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I VIVIDLY REMEMBER the last normal day.
The last normal day before they came.
It was late at night and my step-sister Lizbeth and I were at a high-school party. It was your typical teenage party, with Red Solo cups and fake drunkards galore. And let's not forget the excessive mentioning of sex from every corner of the room.
Or yard in this case.
I hadn't wanted to go in the first place. I wasn't a fan of parties. Even in my old town I hadn't bothered myself with them.
But Lizbeth had insisted. She told me she wasn't going to risk me lowering her social status now that we were sisters and all.
So, I decided to put on the most casual dress I could find and drag myself to the overrated party.
As predicted, there was nothing too special about it. I did my good share of drinking (soda, mind you) and pretending to be interested in the people Lizbeth introduced to me.
I also met Cassie for the first time that night. Cassie and Lizbeth were best friends and although I'd been in town for a couple months at that point, I hadn't yet talked to her. So that night, I came face to face with the person who, whether I liked it or not, would play a big part in my future.
"Lucy, this is Cassie. Cassie, this is my step-sister Lucy," Lizbeth said.
The music was blaring from the house, causing the window panes to shake and my ears to buzz. It also made it hard to hear Lizbeth or anyone else for that matter.
I gave Cassie a small wave. "Nice to meet you," I said, projecting my voice so it could compete with the song playing.
Cassie returned my gesture with a smile. "Hi," she said.
I nodded, forcing a small smile to stretch a cross my face. Obviously, Cassie was oblivious to what Lizbeth had said to me about her.
About her and Ben Parish.
But now wasn't the time to think about that, let alone bring it up.
"It's so crazy this is our first time meeting!" Cassie said, "you've been here for like months!"
I nodded, adding in a small (and rather forced) laugh. "Yeah," I said, "I don't really get out much."
Lizbeth laughed in response, elbowing me. "She can be such a recluse. It took so much effort to get her out tonight!"
I wasn't a recluse, not really. It was easy for her to get on my case about not putting myself out there when she was the one that had been able to stay in her hometown. My mother and I had been the ones to move when Lizbeth's father proposed last year.
"You'll want to go out more often once you see how hot some of these guys are," Cassie said in a hushed whisper.
I opened my mouth to respond before Lizbeth decided to bring Ben Parish up, but Lizbeth beat me to it, forcefully pushing away any hope of avoiding talk of the boy that made my heart leap and cheeks redden.
