Sisters [book one]

Chapter Twenty

Dedicated to @Ashifili because her thoughts and ideas helped me choose what Haley's hobby should be or if I even give her! So thank you!

Chapter Twenty

This is the first time I've been to Stanford High School since I left almost two years ago.

Michele pulls into the parking lot and I stare up at the towering building, not at all like Garfield. There are only a few spaces left even though the letter said the benefit started at half-seven. It's half-seven now. Maybe they changed the time and forgot to contact me.

Michele parks the car and unbuckles her seatbelt. "You ready?" she says.

"I think so."

"You know, we can turn around and go home and forget all about this-"

I shake my head. "No, I have to do this." I climb out of the car. My feet hit the con rete ground but I feel like I'm falling.

Tonight could go one of two ways: either everyone will be totally accepting of my arrival and engage in polite small-talk or they will detest my presence. I pray it's the not the latter.

"You wanna go in?" Michele says.

I'm about to say no when a red Land Rover pulls up beside us. The door swings open and a familiar faces steps out: Cassidy. We used to be friends.

"Haley," Cassidy says, her tone surprised but not rude. She looks the same but she's wearing makeup. Her attire is jeans and a blouse, tame compared to me and Michele's dresses. My face heats up; we've overdressed.

"Hey," I say, pulling my lips up into a half-smile.

Cassidy says goodbye to her dad and says to me, "How are you?" She trots over in flats.

I'm wearing three-inch heels.

"I'm good," I say. "How are you?"

Cassidy smiles. "Yeah, I'm good too. Hey, Michele. How's it going?"

"Good thank you," Michele says. A smile is plastered across her face but I can see right through it - she has no idea who Cassidy is, despite having met her on several occasions. Cassidy used to come round my house a lot and we'd go shopping together. I wonder if she has a boyfriend, if she worries less about her grades, if she's no longer uptight. I hope Cassidy's come out of her shell. Unlike me, who's simply crawled back in.

We walk in together. There are signs leading us to the gymnasium but I know where to go. There's a long, rectangular table at the entrance with sign-in sheets, a large donation box and someone to greet us.

I stop dead in my tracks.

"Hi Abby," Cassidy says, bending over to sign-in.

Abigail doesn't reply. Her blonde hair is longer, shinier; her sparkling blue eyes are as clear as the waters of Florida. She wears a leather jacket and a floral printed skirt. She's grown since I last saw her, or maybe she's wearing heels.

"Abigail," I say.

Her smile has disappeared. "Haley."

I hide my burning cheeks by picking up a pen and scribbling my signature. I hand the pen to Michele, and I watch as Michele scrawls her name below mine. It's strange how her handwriting's the same, how she's able to remember the muscle memory to be able to spell, yet she's unable to remember any memories of us.

I look up. Cassidy's gone but Abigail still stares. I latch onto Michele's arm and pull her away.

There are hundreds of people here. Students I don't recognise are passing out drinks. I scan the gym and old faces pop up. There's a stage at the back of the room with a single microphone and a presentation with a blown-up photo of Jessica. The title: TEEN SUICIDE AWARENESS BENEFIT. A lump forms in my throat.