Page 28 of Play Pretend

“How old will you be?” I didn’t know why I asked it. It just came out.

The question seemed to throw her for a loop, because she just blinked. “Uh, twenty-seven. Anyway…”

Twenty-seven? That was only six years younger than me, a year younger than Adam.

Honestly, she was older than I’d expected.

“They’re coming to town, and, uh, well, you see…”

She was babbling. As awkward as she could be, I’d never seen her like this before. Even the other night, it wasn’t like this. Granted, I didn’t know her all that well. Maybe she was alwaysbumbling over her words, struggling to speak. Most of our interactions were us bickering, and something about that made words come a lot easier and freer.

“They’ll be here for just a few days. I think.” She pushed to her feet, putting the basket on the floor. Another nervous laugh escaped her. Swiping her hands down the front of her dress, she began pacing. “I didn’t think I’d be so nervous about this.”

“Nervous about what?” I was starting to get annoyed. I hated when people talked in circles—just give me the information I needed and move on. But she didn’t do that. Instead, she continued pacing and muttering to herself. “Willow.”

She paused, her head whipping my way. It was like she’d forgotten I was here. In my house. That she was invading.

“Right. Sorry.”

I shifted in the chair, watching as she clasped her hands in front of herself. “Do you want a muffin? Or a cookie?” She gestured toward the basket, and I shook my head.

“I’d like to know why you’re in my house.”

She rolled her lips between her teeth. What the hell was going on? I’d never seen anyone so damn nervous before. It was ridiculous.

“So, my family?—”

“Is coming to visit for your birthday. You said that.”

Her chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath. “They’ll be here?—”

“For a few days.”

“And I kind of…I kind of lied to them about something.” The words were said so quickly, they blended into one. I lifted my brow, waiting for her to continue. “I need to give you a backstory.”

“You really don’t.”

But she ignored me as she began pacing again. “My dad remarried when I was in high school. The woman already had akid from a previous marriage, but I’m my dad’s only biological child. So, it’s kind of a blended family thing, you know? Anyway, overnight, I had a stepsister. Which sounds a lot cooler than it actually is.

“All my life, I wanted a sibling. Just someone to play with, someone to be my built-in friend, you know? But that’s not what happened. Vanessa is…” She ran her fingers through her hair, jostling it. “The way my dad talks about her, you’d think she was the second coming of Mother Teresa. She’s perfect. I wouldn’t be surprised if she told him she saved orphans from a burning orphanage on Mars, and he believed it. And hewouldbelieve it, because she’s…perfect.”

“What does this have to do with your family visiting?” I grumbled. I knew what it was like feeling second best to a sibling, but her familial issues weren’t my problem.

Sure, it was cute when she talked to herself or sang along to her music, and she might be a pretty girl, but that was it. She was my annoying neighbor who nagged me about any and everything under the sun. We weren’t friends.

I don’t have any friends here.

Her words from the other night slammed into me, but I shook them away.

She wasn’t my problem. None of this wasmyproblem. I had enough of my own without throwing hers into the mix.

“So, she’s perfect, and I’m always second fiddle. She graduates college, gets married, buys a house. I drop out of school, break up with my fiancé, and run off to Maine.” She let out a humorless, slightly manic-sounding laugh.

“Willow. It’s late?—”

“I lied to them and said I have a boyfriend when I really don’t,” she blurted.

It was like a bomb went off. I stared at her. “Why would you do that?”

---