Page 79 of A Little Luck

“Suck it, Piper!” Britt orders, and I snort a laugh.

“Rude!” Still I lean forward, puckering my lips around the tip of the penis straw beside Britt who’s doing the same.

Cass leans forward to do the same as she holds up her phone to snap the selfie. Then, with a few taps of her fingers, she sends it to Alex, I guess. It doesn’t take long before all of our phones light up with the photo.

“You started a group text!” Britt claps.

“We’ll all be related once Adam and Piper stop dancing around the truth.” Cass scoops up the remote. “What’s our movie for tonight?Practical Magicin honor of Halloween?”

“You’re the bride, so you get to choose.” Britt rests her head on Cass’s shoulder. “I expect I’ll fall asleep in five minutes anyway. All I want to do is sleep now that I’m not barfing anymore.”

“You are not sleeping through my bachelorette!” Cass lifts her shoulder, giving her a nudge. “You already dumped all the planning on poor Piper.”

“I’m not so poor!” Not sure why this makes me feel defensive all of a sudden. “I think the wedding is going to be gorgeous, even if I did plan it.”

I still can’t believe nothing’s blown up yet. Maybe Adam is my good luck charm.

“I’m sure it will be amazing.” Cass puts her arm around my shoulder as we watch the opening scene of the movie.

The curse is cast, and as I watch the mother of our main characters fall in love with their dad, my mind drifts to last night with Adam.

When I stopped by Aiden’s on my way home, Ryan couldn’t stop talking about learning to do a 50/50 on his skateboard.

He had to explain to me a 50/50 is when you do a jump and slide the middle of the board across a flat surface before hitting the ground again.

“Next I’m going to try a 180 and then a 360, and Uncle Adam said it won’t be long before I’ll be going for the 900 just like Tony Hawk!” He was talking loud and fast like he does when he’s excited, and I just laughed and hugged him.

When I got home, I went straight into Adam’s arms, hugging him so tightly. It wasn’t long before his mouth met mine, and we were fumbling our way to his bedroom. The light was dim, and I managed to keep my top on halfway again.

Even if he does accept my past and respond beautifully, like I dream he will, every time I’m naked, he’ll be confronted with the scars on my body.

He’ll know I’m damaged, and even if he doesn’t want to, he’ll either think I’m ugly or he’ll pity me. Both scenarios make me cringe so hard, I almost want to forget the whole thing.

Except…

I really do want to be with Adam. I’ve never feared how starting a relationship might change our friendship. I’ve only ever feared how the truth might change it.

But if I ever want us to be anything more, I have to overcome that fear.

Drew keeps telling me to give my friends the chance to be my friends for real, and I glance at Britt and Cass snuggled up with their eyes on the flatscreen television.

“Mom says they’re like the Fireside Ladies.” Britt shoves a handful of popcorn into her mouth. “She got them to put a protective spell over the town against Drake Redford’s development plans.”

“Maybe it’s working,” I joke. “I haven’t seen him around since Bo announced his candidacy.”

She shoves me with her foot. “Are you taunting the spirit world? According to Mom, the spirits revealed the truth about how my dad died.”

“I believe it.” Cass nods slowly, then her expression morphs to curiosity. “We never did that whole blood sister thing. Why not?”

I’ve had enough cutting, I think stepping out of the tangle of my best friends’ limbs on the couch. I don’t say it out loud. Instead, I go to the kitchen to refill our shared bowl of popcorn.

While I wait for the air popper, I walk to the living room to watch Sandra Bullock hiding under the covers as her little girls try to comfort her, as her sister returns to her side.

Cass and Britt lean against each other sniffing as the tragedy plays out onscreen. Only, it’s not over, of course. It’s only getting started.

“I think the point of this movie is that sisters can save you from dying of a broken heart.” Cass’s voice is wobbly.

“Speaking of sisters, what’s Jemima up to tonight?” I do my best to keep the annoyance out of my tone.

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