Paranoia (6 page)

I wonder which one of these rooms is Lucas‘s.

Probably not this one, since I‘m sure he doesn‘t sleep with an aqua blue comforter. Of course, it‘s possible that they changed al the bedding and put all their stuff away before we got here. The thought of sleeping in Lucas‘s bed starts to make me feel a little hot, so I push it out of my mind and quickly unzip my suitcase.

I rummage through the tangle of shorts, tank tops, and dresses, wondering what I should wear. What kind of party is this, anyway? Is it the kind you dress up for? Lucas didn‘t say anything about dressing up.

But this is the Cape. People here are hoity-toity.

Or at least some of them are. Doesn‘t that one lady on the Food Network, Barefoot

Contessa, live on the Cape? Or is that the Hamptons?

Either way, if Lucas lives in this house, his family must have money. Which probably

means that his friends have money. Which probably means that it‘s at least a little bit of a high-class party. The only problem is, I don‘t real y have anything high-class.

Final y, I take a navy blue strapless summer dress out of my suitcase and pull it over my head. I step into a pair of gold wedge sandals, run a brush through my hair, and then get to work fixing the disaster that‘s my makeup. I reapply my foundation, line my lips with a pink gloss, and slap a couple of coats of mascara onto my eyelashes.

I‘m just about to head downstairs, when I hear it.

Voices coming from downstairs. My parents. They‘re talking in these slow, measured

tones. The kind of tones they use when they‘re fighting. My parents don‘t fight like normal people. They don‘t yell and scream and throw vases. They talk in tight, quiet voices, so that I won‘t hear.

―….have to be careful,‖ my dad‘s saying. ―…can‘t just let her…‖

―…if they own the house…‖

―….everyone….suspicious…‖

I‘m debating whether or not to creep down the stairs so I can hear them a little better and figure out exactly what it is they‘re arguing about, when my mom starts to come upstairs.

I step back into my room, and quickly pull my compact out of my purse, pretending to

study my makeup.

―Hey!‖ she says when she appears at the door, trying to infuse brightness into her voice.

―Hey,‖ I say, doing the same so that she doesn‘t know I was eavesdropping.

―So, listen,‖ she says, sitting down on the bed. ―Your father‘s worried about you going out tonight.‖

―Oh, God,‖ I say, rolling my eyes. I reach into my suitcase and pull out a small plastic jewelry case.

Gabe gave it to me before I left. I open the box and pull out a thin gold chain, then fasten it around my neck. ―What‘s he so worried about?‖

―He just wants you to be careful.‖ She looks at me, her eyes serious. ―He‘s not used to you… um, you know, being like this.‖ She gestures at my body.

And even though she doesn‘t say it, I know what she means. My dad‘s not used to be me being skinny.

Because up until about a year ago, I was fat. Not overweight.

Not chubby. Fat. Very fat. And now I‘m not.

―Mom,‖ I say, rolling my eyes and hoping we don‘t have to get into a whole big

conversation about this. I always get a little uncomfortable talking about my weight.

Even though I‘m not fat anymore, I don‘t like talking about body size, or dress size, or the number on the scale. I think it‘s a holdover from when I was fat – I always went out of my way to avoid talking about that stuff, and now it‘s ingrained into me.

―I lost weight. That doesn‘t mean I became stupid.

I‘m not suddenly going to start drinking or doing drugs or anything crazy like that.‖

―No, that‘s not….‖ she trails off, moving her gaze until she‘s staring out the window. Her eyes, which were just happy and vibrant while we were outside by the pool, now seem tired and a little vacant. ―I‘m not talking about drugs.‖

―Then what are you talking about?‖

―I‘m talking about….being careful. About who you trust.‖

―Mom! I‘m not going to just go home with some random person or anything, if that‘s

what you‘re worried about.‖ I want to ask her why she basically y threw me at that Lucas kid, if she‘s so nervous about me trusting strangers. But I don‘t want to get into it, and besides, I already know the answer. She wants me to be able to have fun and go out.

My dad doesn‘t. He still sees me as his little girl.

She gets up and stands next to me, pushes my hair back from my face. ―I know you

won‘t.‖ She kisses me on my forehead. ―You look beautiful.‖

―Thanks,‖ I say. I thread a pair of chunky gold hoops through my ears. ―So I‘ll text you when I get there?‖

―Call me when you get there.‖

―Okay.‖

―Let me give you some money,‖ she says, ―Just in case.‖

―It‘s okay,‖ I say, sliding my purse over my shoulder. ―I have my debit card.‖

She shakes her head. ―Don‘t use the debit card.‖

―Why not?‖

―Because.‖ I see that weird look flash through her eyes, the same look she got when she first saw Lucas in the backyard. ―In fact,‖ she says, ―Why don‘t you give the debit card to me?‖

―What‘s going on?‖ I ask, rummaging through my bag for my wall et. ―Are we having

money problems?‖

I knew we couldn‘t afford this house.

―No,‖ she says, shaking her head. She gives me a smile. ―It‘s just that we‘re getting new cards, and I don‘t want you using the old one by mistake.‖

She‘s obviously lying. She doesn‘t want me using the old one by mistake? I mean, that‘s not even a good excuse. Does she think I‘m some kind of idiot?

―Mom,‖ I say, holding the card out of her reach.

―What‘s going on?‖

―Nothing.‖

―Mom, I‘m not stupid.‖

―There‘s nothing going on!‖ she says. She‘s trying to sound like she can‘t believe I‘m getting all worked up, but it‘s a little too forced, a sure sign that she‘s not telling the truth.

―Mom, you can tell me whatever – ‖

―Emily,‖ she says warningly, and holds her hand out.

I sigh. I don‘t have time to think about why she‘s acting so crazy. And so I hand her the card, deciding I‘ll have to worry about it later. I smooth my dress down one more time. And then I head down the stairs to go meet Lucas for my first party on the Cape….

Find out what happens with Lucas and Emily,
in EMBERS, Playing
With Fire #1,
available
now…

Table of Contents

Chapter One