadn’t even beenbornin the Eighties,” scoffed Bryce, only slightly offended that an extra decade had been added to her age. She surefeltover thirty these days, if not older. “And the answer is no. It’s a school night.”
“Oh, come on!” Liv whined as though she was a three-year-old about to throw a tantrum. “Everyone’s going!”
“That’s because everyone probably lies to their parental guardians. You are one of the good ones.” Bryce ruffled her sister’s hair, leaving it to stick up in flyaway strands.
Liv only glared. “So if I want to go to a party, I should just … not ask you?”
Jaw clenching, Bryce cocked her head and hoped the daggers she threw were visible beneath the albatross mascot’s curved beak. “Don’t test me.”
“I’ll be home by twelve?” tried Liv anyway.
A loud guffaw that probably sounded more like a real squawk than any other she’d attempted today emerged from the mask. “Nice try.”
“Eleven?”
“Ten-thirty.” Liv was about as independent as Bryce was, and trying to get her to stay in now would only leave them arguing here all night. Bryce didn’t have the energy for that. “No drinking. No drugs. How are you getting home?”
“She lives two blocks away. I’ll walk.”
“Not on your own you won’t.”
“Then I’ll get a cab.”
The idea made Bryce uneasy, but she knew she would have to let Liv… well,live, someday. Besides, Stone Grange was about the most harmless town in the entire state of Washington. She’d done far worse things than her sister at that age and been… fine…mostly.“You’ll text me when you set off home.”
“I will,” Liv agreed.
“It wasn’t a question. Is your phone charged?”
“Yep.”
Warily, Bryce sighed. “All right. I’ll see you tonight.Ten-thirtyor else.”
“Got it.” Liv was already walking away — taking a scenic route around the kids’ rides, so as not to be seen anywhere near Bryce in front of her friends. Apparently, standing beside Thomas the Tank Engine was less embarrassing than Albert.
Bryce rolled her eyes. She loved her sister. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have been working her ass off here everyday, miserable, to make sure they had enough food and Liv enough savings in her account to go off to college — which, so far, was proving difficult. Even so, it was testing at times. Bryce didn’t have a maternal bone in her body, but taking care of Liv had never been a choice.
Their mother had left nine years ago, and there had been no one else to take care of things but her. She’d turned eighteen and registered as Liv’s official guardian before the social workers came knocking. Bryce had worked ever since to make sure Liv never felt as though she was lacking anything, not that their mother had left a lot to miss in the first place, unstable and cold as she’d been to them both. She’d cared more about drinking and whichever man was crawling into her bed that week.
It terrified her, though, that Bryce could mess up just as easily. That Liv might end up even worse off than Bryce had been at her age, if Bryce didn’t get things right. She only wanted to give her sister the lifeshehadn’t been able to have. College, a job she enjoyed, that would give her enough money that she never had to go without. It was hard work. Harder now that Liv was ready to stand on her own two feet and fly away.
Before Bryce could worry too much about it, she went back to the desk. “I’ll be right out,” she told Thea before disappearing into the back rooms, where the staff took their breaks. In all the time she’d been here, she’d never been given a lock for her locker, and could only hope every time she came in that her purse hadn’t been stolen. Luck had served her well so far.
She hauled off the hat and costume with a deep sigh of relief, the cool air hitting the sheen of sweat caking her skin. Thank God the day was over. She was ready for an extra large, extra chocolatey milkshake.
* * *
“I talked to the new neighbor guy from the bookstore after you left this morning,” Thea informed Bryce after they’d slid into the only vacant booth in Dina’s Diner. A storm had just broken through the humidity, and it seemed half the town was taking shelter here. The rain pelted against the window, Dina’s neon-pink sign leaving an eerie glow reflected on the wet asphalt of the parking lot. Thea was glad to be out of it, with the speckled sheet of glass to protect her from the sporadic bouts of thunder and lightning.
“Hmm?” Bryce hummed distractedly, tongue poking out in concentration as she peeled the pickles from her burger.
Thea tutted in disgust and pinched them off her plate. “Monster.” Eight years of friendship had not made her any more comfortable with the fact that Bryce hated pickles, and she said as much each time they ate together.
Usually, Bryce would make some clever retort that Thea never would’ve been able to expect, but tonight, she remained as glum as the weather outside. Instead of tucking into her burger — double cheese and bacon as promised — she dragged a wilted fry around her plate, leaving a trail of ketchup in its wake.
“Bryce? You okay?”
“Yeah.” Bryce lifted her gaze and blinked the solemn trance away. “What happened with the guy?”