The Carepelli Summer

Chapter 9: Storytime !

"Let's go, guys," Alberta said, stomping out the house a little.
I rushed to get my shoes on. It felt weird to be in the middle of an argument between a friend and her mom. They fought like I wasn't there.

Alberta had worn the first outfit which was the dress she had put together this morning. When Avi saw it, she told her to cover up a little more. To be more modest like Adri. The comparison must've really gotten to her because at first she was just whining but after the Adri thing she fumed. She changed her whole outfit into a plain white tee and ripped black skinny jeans with simple white Nike shoes and a hot pink with black and white gym bag instead of the mini backpack she had earlier. She showed her clothes to her mother without a word and left, making me and Adri rush a little. She took her makeup tote from her bag and did a quick retouch while we walked there. We just walked a couple blocks away and we arrived at Rowan's house.

I thought the Carepellis had a big house but then it was average sized compared to Rowan's. Oddly enough, I can't believe I didn't really see Rowan as the rich kid.

When we arrived, my jaw dropped. This place looked way too high class, even for Rowan. It seemed bigger inside than outside.

"Hey, Alberta," a random guy smirked when we entered.
Alberta faced him. "Who are you?"

His smile fell.

"Michael Ingrid," Adri said. "Lead guitarist for RedNote."

He lit up. "Yeah!" He looked at her closely which made Adri uncomfortable. "You look familiar."

"She's my sister," Alberta said, as if she was trying to scare him off a little.

He raised his hands, as if he was surrendering. He glanced at me, "So who you?" He didn't seem to know if like me immediately.

"August. I'm visiting West Virginia."
"Party's only for those in our sch--"
"He's with me, too," Ally said, before he could say anymore.

"Heyy, guys!" Rowan said, trying to get through the crowd of people. He gave me a bro hug (I can almost feel Michael glare at me with laser eyes).

"I thought it was going to be a small party," I commented.

"Believe me, this is pretty small considering we're talking about the Caperelli," Adri muttered loudly. "You should've been there for his brother's parties."

Alberta went up to Rowan instantly, "Can I borrow your room, I need to change."

"Sure," Rowan answered. He turned to Adri and said, "I should introduce you to the other members of the school band. They're cool and well you guys share the same interest and like yuh the lead singer and the drummer are girls so you won't be uncomfortable. You can show them your skills." He handed her his electric guitar. "I brought my amp down here for you, too. Play something for the party? You're like the best in your family."

Alberta rolled her eyes and grabbed my arm. "Come with me." She dragged me to Rowan's room but shut the door at my face. From the other side, I could hear her groan slightly. "I hate being compared to Adri."

"Why?" I asked over the loudness of the party.

"Because!" She whined but didn't say anything for a while. "She's... she's the 'better sister'," she said so quietly I could barely hear her. She opened the room, changed into the short dress. I awkwardly looked away. I was about to leave the room but she said, "But you wouldn't understand a thing about siblings."

My jaw dropped at that comment and even though I knew she said it because of the moment, probably not because she meant it to hurt, it still got to me. It made me a little mad. she practically accidentally stabbed me with the knife she had just gotten a small cut from. "I'm sorry," I said dead-pan, ignoring how pretty she was in a dress.

She stared at me, confused. "What?"

I pursed my lips, looking down. My brows furrowed deeper.

She slanted her head and bent her knees, looking at my face which forced me to look back at her beautiful eyes. She put her hand on my arm.

I gulped. "Don't you think it was weird how I was sent here even for something bad like my grandpa's death? It's because of my mom's first trauma before this one."

"Trauma? What happened... you had a sibling?" she guessed.

Tears fought to fall but I held back. Alberta must've seen my tears even though I tried to angle my glasses in ways she wouldn't have seen my eyes. She pulled me into Rowan's room, allowing me to sit on his bed. "You miss him?"

I laughed pitifully. "His name was Ace. He was in a car accident... with my dad..."

"Oh my gosh..." she whispered.

"He had ADD which is similar to Casey's ADHD. He was calmer and yeah. he was cute. When he.. died, my mother was depressed just like how anybody else would be. During the funeral, she was quiet and still in denial. After a week, I learned she had started cutting and she had a lot of mood swings. Being bipolar apparently ran in the family and well, she was suicidal. Every time I'd see her cut..." I choked. Tears ran down relentlessly but I continued. "I tried to stop her but she would slap me or something. I was bruised and all but I wouldn't tell anyone except my best friend in fear of my mother being called out for child abuse."

"So no one really knew?"

"Not until my Aunt Miranda came to my house for my mom's birthday when middle school had already started a month ago. She saw my bruises and I told her the truth in hopes that she could help make it stop. She sent us to live at her home and so I had to move to another school. My mother went to a psychiatrist and doctors but we left out the fact she had hurt me because I told Auntie that I didn't want anyone to know. I still avoided home as much as possible and joined sports clubs and activities. I befriended the most outgoing people so I could get out of the house as much as possible. Like parties or hangouts.

"My aunt didn't do much with me either and I didn't even eat as much with them because I was often out the house with friends or usually out by myself. Aunt Miranda also tried to avoid me because she used to have a child named Evangeline who was also gone now. She was suicidal as well."

"That..."

"Sucks?" I said, finishing her sentence for her.

"I'm so sorry."

"My mom's still a good mom, it's just that she tried to keep her emotions in check all the time and the deaths were just... You know, I'm sorry. I'm talking way too much," I chuckled nervously, realizing that I don't tell people about this.

"I'm glad you told me, though." Alberta stood up and looked out the window. "The thing is, there's something you should know."

"What is it?"

She looked for a place to start. She painfully smiled. "A couple years ago, Adri and I used to be really close because of Gale but..." her eyes went all gazed up and suddenly her face contorted into anger: "HOLY SHIT." She ran out and I hastily followed her all the way to the backyard where there was a pool party. She looked like she wanted to scream but instead she ran away again.

I reluctantly followed her, almost unable to look away from Rowan who was kissing another girl.