Page 3 of That Secret Something

I didn’t think Mr Lawson meant to embarrass me, but he did. Rebecca hasn’t asked me to prom because she wants to. It’s just a nice thing to do for Lily, so she can enjoy herself without thinking of me.

It didn’t mean anything. We weren’t about to run off into the sunset together and have lots of sex and babies.

A shame, really.

“Calm down, Lilz,” Rebecca said, in that low and delicious voice. “It’s up to Jess what she wants to do.”

Everyone turned to me, as if this wasn’t the easiest decision I’d ever made in my life.

Going to prom with Rebecca Lawson? Oh, yes, please.

Two

The four of us squeezed into the Lawsons’ bright orange VW camper. Sally had declared she was all cried out for the evening, so Mr Lawson drove us to the school, humming along to his playlist of nineties’ dance music. If this was his attempt to rally us up for the night’s events, it just added to the bizarre circumstances—though I did catch Tyler tapping his foot to a few songs.

“Are you going to do that all night?” Rebecca asked.

“Do what?” Lily huffed, swigging from her rum-and-coke can.

“Stare at me with daggers. Like you do when you think I’ve eaten the last chocolate ice cream in the freezer.”

“I know it’s always you,” she hissed, crossing her arms across her red strapless dress. “And excuse me for not being ecstatic at the show-stealer crashing my prom. You’ve had yours, Rebecca. Plus—” She clamped her mouth shut, cutting off her thoughts with a shake of her head.

Tyler squeezed Lily’s knee. “Come on, babe, it’s a good thing. We can forget it now. Jess has. We’ll have a good night. Want some whisky?”

Lily accepted, though judging by the face she pulled, she didn’t enjoy it.

I hoped Tyler’s comment would soften her somewhat. The Lawson sisters were always arguing about something. I usually tried my best to keep out of it; they often made up as quick as they fought.

The scenery outside the window couldn’t hold my attention. Our little town on the outskirts of Manchester never changed. We passed the same buildings day in, day out, dreaming about sunnier places. At least it wasn’t raining today—warm enough to wear just a T-shirt, but the English summer was always unpredictable.

Mr Lawson drove over a bump, and I gasped as Rebecca’s knee brushed against mine. I laughed it off, but I could still feel the heat of her body when she moved away.

“Don’t skimp on the good stuff, Tyler.” Rebecca held her hand out, and he handed her the flask, Lily’s eyes piercing through her sister’s all the while.

Rebecca didn’t flinch from the burn, which only made her seem more attractive. She offered the flask to me, and against my better judgement, I took a swig.

The vile concoction seared my tongue, watering my eyes. How could people drink this stuff voluntarily?

“Cute,” she commented. She said it so softly, I wasn’t sure I heard her right, but the amusement in her eyes told the story.

I handed the flask back to Tyler, fighting the burn in my cheeks and my throat. If I couldn’t handle a ten-minute car-ride with Rebecca, how was I going to manage the whole night?

Mr Lawson lowered the thumping bassline as we turned down the hill to the school. New nerves swirled in my belly. Ones that tied my intestines in knots and made me wish I’d never left the safety of my bedroom. Public events made me anxious. People in general made me anxious, especially large swarms of them all crowded together.

I locked eyes with Lily, and she gave me a warm, encouraging smile. I looked down at my lap and uncurled my fists. I’d gripped the material of my dress so tight, it’d made little creases along the green. I caught Lily’s eye again, blew out a breath, and forced a smile back, relieved she was feeling less agitated.

It was happening. I was going to prom with Rebecca Lawson. This was the biggest night of my life.

Oh god, Jess. Not helping. Not helping.

Flocks of well-dressed students gathered around the doors already, posing for pictures and gushing over each other’s dresses. I spotted Kieran’s friendship group from the tennis club and wondered if his excuse about being grounded would turn out to hold any truth to it.

Mr Lawson stopped the camper and pulled the door open with an enthusiastic grin. He helped Lily out of the van, with Tyler following behind her.

“Ladies first,” Rebecca told me.

“Well, you’re a lady too, aren’t you?” I said.

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