Tori|
"Trina, I'm going to kill you."
I probably can't even count how often I've said those words. Slamming the cupboard door shut, I glare hard at my sister, who's sprawled on the couch, one leg swung over the back while the other dangles near the floor. She's chomping away on the last of my Sunchips, which I bought specifically for me with my own money. She doesn't even look up, she's so engrossed in whatever stupid reality TV show she's watching.
Giving an exasperated sigh, I collapse on the opposite end of the couch. Trina beams and happily plops her feet onto my lap. I try to make my eyes as angry as possible, as angry as Jade West's are on a regular basis, but I'm either not very threatening or my sister is simply immune to me. She continues to grin, popping the last Sunchip into her mouth before smashing the bag into a wrinkled ball. She tosses it toward me with a pout, as if she doesn't have two perfectly operational legs and the garbage isn't a whole whopping ten feet away from her.
When I don't take the bait immediately, Trina's pout deepens. The lines around her eyes carve themselves thicker, lower lip thrusting out, and I swear that tears are filling up in her eyes. People don't believe me when I tell them that Trina is actually really talented. Singing is definitely not her strong point (I like to think I have that down moreso than her) but I'd be lying if I said she couldn't act really well. That, and I'm a complete pushover, and Trina is a complete master at making me do whatever she asks, and then some.
I snatch the empty bag and throw her feet off of me. I basketball throw it into the trash from the threshold of the kitchen, smiling in triumph. I'm making my way back to the couch when the doorbell resonates from the ceiling.
Trina is up on her feet so fast, I'd have missed it if I had blinked. "That has got to be the mailman with my Italian boots!"
"Trina, it's nine thirty at night."
Trina stops before the door, whirling around on the heel of her slipper. "The postal service has learned the hard way that when packages come for me, they deliver them pronto." Thrusting out her chin, she spins back to the door and rips it open with a burst of chilly, late-night air. "It's about time you - oh."
I try to peer around her shoulder. "Who is it?"
Trina looks back at me, dark eyebrows curled in confusion. "Your freaky friend."
It's my turn to look confused. I move around my sister and - what do you know. Jade West is standing on my porch without a jacket, dressed in black and dark blues. She has that same, permanent angry look in her eyes, the one I wish I could master as well as she does, and her focus is on Trina.
I touch Trina's shoulder. "I've got it. You should move out of the way before she breaks you."
"Pft." Trina flips her hair dramatically, the long, brunette wave tumbling down one shoulder. "As if she could. I'm a black belt, Tori."
I roll my eyes, shoving her out of the way with my hip. "Will you go, please?" I jerk my eyes back to Jade. She's staring at the ground now, tense muscles flickering in her cheek. What is she doing here? Jade doesn't just pop up at my house for a surprise visit. We're not that kind of friend. We're not even friends, really - we're in the same group, and that forces us to mingle. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to be closer to her, but Jade has all of these walls constructed around her and I figured Beck was the only one who knew where the drawbridge was. Still, it's beyond weird that she's here, because the last time she came over, she and Beck had -
Oh no.
I spin to Trina again. "Can you go in your room, please?"
Trina saunters back to the couch. "Heck no. My shows are on. Go in your room."
