Page 65 of Promise Me Nothing
I dig my keys out of my backpack and head in, hoofing up the first flight of stairs and into the kitchen to grab some water. I’m only home for a few minutes when my cell phone rings. Pulling it out of my back pocket, I do a happy dance when I see it’s Sienna.
“Girl, the fact you’ve been there for two whole weeks and you haven’t called yourbest friend, is absolutely ridiculous,” are the words that blast at me as soon as I put the phone to my ear.
“Oh my gosh it is so good to hear your voice,” I say, stepping back out onto the patio and sinking into one of the comfortable loungers, relishing in the familiarity and warmth of the voice of my friend.
Sienna and I have known each other since we were munchkins. We went to the same elementary school and lived next door to each other in the same apartment complex until the year my parents died. She always made sure to keep inviting me to things even though my new foster home at the time was on the other side of Phoenix and it was hard to find a way to get there.
Joshua was helpful for a few years in keeping my relationship with Sienna alive. He was older, had a car, and was able to take the two of us out for ice cream or movies on weekends or after school.
But when he passed, it was just our own resolve. Our own desire not to see our friendship fail just because of circumstance. I used to ride the bus for an hour in junior high to go to her house, never inviting her over to see the places I was bouncing between.
For lots of reasons.
When I finally left the system, and we both graduated high school, it was a lot easier to keep the connection going. But I’ve always been thankful that she cared about me and loved me even when things were working against us.
“So, how’s Richville?” she asks.
I roll my eyes, but she can’t see me. “It’s not Richville.”
“Don’t give me that,” she says. “I want the full low down on everything. Everyone. All of it. Including the cars and the clothes and everyone’s hotness level.”
I laugh. “Okay, okay. I guess… it’s just different than I thought it would be.”
“How so?”
“Well, for one thing, Lucas is really nice.”
There’s a pause. “How is that different than you expected? I thought you guys talked on the phone a few times before heading out there.”
“Yeah well, I’m just surprised he ended up being exactly who he said he would be. The money and the house and the beach is whatever. I’m just glad he’s a nice guy.” Though I wish he was around more, even though I don’t say that to Sienna.
“Girl, I wanna hear about the rich people.Please!”
I giggle. “When we pulled up to his house, I about fell through the floor of his fancy ass truck, because it is this crazy mansion right on the water.”
“I knew it!” she cries out. “I knew he was going to live in aReal Housewivesmansion.”
I smile at her reaction. “I’ve met a bunch of his friends so far, and they’re all just really beautiful. Like they belong in magazines. Which I guess I can understand if you spend all of your time at the beach.”
“Right?” Sienna sighs. “Ugh, you’re gonna be living some kind of fancy rich bitch dream this summer, aren’t you? And I’m just gonna be stuck in boring ass Phoenix working at the sunglass kiosk and wishing I could visit.”
“I’m sure you’d be welcome if you wanted to come out,” I say, though I instantly regret it. As much as I love Sienna, I also know that I definitely should have talked to Lucas about it first.
“Yeah, I can’t afford that, lady, but thanks anyway.”
I let out a quiet but slightly relieved sigh. Bullet dodged.
“So have you met his mom yet?”
“No. Lucas said I probably wouldn’t even meet her this summer since she’s a workaholic and mostly stays at her boyfriend’s place near her office. But there’s a little part of me that’s morbidly curious.”
“Like you wanna see the woman that your dad had an affair with, but at the same time you want to light her on fire?”
“Yes!” I say, laughing slightly. “Exactly that.”
“I know this is gonna be hard to hear, but just make sure you don’t blame someone else for what your dad did, Hannah. He was an adult. And it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. He had an affair. You can’t blame Lucas’ mom.” She pauses and I let out a frustrated sigh. “Well, I take that back. The only circumstance that would make it okay is if your parents were in an open relationship or were swingers.”
“Oh my gosh!” I shout into the phone. “Oh my god, Sienna, that is so disgusting. Like, I can’t eventhinkabout that.” I slap my hands over my eyes, as if that will cleanse my mind of the sudden image of my parents agreeing to sleep with other people.
