Page 59 of Ladybirds

Her mother abandoned her.

He abandoned his mother.

A mirrored image. Opposite, but somehow twisted into a pain so similar it hurts.

“What was her name?” Suddenly she needs to know. She’ll never have a face for her, but she can have this. She can have a name.

For the first time in their entire conversation, there’s a flash of hesitation before he laughs—breathy and full of secrets she doesn’t understand. An inside joke she hasn’t been privy to, not until he answers. “Sarah,” he breathes. “Her name was Sarah.”

His eyes catch hers, his smirk widening. “With an ‘h’. Naturally.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

It feels like winter break ends faster than it should (it always does). The weeks go by in a blur of brightly colored paper and peppermint until she looks at the date and realizes she only has four days until classes start up again. Somehow, dread doesn’t follow the discovery.

There’s an eagerness buzzing beneath her skin—excitement. It’s her last semester and she’ll get to focus purely on her photography classes. It’s enough to make her palms itch in anticipation. Especially after celebrating Jen’s graduation a few days ago with board games and alcohol. Not for the first time, Sara almost wishes she would have followed in her friend’s footsteps and just taken the extra classes her previous semesters.

She’s searching her fridge for something to eat when her phone rings in her back pocket. Sara’s relieved that it’s Jen and not another telemarketer. She perches the phone between her cheek and shoulder. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, bestie! What are you up to?”

“It’s a trap,” Seth says from his chair. He doesn’t even bother to look up from the television.

Sara shoots him a glare, fingers drumming on the fridge door as she holds it open. “Staring at the inside of my fridge and wondering if I’m going to eat cereal for dinner,” Sara says, eyes flitting past the quart of milk and frowning at the suspiciously empty space beyond it. She wishes she was joking.

From his chair, Seth repeats, “It’s a trap,” a split second before Jen answers with, “We’re going shopping.”

Sara stifles a groan, closing the fridge door. Shopping with Jen was like running a marathon—she wouldn’t be content until she searched every aisle, in every store, in the immediate area. “Why?”

“I have nothing to wear for my bachelorette party,” Jen says, voice flirting on the edge of a whine. “Please, please, please come with me to find something?”

Sara knows, without a doubt, there’s probably at least a dozen dresses stashed away in her best friend’s closet that would be perfectly suited for a night out, but she bites her tongue. It’s a special night, and while Sara doesn’t feel the need to buy something new, she has no intention of disappointing Jen, either. “No more than five stores,” she says.

“Six.”

Sara recalls how many bridal shops they went to in search of a wedding dress and cringes. “Jen…”

“I have it all planned out this time, I swear! Six stores. All in the mall. That’s it.”

“When?”

On the line, Jen’s voice turns sheepish. “… Now?”

She really doesn’t want to go anywhere today, but a quick glance around her house gives her no viable reasons to say no. Sara sighs. “… Can we eat first?”

Jen laughs. Sara imagines her doing a victory dance. “Yeah, girl. We can eat first.”

“Alright, but only because I love you.”

“Yes! Ok, we’ll be there to pick you up in about ten!”

Sara’s heart drops. “We?”

“Yeah, Lisa and Mary are coming too!”

As pleasant as Mary’s company is (especially with all the baby brother stories she loves to share about Miles) somehow it still can’t make up for the absolute dread of having Lisa involved. Sara forces a smile, hoping it will make her sound more convincing when she says, “Sounds great.”

From his chair, Seth chuckles—eyes dancing. “I did warn you.”

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