here but got pregnant by a commoner, which is why she couldn’t keep you. Oh my God, that’s so romantic, like your dad made you his very own princesses or something.”
“One of us is a princess anyway,” I say under my breath.
Ava looks in the mirror. “Maybe.” She shrugs and turns sideways.
“You could always get one of those online DNA tests done. They’re not that expensive. It won’t tell you who your parents are, but it will tell you where you’re from,” Maya says.
“No.” Ava’s tone is sharp and final.
“But wouldn’t it …”
Ava turns on her. “I said no.”
Maya looks at me, but I just shake my head. I’ve had this argument with Ava before, and there’s no point. Dad adopted us when we were babies, and that’s all she wants to know. Any talk about birth parents, and she freaks out. I might do it, try to find out when I turn eighteen. I don’t know if I could keep it a secret from her, though.
Maya leans back against the wall and wiggles her feet, admiring the boots that Ava is letting her borrow. “So where is Mr. Rios off to this time?”
“South Africa,” we answer together.
Maya frowns. She hates any display of twindom, like we’re doing it on purpose. I pull my phone out and focus on the screen.
Ava and Maya are still arguing over clothes, when she comes over to see what I’m doing. “Really?” Ava asks, tipping the screen back. “You’re on Casey’s page again? Why do you keep obsessing over him? All that has nothing to do with you.”
I scroll through all of the new messages left by friends and old classmates. A lot of people have been posting picturesof him from high school and even from elementary school, and it’s hard for me to picture the leering guy who didn’t understand the word “no” as the adorable blond kid on the swings. I feel bad about this version of Casey. “It does have something to do with me,” I say. “Twenty-four hours after I saw him, he was dead.”
Ava reaches over and grabs my phone. “Stop. Casey was an ass, and now he’s gone. Good riddance.”
I stare at her. Ava tends to skate across the surface—her highs never seem that high and her lows never seem that low, but this is pretty callous, even for her. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“I said it because it’s true. Everyone else is moaning about what a great guy he was, but we know better.” She turns to face me, and I see a flicker of pain cross her face. I’m instantly sorry I confronted her. If this is how she wants to deal with it, I should let her. She points to the fading bruise on my shoulder. “He wasn’t what he seemed to be, and he deserved what he got from the universe.”
“Fine,” I say quietly.
Ava looks like she’s gearing up to say something else, when her phone vibrates on the desk. “Huh,” she says, tapping the screen. She frowns at me with a puzzled look on her face. “Did you talk to Eli the other day?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t know an Eli.”
Ava looks up from the phone. “Tall? Gorgeous? In a band?”
And then it all makes sense. The guy at the café. “Looks like he works at a gas station?”
Her eyes narrow. “That’s mean.”
I’m always surprised to find where Ava draws the line. “Fine,” I say. “Looks like he should be on a gas station calendar? With his shirt off?”
She smiles a little wistfully. “Exactly. Where?”
“I was studying on the back patio of Café Roma, and he showed up. Thought I was Alicia.”
Maya is watching the two of us, eyes darting back and forth like at a tennis match.
“He’s been gone for so long, I almost forgot how cute he is.” She grins and twirls a piece of hair around her finger, remembering. “And you know how I am about guitar players. Especially guitar players after a show, when the tips of their hair are a little bit damp from all the sweating, and they’ve been baring their soul onstage, with every girl in the place wanting a piece of them.”
“So
“One of us is a princess anyway,” I say under my breath.
Ava looks in the mirror. “Maybe.” She shrugs and turns sideways.
“You could always get one of those online DNA tests done. They’re not that expensive. It won’t tell you who your parents are, but it will tell you where you’re from,” Maya says.
“No.” Ava’s tone is sharp and final.
“But wouldn’t it …”
Ava turns on her. “I said no.”
Maya looks at me, but I just shake my head. I’ve had this argument with Ava before, and there’s no point. Dad adopted us when we were babies, and that’s all she wants to know. Any talk about birth parents, and she freaks out. I might do it, try to find out when I turn eighteen. I don’t know if I could keep it a secret from her, though.
Maya leans back against the wall and wiggles her feet, admiring the boots that Ava is letting her borrow. “So where is Mr. Rios off to this time?”
“South Africa,” we answer together.
Maya frowns. She hates any display of twindom, like we’re doing it on purpose. I pull my phone out and focus on the screen.
Ava and Maya are still arguing over clothes, when she comes over to see what I’m doing. “Really?” Ava asks, tipping the screen back. “You’re on Casey’s page again? Why do you keep obsessing over him? All that has nothing to do with you.”
I scroll through all of the new messages left by friends and old classmates. A lot of people have been posting picturesof him from high school and even from elementary school, and it’s hard for me to picture the leering guy who didn’t understand the word “no” as the adorable blond kid on the swings. I feel bad about this version of Casey. “It does have something to do with me,” I say. “Twenty-four hours after I saw him, he was dead.”
Ava reaches over and grabs my phone. “Stop. Casey was an ass, and now he’s gone. Good riddance.”
I stare at her. Ava tends to skate across the surface—her highs never seem that high and her lows never seem that low, but this is pretty callous, even for her. “I can’t believe you said that.”
“I said it because it’s true. Everyone else is moaning about what a great guy he was, but we know better.” She turns to face me, and I see a flicker of pain cross her face. I’m instantly sorry I confronted her. If this is how she wants to deal with it, I should let her. She points to the fading bruise on my shoulder. “He wasn’t what he seemed to be, and he deserved what he got from the universe.”
“Fine,” I say quietly.
Ava looks like she’s gearing up to say something else, when her phone vibrates on the desk. “Huh,” she says, tapping the screen. She frowns at me with a puzzled look on her face. “Did you talk to Eli the other day?”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t know an Eli.”
Ava looks up from the phone. “Tall? Gorgeous? In a band?”
And then it all makes sense. The guy at the café. “Looks like he works at a gas station?”
Her eyes narrow. “That’s mean.”
I’m always surprised to find where Ava draws the line. “Fine,” I say. “Looks like he should be on a gas station calendar? With his shirt off?”
She smiles a little wistfully. “Exactly. Where?”
“I was studying on the back patio of Café Roma, and he showed up. Thought I was Alicia.”
Maya is watching the two of us, eyes darting back and forth like at a tennis match.
“He’s been gone for so long, I almost forgot how cute he is.” She grins and twirls a piece of hair around her finger, remembering. “And you know how I am about guitar players. Especially guitar players after a show, when the tips of their hair are a little bit damp from all the sweating, and they’ve been baring their soul onstage, with every girl in the place wanting a piece of them.”
“So
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