The pair were inseparable for years, but their relationship went from best friends to enemies in the blink of an eye, and because I was Austin’s girlfriend, I automatically gravitated toward him and lost touch with Harley, too.
I don’t think me and Harley spoke a single word to each other the whole of senior year.
Rummaging through my drawers, I find a pair of scissors and cut Austin out of any photos that I managed to find. If I’m planning on moving on and forgetting about him, I don’t need to see his smug face everywhere I turn, and that includes photos of our teenage selves.
I keep the ones of Bea and Harley, though, and make a mental note to somehow find out what they’re up to.
"Cass?" I hear my sisters calling my name in unison from downstairs. In a hurry, I bolt down to meet their open arms.
Lizzie is wearing a pastel blue, knee-high dress with her long, brown hair half-up, half-down, while Olive is sporting a white, floral, maxi dress, with her short, brown hair sitting dead straight, just above her shoulders.
Although we didn’t always get along, I’ve felt overly protective of my baby sisters for their whole lives. They’re only three years younger than me, but I’ll always be the one they turn to.
Once we all finished high school and matured, we grew closer, no matter the distance.
Sure, we shared rooms as kids, but that’s because at night time, all our problems vanished. We were each others safety nets.
The moment we woke up, though, it was like World War III, and those mornings made old man Hank wish he had three sons instead.
Do we still fight?Absolutely.
Do we apologize if we need to? Not always, but we get over it and move on.
There is nothing I wouldn’t do for Olive and Lizzie. Nothing they wouldn’t do for me, either.
"Get your purse," Lizzie insists before our hug has even finished.
"Where are we going?" I don’t know why I ask, given the text I received earlier. I knew they were planning on getting me drunk, and there’s only one place in town where everyone goes to do exactly that.
"Bridie’s!" they both shout, each pulling at an arm, dragging me out of the house.
seven
Cassandra
My sisters both movedaway for college, and came back home once they’d graduated. Now, they share a small apartment across town, closer to their work.
Even though they’re twins, they couldn’t be more different if they tried.
While they both teach at the school here in town, Olive teaches English and music to high school students, and Lizzie teaches kindergarteners.
She’s loud and carefree, with a lot of energy, and Olive is quiet and reserved.
Physically, though, we all have dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and used to get mistaken for triplets when we were younger. It didn’t help that our parents dressed us alike.
Bridie’s has been Grangewood’s only pub for forever. It’s, apparently, under new management, but from the outside, it still looks the same, with the giant, neon orange B still flashing like the wiring is somewhat faulty.
My friends and I used to come here after school all the time, so this place holds a lot of memories for me.
"Mom mentioned that the old Maxwell farm has been renovated. What’s it like?" I ask as we pull into the gravel parking lot of the pub. I have enough savings to get me by, thanks to the sale of the apartment in California, but ideally, I would prefer to add to it rather than drain it.
While I don’tneeda job, I wouldn’t say no if the job was the right fit.
Especially at a winery.Could you imagine the wedding photos that would be captured at a place like that?
"Oh, it’s stunning. The new owner did an amazing job with all the renovations. Actually, I think you went to school with the guy who bought it. He’s super rich now, and spared no expense. They kept the old barn and flipped it completely, so now it’s a huge, rustic ball room. I haven’t been to see it yet, but the photos online look beautiful," Olive says casually as she turns off the ignition to her hatchback.
"You forgot to say super rich andsuper hot." Lizzie giggles to herself, reapplying her clear lip gloss in the sun visor mirror.
