She was slightly disheveled, a jean jacket thrown haphazardly over a strapless minidress. Her legs stretched out below, toned and perfectly tanned.
“Nothing,” Victoria said, looking at Cassandra conspiratorially. “We were just talking.”
Cassandra’s eyes moved back and forth between her older sisters.
“Shouting is more like it,” Alex said, rolling her eyes. “We could hear you over the music.”
“I’m surprised you could hear anything over the sounds you two were making …” Victoria whispered under her breath. Alex gave both of her sisters a bored look and then turned her gaze to where I was sitting on the floor.
“Hey, Rosie,” she said casually, offering me a smile. “How’s my favorite Dearling?”
“See, now that’s just rude,” Will joked, appearing behind her, his hand moving to her waist. A faint trace of color bloomed on her cheeks as he touched her, resting his lips on the top of her head.
Her eyes flicked upward toward him. “Yeah, you’re okay,” she said with a laugh. “But Rosie? She’s the real looker of your family.” Alex winked at me, and I couldn’t control the flash of pride I felt when she did.
“I didn’t realize you found me so hard to look at.” Will wrapped his arms around his girlfriend’s body, pulling her closer into him. “I’m going to have to hit the gym.”
I snickered at the idea. Will towered over Alex, his body already a landscape of crisscrossing muscles. He worked out, but he’d gotten his build from Mom’s side of the family. Her brothers were giants too.
“You do that,” Alex agreed, her voice taking on that babyish quality girls always had in front of their boyfriends. Victoria’s and Casandra’s eyes were glued to the two of them, watching them with a mixture of admiration and envy.
“You ready to head home, Rosie?” Will asked, still clutching Alex to his chest as if she were a prize he’d won at the county fair. “Mom’s cooking tonight.”
I nodded, lifting myself off the floor. “Like I’d miss a rarity like that.” Our mother was a fantastic cook but hated doing it. When she did decide to not order takeout, we never missed it.
Will untethered himself from Alex and she pouted. “Will you come back over later?” She looked back at him, her eyes wide and expectant.“Pleeease?”
“My god, woman, get a grip on yourself. He’s been here for hours,” Victoria said, plopping backward on the bed. Alex flashed her younger sister the finger as she kept her face trained on Will.
“Anything you want,” Will promised. His fingers reached under her chin to bring her face to his, giving her a long kiss. Victoria’s face softened. She was convinced men didn’t get any better than my brother. I didn’t understand how she felt that way after spending so much time in our house, but she did.
“Gross, Will. Come on.” I wrinkled my nose, kicking his shoe.
The sound of the Hopelys’ front door opening quieted all five of us, signaling the arrival of a parent into our space.
“There’s Mom,” Cassandra said, looking mildly disappointed. I expected to bump into Mrs. Hopely as we rounded the corner out of Cass’s room—her mom was slight and well-preserved, like she was the oldest Hopely sister—but instead Mr. Hopely appeared. He was a behemoth of a man, the size of a pro wrestler, with the same detached irritated energy as his wife. He dressed, always, in suits or khakis and polo shirts that seemed like they belonged to someone else. His curly gray hair was close cropped and tidy, never a stray hair out of place. That afternoon, you could tell he was furious.
All three Hopely girls stiffened, instantly tense.
“Dad,” Alex said quickly, her cheeks darkening as her expression turned guilty. “You’re home early.”
“Had a light day,” Mr. Hopely said, clearly unamused. He looked from Alex to his other daughters, taking his time before settling on Will and me. His lips pursed as he zeroed in on my brother. A quiet fury enveloped his features.
I hadn’t had many interactions with Mr. Hopely. He was a stern, rules-based man who worked for a bank and kept to himself. So different from my father’s easy-going nature. The only times I ever saw Mr. Hopely relaxed was when he took Alex and Victoria to their cheerleading competitions. He was dedicated and never missed one.
“I told you girls already, no boys in the house when your mother and I aren’t home,” he said. The corners of Mr. Hopely’s mouth turned downward as he took in Will again. Four years of dating had seemed to do very little to make Mr. Hopely like him.
Will offered him a gentle smile, but I could see he was uncomfortable. “Sorry, Mr. Hopely. I wasn’t here long. I just dropped something off. Come on, Rosie. Let’s get out here.”
The sun was setting over the Hopelys’ pool as we left through the back door, avoiding the canopy of poison ivy that grew in the small forest between our two houses. The seven of us Hopely-Dearlings had walked this path so often, we had created our own trail.
“You and Alex are really joined at the hip these days,” I commented, watching my older brother skip over the dead Christmas tree we had dragged back here the year before.
“Yeah, I’m trying to cram as much Alex time in as I can before … well, everything. Graduation. School. You know.”
“Are you going to miss her?” I kicked a rock, watched it collide with a fallen tree trunk.
I knew the answer already. At least I thought I did. Will had never given us any reason to think he didn’t love Alex. He’d pined for her for years, a true kindergarten love story that came to fruition at freshman-year homecoming.
