“Don’t ask me. I’ve got my own boy issues.”
“No, you don’t.” Mira pouted. “Brayden likes you. Everyone at school is talking about it.” Izzie had a feeling that the latter half of that statement bothered Mira more.
“Everyone,” Hayden agreed, trying to keep a straight face, even as Mira gave him the stink eye. “Face it, Mira. Izzie is more popular than you are now.” He hurried ahead of Mira down the path to avoid being hit and opened the front door.
“Thanks. Rub it in! Mono is more popular than me these days,” Mira griped, and stomped inside. The three of them filed into the foyer.
Izzie still couldn’t get used to the size of the house even after living there for the past few months. Every square inch of it looked like it belonged in an expensive furniture showroom. The Monroes’ taste was definitely more traditional than Grams’s shabby-chic place, but the vibe was still homey. Well, it had been. With all the bickering and silent treatments going on, the whole place felt a little frosty now.
“Don’t be depressed.” Izzie flung her bag on the entry room bench. “Savannah still talks about you,” she said encouragingly.“Well, if you count all the negative stuff she says.” Mira’s scowl deepened.
“Don’t worry, Mira,” Hayden told her. “Give it two weeks. By that point some other unfortunate girl in the sophomore class will look twice at Lea Price’s boyfriend, and they’ll have someone new to hate.” Hayden dropped his backpack in his designated cubby. “By then, I’m sure you’ll have a new group of girls to boss around.”
“Thanks.” Mira sniffed. That seemed to please her a bit.
The new-friend topic gave Izzie a thought. “Speaking of new people, have either of you ever met Brayden’s sister, Dylan?” Hayden and Mira looked at each other warily.
“Of course we’ve met her,” Mira said. “Have you?” By Mira’s expression, Izzie figured it was best to shake her head no. “She’s nothing like Brayden,” Mira told her. “I’m not one to talk”—Hayden coughed—“but when Dylan lived in EC, she had major mommy/daddy drama going on, and not for lame reasons like my-mom-won’t-let-me-put-red-streaks-in-my-hair-for-the-swim-meet.”
“Well, it was unreasonable.” Izzie thought of the week before. “I told your mom it would wash out.”
“Dylan has done everything you can think of to make her family’s life more scandalous than an episode of
Real Housewives
.” Mira began to tick off the indiscretions on her fingers. “Wearing an off-white dress to cotillion, getting severaltattoos, showing up tipsy at one of her mother’s dazzling self-thrown birthday parties. Dating a guy from out of town who worked at a tattoo parlor in Harborside.” Mira’s eyes widened. “I’m sure he was really nice,” she added quickly, “but it was still a scandal.”
“Forget I brought her up.” Izzie wasn’t about to get into an argument with Mira about Dylan. Personally, none of the supposedly scandalous things Dylan had done sounded
that
bad. They sounded like things a person would do to forget they lived somewhere like Emerald Cove. And that was a feeling Izzie understood completely. She kept waiting for the day that she woke up and finally felt like she belonged there, but she wasn’t sure that day would ever come.
Aunt Maureen’s laugh brought her back to the present. It was coming from the kitchen and it was followed quickly by their father’s. The last time Izzie heard him laugh like that was when Connor painted his face like Darth Maul with her aunt’s lipstick.
“What are they doing home?” Mira’s voice was anxious, just like Izzie’s stomach felt when she heard Bill’s voice. “I thought they were at a fund-raising rally in Raleigh.”
Hayden shrugged and headed toward the kitchen. “I guess it ended early.”
Izzie used to find Emerald Prep the most stressful part of her day. She looked forward to hurrying back to the
“No, you don’t.” Mira pouted. “Brayden likes you. Everyone at school is talking about it.” Izzie had a feeling that the latter half of that statement bothered Mira more.
“Everyone,” Hayden agreed, trying to keep a straight face, even as Mira gave him the stink eye. “Face it, Mira. Izzie is more popular than you are now.” He hurried ahead of Mira down the path to avoid being hit and opened the front door.
“Thanks. Rub it in! Mono is more popular than me these days,” Mira griped, and stomped inside. The three of them filed into the foyer.
Izzie still couldn’t get used to the size of the house even after living there for the past few months. Every square inch of it looked like it belonged in an expensive furniture showroom. The Monroes’ taste was definitely more traditional than Grams’s shabby-chic place, but the vibe was still homey. Well, it had been. With all the bickering and silent treatments going on, the whole place felt a little frosty now.
“Don’t be depressed.” Izzie flung her bag on the entry room bench. “Savannah still talks about you,” she said encouragingly.“Well, if you count all the negative stuff she says.” Mira’s scowl deepened.
“Don’t worry, Mira,” Hayden told her. “Give it two weeks. By that point some other unfortunate girl in the sophomore class will look twice at Lea Price’s boyfriend, and they’ll have someone new to hate.” Hayden dropped his backpack in his designated cubby. “By then, I’m sure you’ll have a new group of girls to boss around.”
“Thanks.” Mira sniffed. That seemed to please her a bit.
The new-friend topic gave Izzie a thought. “Speaking of new people, have either of you ever met Brayden’s sister, Dylan?” Hayden and Mira looked at each other warily.
“Of course we’ve met her,” Mira said. “Have you?” By Mira’s expression, Izzie figured it was best to shake her head no. “She’s nothing like Brayden,” Mira told her. “I’m not one to talk”—Hayden coughed—“but when Dylan lived in EC, she had major mommy/daddy drama going on, and not for lame reasons like my-mom-won’t-let-me-put-red-streaks-in-my-hair-for-the-swim-meet.”
“Well, it was unreasonable.” Izzie thought of the week before. “I told your mom it would wash out.”
“Dylan has done everything you can think of to make her family’s life more scandalous than an episode of
Real Housewives
.” Mira began to tick off the indiscretions on her fingers. “Wearing an off-white dress to cotillion, getting severaltattoos, showing up tipsy at one of her mother’s dazzling self-thrown birthday parties. Dating a guy from out of town who worked at a tattoo parlor in Harborside.” Mira’s eyes widened. “I’m sure he was really nice,” she added quickly, “but it was still a scandal.”
“Forget I brought her up.” Izzie wasn’t about to get into an argument with Mira about Dylan. Personally, none of the supposedly scandalous things Dylan had done sounded
that
bad. They sounded like things a person would do to forget they lived somewhere like Emerald Cove. And that was a feeling Izzie understood completely. She kept waiting for the day that she woke up and finally felt like she belonged there, but she wasn’t sure that day would ever come.
Aunt Maureen’s laugh brought her back to the present. It was coming from the kitchen and it was followed quickly by their father’s. The last time Izzie heard him laugh like that was when Connor painted his face like Darth Maul with her aunt’s lipstick.
“What are they doing home?” Mira’s voice was anxious, just like Izzie’s stomach felt when she heard Bill’s voice. “I thought they were at a fund-raising rally in Raleigh.”
Hayden shrugged and headed toward the kitchen. “I guess it ended early.”
Izzie used to find Emerald Prep the most stressful part of her day. She looked forward to hurrying back to the
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