I pull out, glancing at my sister in the rearview mirror. Carrie elbows me and mouths, “Come on,” and I roll my eyes in my head.
I clear my throat. “So, how’s school?”
It takes Amelia a few seconds to realize I’m talking to her. Our eyes meet and she glances at Carrie before taking a deep breath in.
“It’s good.”
“Cool.”
The silence sets in again, and if we were able to talk right now, I know what Carrie would be saying: “Come on, keep it going!”I’m doing my best, here!“Do better, then.” We don’t even need to talk—I know exactly what she’s thinking.
Carrie huffs, twisting in her seat.
Okay, okay!
“What’re you studying?”
“Nursing. Like Mom.”
“Wow.” Carrie sounds impressed. “She must be psyched.”
“If I’m happy, she’s happy.”
“You guys are so lucky to have such amazing parents.”
I glance at Carrie. She always has this weird vibe whenever she mentions her family, and I wish she’d open up more.
“You seeing anyone?” Carrie presses on.
“No.”
“Dad told me you’d been dating this guy for a year or so,” I try.
“Jeez, word gets around, huh?” Amelia snorts. “He dumped me in September. He wanted to ‘make the most of college.’?”
“What the hell is wrong with these jackasses?” Carrie scoffs. “Our friend Lois had the same thing happen last year. You’ll get to meet her later—she’s dating Donovan’s friend Lane.”
It suddenly feels uncomfortably hot. I grip the steering wheel. Hearing her mention one of my friends like that is sending me spiraling back to that son of a bitch Cooper. I glance at the back seat, and I justknowmy sister is thinking the same. It’s written all over her face. She stares back at me in the mirror. This time, neither of us flinch away.
“They’re good guys,” Carrie continues, clearly picking up on the awkwardness.
“I guess they can’t be worse than his old friends—”
“I would’ve killed him, if you’d told me what was going on,” I say quietly, staring in front of me.
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She turns to look out the window. “And I don’t want to go to this fucking party, either.”
“You’re gonna have a good time, I’m sure of it!” says Carrie brightly.
“You already forced me to come with you guys. You can’t force me to actively enjoy myself, too.”
“Oh, trust me—I can.”
“Yup.” I nod. “She definitely can.”
I don’t know how I’d be dealing with all this if she weren’t here beside me. A flash of gratitude courses through me.
“And I swear, if you don’t enjoy yourself,” Carrie continues, “I’ll take you home myself.”
