Amanda caught the stricken look on my face, and her own rigid smile faded.
“I’m really sorry,” I told her, not knowing what else I was supposed to say. “I had no idea.”
“Noah didn’t mention it?”
“N-no. Was he supposed to?”
She considered it. “I mean, I never said it was a secret, but I guess I also didn’t tell him to tell you guys. I just sort of figured he would. That’s why I asked him if I could stay here a couple of days. It’s just exhausting to be around them all the time when they’re like this.”
I tried to fix the look on my face, not sure she wanted my sympathy or pity or whatever else she’d find there.
Although, honestly, how she could even sound so peppy about her parents’ looming divorce, I’d never know.
“Well, hey,” I told her, “you can stay here as long as you want.”
Amanda squeezed my hand, and I was shocked to see her lips wobbling and her eyes fill with tears. Her voice was thick when she said, “Thanks, Elle. You’re such a good friend.”
At that moment, the door opened. Amanda sniffed suddenly, blinking and taking a breath to steady herself. A trio of voices chattered, laughing, as people poured in. We both turned to see Lee and Rachel walking into the lounge in fluorescent outfits. Rachel’s hair was teased and back-combed into something huge and springy, and Lee wore a bright pink headband. They were both in leg warmers.
Ashton was just behind them in his own bizarre and brightly colored eighties getup.
A creeping feeling of dread crawled up my spine as their laughter dimmed.
“Where have you guys been?” I asked. “Hey, Ashton. Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Well, Shelly,” Lee announced, “after Rachel and I spent the day at the mall doing some college shopping, we went to meet you for bucket-list item number twenty-three, as previously agreed, which, if you remember, we said we’d invite Ashton along after Noah turned down the invite. We waited for you after work like we’d planned, but May said you’d traded your second shift, and your phone went straight to voice mail when we called.”
Bucket-list item number twenty-three…
The big hair, the leg warmers, the lurid clothes…
I gasped, clapping both hands over my face. “Oh my God. Eighties mini-golf night! No!”
“Yes,” Lee crowed. “And it was spectacular.”
“It really wasn’t,” Rachel said, ever the mediator, giving me an awkward smile. “You didn’t miss out on much.”
“You so totally did,” Ashton said, not getting it. He gave Amanda a salute. “Hey there. I’m Ashton.”
I bit my lip, a lump rising in my throat, interrupting Amanda as she started to say hello back. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Lee. I think I was on the phone to Levi when you called. I’msosorry. Are you mad at me?”
He shook his head, but I got the feeling I wasn’ttotallyforgiven. “So long as we’re all set for the water park tomorrow, it’s good.”
“Yes! Yes, definitely. I’m driving Brad back for camp first thing, and then I’m all yours for the most epic item on the bucket list. I promise.”
“Awesome.” Lee smiled at me—not quite the smile I was used to, but enough that I knew he wasn’treallymad at me. I made a snap decision to tell him all my complaints about Linda another time—tonight wasn’t the time for it. “And, hey, Ashton’s gonna come along, too. We need someone for car eight, right?”
Lee clapped Ashton’s shoulder and they shared a laugh—some in-joke I didn’t know.
And Ialwaysknew Lee’s in-jokes.
“Right. That’s…that’s great! Glad to have you on board, Ashton.”
The three of them grabbed some drinks and moved outside. Amanda got up, too. “You coming, Elle?”
I guessed I didn’t have a lot of choice. Not if I didn’t want my little brother and my best friend replacing me completely.
Chapter Nineteen
