Risks of Absurdity

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Prom night, yay—no, I still hadn’t warmed up to the idea of getting dressed up and going to a school dance where I had to pretend to be someone I wasn’t, to be something I wasn’t. I wanted to stay home and order pizza to eat in front of the TV with all the movies I could find, but my annoying little sister was still blackmailing me.

Andrea picked the dress, the shoes, she did my hair and make-up all how she wanted. I was forced to sit in a chair and be her little werewolf doll. I wasn’t going to let her get away with this. I was going to come up with the ultimate payback and something like that would take planning, more time than I had before the prom.

“You’ll thank me for this.” Andrea boasted, powdering my face with something.

“Oh yeah, and then when I make your life hell you’ll thank me too. Just because I’ve let you get away with a lot of stuff lately, doesn’t mean I forgot how to be a bitch.” I had to blame this on Logan’s attack. The night shook my confidence and I was being way too passive.

Andrea put the brush back on the dresser, placed her hands on her hips, and stared me down. “I’m doing this to help you. You agreed to go to the prom because you were jealous Austin was going with Starr.” Damn her for getting so smart. “Now do you want to go in jeans or do you want to be the second hottest girl there?” on the other hand, her ego and confidence was stronger than ever. 

I laughed; just like that I wasn’t angry anymore. “You’re crazy, far worse than I’ve ever been.” I was a little terrified to see what she’d become in a few years.

“Trust me, you’ll thank me for it.”

The dress was a deep purple, s strapless sweetheart neckline, with a layered skirt made out of something fluffy I didn’t know the name to. It was girly, cute, and perfect for a senior prom. It was times like this I had to remember I was only eighteen and I didn’t have to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. The shoes were black with a decent size heel and made out of suede. Andrea curled my hair and left it down around my face. Before the night was over I knew I’d end up tying it all back.

It was Andrea’s turn to get dressed and that left me with a lot of time to kill. I decided to go check in with my date.

Martin opened the door after my second knock. “Whoa, you look smokin’.” He was fifteen but when I looked at him, I still saw the ten year old whose dessert I used to steal.

“That’d be sweet if you weren’t having boner dreams about my sister.”

“Hey, don’t be like that. I have boner dreams about you too, Syd.”

“Gross! Where’s Jonathan, you perv?”

“Are you sure you don’t mean Austin?” he started to make kissing sounds and I knew I had to kill him. Damn it, did everyone in the Carter household know something happened with me and Austin? I didn’t have time to ask exactly what Martin knew, because I started chasing him around the house with my heels in my hands as weapons to clobber him with.

Upstairs I lost him. I found Chris standing in his doorway. “Do you see where Martin went?” The toddler laughed and shook his head no. “No you don’t know? Or no you won’t tell me?” pack mentality was strong and it was even stronger within a family. If Chris thought for a second I’d really hurt his brother, he’d never tell me a thing.

Chris pointed to Austin’s door. “There.”

Of course Martin would hide in the last spot he’d think I’d check. The joke’s on him.

“Thanks, little man.” I knocked on Austin’s door. He opened fairly quickly. It didn’t look like he was expecting me. I didn’t really visit their house unless it was to spend the night because my folks were out of town. I got to the point. “Is Martin hiding out in your room?”