Half Sisters: A Novel by Virginia Franken

Author:Virginia Franken [Franken, Virginia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2022-06-20T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

EMILY

2002

It all started with the laughing. Maddy and Bee were always laughing, but today Emily could hear an edge to it. As if they wanted her to know there was a reason for the laughter, and that it was something to do with her. They wanted a fight. That was crystal clear, even all the way up in her room. Despite herself, Emily opened her door a crack so she could hear their voices more clearly. It didn’t take long to get the gist of things. They’d been to some Red Hot Chili Peppers concert the night before. Did they really think she’d get all riled up over Maddy being allowed to stay out to go to some gig? And then she heard it. The thing they’d really wanted her to hear. Maddy said Joseph’s name. Had he gone to the concert? Surely not. But then she heard his name again. Muffled and followed by more of those trying-too-hard giggles.

At that, Emily decided that what she really needed was a soda, so she left the safety of her room and headed down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was, of course, aware that she was walking straight into what they wanted her to. But that didn’t change the fact that she had to know. Had Joseph gone to a concert with them?

“You like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Emily?” asked Bee as soon as she walked in. Emily ignored her and opened the fridge to grab a Coke, but Bee, who’d followed her across the room, closed it before she could reach inside. Emily stared at Bee’s hand on the edge of the door. It looked meaty, like one of the chops Sophie had stashed on the bottom shelf. Bee had thinned out over the past year and was all legs and eyes these days, but Emily had a feeling that she’d go the way of her mother later in life.

“I asked you if you liked the Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

“Sure. I like them. Who doesn’t?” she said, ignoring Bee’s edge. She was here for the info, not a spat.

“Bummer you didn’t come with last night, then,” said Bee.

“Not that much of a bummer,” said Maddy, and they both laughed again. When had her sister turned into such an epic bitch? Suddenly neither the soda nor the information seemed worth it, and Emily pushed past both of them, headed back for the stairs. It wasn’t like she could trust a word that came out of their toxic little mouths anyway.

“Joseph went,” Bee said. It was inelegant. But it worked.

“What?” said Emily, turning back around. In the few days since the Stone House, Joseph hadn’t been at the skate park. He hadn’t been anywhere at all. Emily had been giving him space, thinking that he might need time to get his head around what had happened. But perhaps it wasn’t moping. What if he was pissed at her?

“He went to the concert,” Bee clarified. “He didn’t tell you? I

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