They The Pretty Stars (Court High Book 1) by Eden O'Neill

Author:Eden O'Neill [O'Neill, Eden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-03-02T06:00:00+00:00

Twelve

The Past - one year ago

I snapped out the beach blanket over the sand, adjusting it. I’d just evened it out when my sister ripped it off the sand, then proceeded to use it as a cape as she ran down the beach.

“Hey!” I squealed, hopping to my feet. I started to run after her, but froze as she charged down to the shoreline. In her polka-dot bikini, my sister dangled my red towel over the water, and my eyes widened. “Paige, no!”

She dropped it in, sticking her tongue out at me, and I saw red. That was my only towel, and I immediately raced down the shore after her.

“What you going to do about it?” she teased, splashing me, and I dove, grabbing her and taking her with me. I dunked her with the determination of a little sibling getting revenge on her big sibling. Of course, this was futile. More skilled in the water and basically at any sport, Paige turned the tables, dunking me and inadvertently giving me a belly full of ocean water.

We splashed around, the two of us pretty evenly matched, and something happened while each of us attempted to drown the other…

I smiled and with so much laughter to the point that it hurt. I forgot about the stupid towel, and she forgot about playing a trick on me. We forgot it all, nothing else mattering.

Thank God.

I never would have thought it’d be this way, never in a million years. Over two years ago, my sister couldn’t even get me out of the house, and when I finally did come out, she or anyone else had been even more hard-pressed to keep a bottle out of my hands. I’d gone down a pretty dark road after my abortion, parties and losing myself to vices. It took a while. It took a lot of time, but eventually I found myself again. I was taking care of myself, and now I was laughing and smiling on the beach. I’d done what my sister said I’d do all those years ago, all of this completely wild.

After our splash fest, Paige and I tired ourselves out, coming back onto the shore, and the moment Paige reached for her dry towel I cut her off.

“Uh-uh. You owe me,” I said, whipping out my hand. Laughing, she tossed it to me, shaking out her hair to air-dry it. Short, she could do that, taking her turn with the towel last. In the end, we laid it out and both lay on top of it. She rested belly down, chin on her laced fingers, and I lay beside her on my back.

She nudged me. “I’m so proud of you, Em.” She didn’t say for what, but she didn’t have to. I’d done a lot of growing these past couple years, both caring about what I put into my body as well as seeing myself in a new light. I didn’t need a boy to see me a certain way. I was a badass all by myself, and I didn’t need anyone’s justification but my own.

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