What Lasts in Us

CHAPTER FORTY TWO

I've never been up and off the floor in record time. I shove my hand against Tori's mouth. "Dad, you have nothing to worry about," I say, even though Tori's still talking, her lips moving against my hand. She licks me, hoping I'll let her go. Hell no. "I can kick any guy's ass into next year. Tori's the one you need to worry about."

"Language," Thea mutters from her spot next to Dad.

"Believe me, we know you can handle yourself," Mum says from the kitchen. "Just like we know Tori's a lost cause."

Tori shoves my hand away. "Hey!" she exclaims.

"She's still here, love!" Dad shouts to Mum, smiling. Tori pokes her tongue out at him.

"My bad! I thought she'd left!"

Tori jumps off the couch. "Thank god we all love each other, or this would be really awkward," she says. "Buuttt–" She turns to me now, a huge grin plastered on her face. "We're going upstairs to get ready. Don't expect us to be down anytime soon, because perfection takes time."

Dad returns to his newspaper. "Sure does."

"Do you wanna come, Thea?"

Thea fiddles with her Nintendo DS, switches it off then closes it. She looks at me with her big blue eyes. "Yes please," she says. "Would I be able to go, too?"

"I don't think they'll be playing games you'll like," says Dad.

"I'll be good," Thea continues. "And I'm really good at hide and seek. No one'll be able to find me."

"I'm sorry, bubba," I say to her as I pick her up off the couch. She's starting to get too heavy to carry, but I want to hold onto this as long as possible. I love having her so small. I like being able to have such a close relationship with her. "You can help me get ready if you want."

"Blue eyeshadow," Tori says. "Bright red lipstick. I'm sure that can be arranged."

"You're so funny."

I follow Tori up to my room, Thea on my hip. It's nothing short of messy, with the piles of clothes on my bed, floor, and dresser.

Tori props herself on the end of my bed. "What are you going to wear?" she asks.

"What are you going to wear?" I shoot back at her.

"A little black dress which happens to be in my car," she replies. "Do you wanna match? Maybe go as twinsies?"

"You're kidding." I put Thea onto the bed next to her. "That'd be too weird."

"Because you're not weird anyway."

"I don't need to help what they already know," I reply. "I'm not going to exaggerate what they think they already know about me."

"Point taken."

It takes us hours to get ready. Obviously we could've had the hair and makeup done in under an hour, but between the two of us, we like to dawdle. Half the time's spent cracking up laughing as opposed to getting ready. Thea finds it boring because she has no idea what we talk about, let alone who we talk about. She does stay with us though, her attention drawn to her Nintendo DS.

I want to wear jeans; Tori wants me to wear a dress. And–

"Why can't they be wedges?" I ask her, eyeing the black heels dangling from her fingers. "You know I can't walk in those."

"You can, and you will," she says confidently. "We're gonna walk in there, and prove to everyone that you're not a weirdo. Only your parents are."

"So you don't think I should show them my mad party trick?"