CHAPTER ONE
JUST ONE MORE chapter. I rolled my eyes and closed the book, smiling at the lie I had repeatedly told myself. It was almost four in the morning, but pulling the almost all-nighter was worth it to finish the latest book in one of my favorite fantasy series. My eyes burned and begged to be closed. I rested the book against my chest and thought about the cliffhanger ending, sorting through my mixed emotions of anger and excitement.
I turned my bedside light off and rolled over, feeling slightly sad that I had read through the book so quickly. I closed my eyes and tried to shut off my mind; I had to get up in just over three hours and I had a long day ahead of me. The cheerful chirping of birds outside my window was as unwelcome as the muted glow of dawn that filtered in through the sheer purple curtains.
My thoughts were still tangled with dragons and Rangers dressed in black furs when I finally drifted to sleep, only to be rudely awoken by the blaring alarm clock. Ugh, not yet.
I rolled over and slapped the snooze button—twice—before I forced myself out of bed. I dragged my feet as I crossed my room, stumbling into the bathroom to begin the time consuming ritual of making myself look halfway presentable.
I turned on the shower and inspected myself in the mirror as the water warmed up. Circles clung under my eyes, and my shoulder length brown hair was a tangled mess around my face.
Whatever.
I waved my hand at my sloppy reflection. It wasn’t anything a shower and a little makeup couldn’t fix.
Tired, I stayed in the shower too long, enjoying the steamy hot water. I got out, dried my hair and put on the least amount of makeup that was socially acceptable for an outing with my friends.
“Addie?” Arianna, my younger sister, called from across the hall.
“Yeah?” I answered and bent down to pet Scarlet and Rhett, my German Shepherds who were sleeping on a pile of dirty laundry I had thrown on the floor.
“Can you help me do my makeup? I keep messing it up,” Arianna replied, sounding annoyed.
“Sure, come here.” I told her. It took every ounce of self-control I had not to laugh when she walked into my room. Black eyeliner was smeared across her face, and eye shadow powdered her cheeks just under her eyes. I brought her into the small bathroom that was attached to my room and put the lid down on the toilet for her to sit on.
“Hold still,” I told her while I cleaned up her face. Ari looked a lot like me: high cheekbones and green eyes with a nose that was a hair too straight, and cheeks that caused dimples to form when we smiled. I lightly dusted her eyelids with shadow and drew a very thin line of black liner over her top lashes. “There,” I said when I was done.
“Thanks.” She looked in the mirror. “I wish I was good at doing makeup.” She wrinkled her nose.
“I wasn’t good at makeup when I was thirteen. And you’re good at doing hair,” I reminded her with a smile. “Speaking of, I need to dry mine.”
“Hurry up!” She scuttled out of the bathroom. “Don’t make us late!”
I rolled my eyes and ran a brush through my hair. Lynn would make us late. Lynn-time was generally a half hour behind real-time, hence why I told her to meet us at my parent’s house at nine when I really wanted to leave at nine-thirty. And, like I predicted, I was done, ready, and waiting by the time my best friend arrived.
I grabbed my purse, double-checked that I had my cell phone, and led the way to the door. “Bye Dad!” I called before I opened the garage door.
“Are you leaving?” Dad asked from inside his office.
“Yeah.” The floor creaked as Dad walked down the hall. He hugged Arianna and me goodbye. “Drive safe and call me when you get there. And have fun at whatever you’re going to.”#p#分页标题#e#
“The Pride Parade.” I smiled.
“Yeah, that.” He and shook his head. “You kids are getting too liberal,” he mused.
I jingled my keys. “And you are too old fashioned,” I countered. “Besides, you like Matt. Don’t you want me to go support him?”
Dad nodded. “I do like him. He’s a good kid. You’re going to his house after the parade, correct?”
“Yup,” I replied. “And yes, his parents are home.” I rolled my eyes. “Good thing because it’s not like I spent a whole year living on my own at college or anything.”
Dad ignored the snark. “Watch out for your sister and don’t be out too late. Have fun. And call me when you get there.”
“We will,” I promised. “Love you!” I hurried out the door and unlocked my car. I rolled down the windows and cranked the air conditioning before we all piled in.