While her best friend Cassidy snacks on brie and boys in France, Darcy Li-Quinn must face her last year of high school and the unpredictable wrath of her sister, Danica, alone. Darcy's plan for dealing with Danica and her heinous friends is simple-b...
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"Oh, Lil..."
My arms open automatically and my ex-girlfriend steps into them as if it's the most natural thing in the world; like it hasn't been over eighteen months since I stopped talking to her. She's trembling—silent sobs wracking her tiny frame. Even with a beach ball for an abdomen, Lily still reminds me of a delicate wood sprite. She smells like sunshine, and I resist the urge to inhale deeply, because breathing in Lily Milano hasn't been my prerogative for a long time. "Hey, hey, it's okay," I mumble over her head. "I've got you, Lil."
Do you, dude? Do you really?
The thought is mine, but it's Archer's voice I hear, and I know without a doubt why he forced me in Lily's direction. My brother didn't want the girl we've both loved to be heavily pregnant and alone. Turns out I don't want that either. I guess some things really are bigger than heartbreak.
You would have been a fucking brilliant dad, Arch.
My heart spasms like it's forgotten how to do its job. "Let's go inside," I whisper, trying to sound calm even while my pulse races like a freight train.
Nodding and sniffling as she eases out of my arms, Lily leads the way into the house. I step back to let Darcy walk in ahead of me and our eyes meet as she passes. Darcy's are wide with concern, brows arched and fingers brushing mine in a way that says "are you okay?" rather than "your life's a total circus, get me out of here". I release the breath I didn't realise I was holding and follow her inside.
The house Lily's parents built to commemorate their success has always felt more like a perfectly balanced spreadsheet than a family home: hard lines, carefully contained boxes, very little colour. Closed doors and muted artworks line the gallery-width hallway, ushering us onwards with brusque intention. Lily takes us to the central living room, a cavernous space which joins the bedroom wings to the rest of the house. Double height ceilings, expansive windows and oversized furniture make this room more than a little extra. It's grey upon white upon grey upon greige, with every item carefully curated and stupidly expensive. Darcy takes it all in with thinly veiled fascination, her eyes darting around the room and never quite settling on any one thing.
Lily sinks into the sixteen seat L-shaped couch and curls her legs up underneath her like a baby bird. "My name's Lily," she says to Darcy, "but I'm guessing maybe you already know that."
"I'm Darcy." Leaning her school bag carefully against the wall, Darcy crosses to the couch and sits gingerly on the very edge of a cushion. "Sorry to turn up unannounced like this."
"I'm honestly glad you did." Lily's talking to Darcy but looking at me. "Are the two of you..."
"No, no, nothing like that. We're just... friends?" Darcy tells her.
"Of course you are."
Lily smirks. Darcy frowns. I continue to stand a few feet away and choose not to analyse why Darcy's speedy denial that there's anything between us stings like carpet burn. I mean, it's not like I didn't see the way she was looking at Archer on the bus this morning, or hear her voice soften like melting butter when she spoke to him. Turns out my girl has a thing for my older brother, but then you'd think I'd be used to that by now.
