Cinderella Isn't Her Name

Chapter Five

Ella and Kody arrive home around one in the morning. I hear them come in, laughing and chattering as usual. They're surprised to see me still awake, and even more surprised when they see me baking cookies. Ella twirls a strand of blond hair around her finger as she steps closer to the counter, her tongue sticking out of her mouth just a tiny bit. She eyes the cookies greedily and glances up at me. "These are for me, right? Me and Kody?"

"No. They're for me," I reply.

Ella raises an eyebrow and takes a cookie, shoving it right into her huge mouth. "Oops."

Anger boils up inside of me. "Alright, fine. You take them. You take all of them. Make yourself happy. You deserve to eat as much as you want," I say, walking out of the kitchen. "You can just do what you do best: be a pig."

I don't even turn around to see her face, I keep walking toward my room and slam my newly replaced door shut. I lean against it and steady my breathing. I'm not angry, I tell myself. I'm completely calm. I nod to myself and pad over to my bed, sitting down on the edge. Ella's going to get me back for the pig comment. But for some reason, I'm not scared of her anymore. Okay, I am, but I shove the fear to the back of my head. I'm not in the mood to be scared of her. I'll be scared later. Right now, I just want to cry my eyes out and whine about how pointless everything is.

I want to run out of the house and see Ari. I want to say I'm sorry. I want to hear him say he's sorry. I want to push Ella and Kody the way they've pushed me for all these years. I want to go home, but I am home, at least in the physical sense. I haven't felt at home anywhere since Dad died, except maybe at Ari's house.

I hear Ella and Kody talking, their voices low. Probably plotting again, I think sourly, laying down on my bed. I glance at a picture of me and Ari from last summer. We're at his parents' cottage along the nearby lake. We're happy. I sigh and wish I could transport myself back in time to that moment. Then my eyes close and I fall asleep, one last tiny worry slipping out: Ari might be crying right now, because of me.

The dance at Tyler's place is on Saturday, today. I wake up around nine and stagger to my dresser, barely thinking as I grab jeans and a T-shirt. I have to talk to Ari. I hurry to the shower and finish in record time, nearly falling over as I try to quickly pull on my jeans. I dash back into my bedroom and grab my phone. A new text.

hey, i'm sorry. can we talk? It's from Ari.

My fingers find the keyboard and I begin to text back, then my bedroom door is thrown open. I jump and glare. "No barging in, Ella! Remember the rules?" I say angrily.

Ella moves her hand off the door and says, "Sorry. Mom's not here and those rules are rather old, don't you think?"

Kody is right behind her, carrying something. They enter my room and shut the door behind themselves. My heart starts pounding in my chest. Whatever they're planning, isn't good. I turn my attention back to my phone, hoping to alert Ari before they do anything. Ella snatches my phone and asks, "Oh, what do we have here? Your boyfriend again?"

"He's not my boyfriend," I protest, reaching for the phone.

Ella, being taller, holds it out of reach and grins. "Really? Then what's he apologizing about?"

"We had an arguement," I admit. "We're friends, Ella. Just friends."

This time Kody says, "Are you sure about that? You two have been spending an awful amount of time together. Plus I've caught him looking at you, at school, behind Nina's back. If I remember, he followed you into the girl's bathroom! He's not just your friend, Lu."

I take a moment to glare at her. Kody smiles back. "Don't you want to see what we got you? We got you a dress for the dance, it suits you very well," she says, unfolding the dress in her arms.