Chapter 8

"It fits! I'm stealing it." Lucy excitedly emerges from my bathroom.

We had dinner with my parents last night and Lucy got to meet them for the first time. She was really nervous at first which is a very foreign emotion for my friend but Mom adores her and Momma says she'll make for a promising lawyer so naturally Lucy was over the moon chuffed with herself.

We decided it made more sense if she slept over so I wouldn't have to drive back the next day to grab the things I needed from my old room.

Lucy raided my High School wardrobe which were basically just skirts and cardigans that Mom would get me since I didn't really put too much thought into my appearance. I like to think it’s something I got from Momma but in all honesty I spent so much time perfecting my grades that anything outside of

it was not of importance to me.

"How have you never dated anyone and this was what you wore to school?" Lucy laughs and shakes her hips slowly in my mirror.

Her eyes are focused on her long legs and her hands move up and down her waist.

I'm so used to this routine of her being attracted to herself in whatever clothing and prancing around our dorm room sensually that I forgot we were actually not in our dorm room but my bedroom instead. My door opens and my Mom freezes in the doorway before I'm even able to process the situation enough to explain it.

She stares between me and Lucy in her frozen state and I mimic her actions but notice Lucy is turned towards my bookshelf and completely unaware that my mom has entered the room and probably thinks her daughter is a master manipulator and lied about Lucy being 'just a friend'.

"Woah you have a lot of medals-" She finally turns to see my mom and the folded empty boxes in her hands, "Perfect sizes. Thank you Mrs Wallace" Lucy crosses the room and manages to defrost my mom.

"N-no problem, dear." My mom's never soft voice says, breathlessly.

"I'm labeling these boxes Sunny but this and whatever else I like in her closet will belong to me." Lucy pulls at my former skirt and laughs taking the boxes from my mom.

Mom giggles uncomfortably and leaves the room in a hurry. I really hope she doesn't go running off to Momma with her suspicions.

"I guess you couldn't really find time to be promiscuous in high school if you were so busy raking up every medal." Lucy says, strumming the medals on my wall which ring throughout the room.

"Dolton High Science fair winner 2016, 2015, 201- damn Sunny did you ever let anyone else get a chance to impress their parents." Lucy laughs.

"I really enjoyed it." That’s a lie.

I worked really hard to be good at science from what I remember about the sleepless nights and it was just my luck that the science kids in my year were just not as good otherwise I would've definitely had less medals.

Truth is my grades propelled after Neoma got sent away. My moms were going through so much after the incident and I'd never seen Momma so panicked. It scared me even more so that I couldn't share that fear with my sister. And my sister, oh goodness I couldn't imagine her feeling more out of place so I never mentioned that Mom and Momma were constantly fighting when I went to visit her at the center.

I just wanted to make sure I didn't add to their stress by worrying about me or my grades so I studied real hard to be top of my class but with that came a lack of social skills and after a concerning conversation Mom had with my teacher she sat me down and asked me why I never brought any friends home. The concern on her face felt like someone pinched my heart. I couldn't believe I caused my already panicked mother to be more stressed out. So when I got an invite to Dylan Johnson's 12th birthday party I raced home to tell my moms.

"Nobody enjoyed science." Lucy scoffs.

She's sits on my carpet and unfolds the cardboard boxes as I remove my clothes from the hangers "Hey... so remember I told you about Leo a few days ago." I start and look to see Lucy smirking up at me but I roll my eyes and continue "Well I sorta invited him and uh his friends to our party."

"What!"

"I-It's just that you know that thing he said about Dolton not being the same and honestly Luce all the best spots are downtown so I figured next best thing..." I trail off, hoping she won't throw a box at me.

"Ugh fine." She rolls her eyes and goes back to writing my name on the cardboard.

"What?"

"Okay." She shrugs again confusing me ten times more.

Does Lucy also have a twin? And do they occasionally swap lives like Neoma and I used to?

"Are you feeling okay Lucy?"

"Stop. I told you we would be different this year." She turns the box to show me she drew a heart next to my name, " And that means not running our social lives and honestly it's not like Dolton is exactly the most popular place on the planet. No offense."

I roll my eyes at her comment but I'm glad she isn't flipping out. I once saw her make one of the frat boys cry because they the got green cups instead of the red. When she chooses to she can be pretty scary.

"Why do I feel like you're moving out again?" Mom says, releasing me from her tight grip.

"Thank you so much for dinner Mrs Wallace, it was amazing and for letting me spend the night." Lucy says from behind me and I see my Mom's face move between us at rapid speed.

"Of course anytime." She says with an awkward smile. I know she's going to call me about this later.

"Your umbrella, Sunniva." Momma says, making her way to us with my blue umbrella in hand.

"Thank you, Momma." I smile reaching for it. She walks me to the passengers seat and reaches for my face to plant a kiss on my head.

"Don't forget to say goodnight to the moon." She says as her light brown eyes look deeply into mine.

"I won't." I promise reaching for her hand and kissing it.

"Juney." My mom calls Momma from behind the car.

"Yes," She yells and kisses my hand in hers, "Goodbye Sunniva."

"Why would we need Pasta? I can't cook, can you?" Lucy giggles, examining the packet.

"I can make Alfredo but I'll learn more recipes." I grab the pasta from her hand and place it back inside the cart.

"I'm not Gordon Ramsay, you don't need to impress me. Just get me drunk enough and I'll give you 5 stars." She giggles loudly, making me giggle even louder and I'm so glad nobody else is occupying this aisle.

A sound behind us stops our laughter abruptly. His face looks very familiar but it isn't until I see his bright blonde hair that I remember he was with Leo that day at the diner.

"Hi." He speaks, scanning my face in bewilderment like he did that day.

"You got a problem?" Lucy steps closer noticing my discomfort at his blatant staring.

"No, uh just thought I knew you from somewhere." He explains to my intimidating friend.

Of course.

"Yes, I'm Sunniva you probably remember us from that day in the diner. I'm an old friend of Leo well uh... not friend exactly.. more like school peer." I stutter pathetically, "Well like we went to high school together. As in I went to Dolton High and so did he we. We both attended the same sch-"

"Sunny I'm sure he gets it." Lucy saves me from my word vomit.

"Yeah." I mutter and smile awkwardly at the blonde boy who I'm sure is looking to exit this conversation as quickly as possible.

"Yeah." He laughs under his breath.

We stand in awkward silence for a few seconds just staring at each other.

"Sunny invited you and your friends over for our apartment warming party.” Lucy speaks suddenly, "We’ll text you the address."

"Oh." He lifts his brows in confusion.

"I don't have Leo's number but I know Luther so may-"

"I'll give you mine." He speaks abruptly and with a sinister smile on his handsome face.

"Okay..." Lucy drawls out in a suspicious tone "I'm going to pay for these." She points to our cart and walks away slowly.

"Your phone?" He asks and I reach into my back pocket.

"I forgot, it's on Friday right?" He asks, tapping on my phone.

"Thursday actually. I start teaching at Dolton elementary this week and I volunteered to help out with the extra credit classes which is on Saturday so I can't be up too late Friday night." I over explain for absolutely no reason.

"Right." He snaps his fingers.

"Eddie." I read the name when he hands my phone back.

"Edwardo but everyone calls me Eddie." he smiles again, "You have a great day, Sunny. I'll see you on Thursday."

He holds out his hand for me to shake and I giggle at how firm he shakes mine because he doesn't seem like the handshake type.

I notice a case of beers in his hand as he walks off but by the time I make it to Lucy at the register I don't see him anywhere.

"He is very cute." Lucy wiggles her brows suggestively.

"He seems very nice." I say, choosing to ignore her look because I know how bad it gets when she tries playing matchmaker.

"I still can't believing we're inviting that asshole to our home after he got me kicked out of a club." Lucy scoffs, putting our bags in the cart.

"It was an accident, I swear. I was making conversation and then I accidentally invited him." I explain for the third time.

"Well you need to stop talking to people without me being present.” She rolls her eyes and I walk behind her as we exit the store, "One day you'll come home engaged to a stranger."

"Quit it." I laugh at my dramatic friend.

"You can't stay."

"But your bed is so much softer."

"Buy a new mattress. You're not sleeping in my bed that's why we got a two bedroom apartment"

"Fine.” I huff and glare playfully at Lucy, "But your not sneaking into my room if you have nightmares then." I threaten, getting up from her very warm bed.

"I doubt you'll stop me."

"True." I shrug before leaving her room.

My room is down the hall. I stiff up at how cold it is in my room and I have half a mind to force Lucy into letting me back in her bed.

I close the window I foolishly left open and pull the curtains open so that the full moon lights up my room. Racing to my bed I'm under my blankets in a split second and I feel my body heat up slowly.

Turning to the big star lighting up my room I notice the sad expression that Momma explained were just craters when I asked her about it as a little girl.

"Goodnight Neoma."