"Yes, mom?" Angelique responded, hurrying into her room. "You needed me? Is there something wrong?"
The look on her Angelique's mother, Makayla was one of pure disgust.
"What is that on my brand new Persian rug?!" she screeched.
Angelique didn't say anything at first, but after bending down and inspecting it once again, she saw the dirty footprints that were splattered all over it.
"I have no idea where that came from, mom, I swear." Angelique told her honestly.
"Well, I believe you, but would you please be a dear and clean it up for me?" Angelique must've been making a face, because her mother quickly rushed into add. "I would do it myself, but there's a party at Mary Lou's house. You remember the Bradberry boys, don't you? Well, they've come back for the summer and we all just can't wait to catch up again!"
Great, so her parents were ditching her for the Bradberry's too.
"Yeah, sure, mom." Angelique agreed, looking up at her mother.
"Great, the cleaning supplies are in the bathroom and make yourselves some dinner before going to bed, won't you, dear?"
"Yes, mother." Angelique answered diligently.
"Good girl," Makayla turned to leave out the door, when she suddenly remembered something and turned back around. "By the way, Angelique, have you seen Amber Lily? I haven't seen for over an hour now. Wasn't she in the garage with you? Why didn't she come on up with you?"
Angelique didn't want to lie to her mother, but she knew she would figure it out and she'd get in trouble for it. But, she also couldn't snitch on her sister or she'd get mad at Angelique and get her back for it as well.
"Oh, she's around...here somewhere." She answered quietly.
Angelique looked at everything in the room except for her mother, but Makayla still somehow found out she was lying.
"Oh, don't lie to me like that!" She swatted at the air. "I know she's out with the Bradberry boys. She somehow figured out that they were coming home for the summer and went all out with her makeup and clothes. Guess she wanted to make a good impression. Well, take care and be safe at home, I'll be back soon. But, uh, don't wait up for me."
"Bye mom." Angelique said sadly.
"Toodle-oo!" Her mother blew her a small kiss and waved at her with two fingers before walking out the door.
Angelique nodded to herself and wet her chapped lips. She turned around and walked into her mother's bathroom. She was immediately hit with the scent of vanilla - her mother and sister's favorite - and honey - her father, Ricard's favorite.
Angelique grabbed a small bucket, a rag, yellow gloves and a spray. She walked back into the room and dropped down to her knees and started rubbing away at the dirt on the rug. Angelique scrubbed vigorously and used all the anger she had inside her as an extra use of power.
While Angelique was busy playing 'maid' in her own house, Amber Lily was off having the time of her life with the two best guys in the whole world.
"Whoo!" She squealed at the top of her lungs. "This party is ama-zing!"
When Amber Lily had stepped out of the garage for a few minutes to breathe. A person could only take so much gasoline and smoke without feeling nauseous and Amber Lily had reached that point a long while ago.
She seriously couldn't understand how Angelique could possibly enjoy being stuck in an overfilled, cramped, dirty garage all day and not utter a single complaint about how hot it was or how tiring it was fixing cars.
But then again, Amber Lily was pretty glad that Angelique spent all her free time fixing up cars for the neighbors, because that left her frazzled and dirty all the time and gave Amber Lily the advantages of always looking her best whether she was trying to or not.
Anyways, when she stepped to her curb, she looked around the block wanting to make sure no one was around when she pulled out a cigarette and her lighter. But, she never got the chance too because at that same moment, a patch of short black hair got into her view.
"Amber Lily? Is that...?" The voice sounded hesitant and unsure. "Is that really you?"
There was a part of her that knew who it was in front of her, but there was a bigger part of her that couldn't believe it.
"And you are...?" She raised an eyebrow.
"It's me, Deven! Remember Deven Bradberry?"
"Oh my god, it is you!" Amber Lily jumped up and grabbed Deven's arm. "What are you doing here?!"
"Hey, is that any way you treat your childhood best buddy?" He chided her.
Amber Lily giggled. "Oh, you know what I mean! But, seriously, what-!" She suddenly gasped. "Is Zach here too?!" She started looking behind Deven and across the street.
"Really? You've forgotten all about me but you still remember him?" Deven scoffed, feigning hurt. "I swear, you're gone for like three years and a half years and it's like the whole world's been turned upside down."
"Oh, come on, Devi, stop messing messing with me!" Amber Lily ducked her head.
"Oh, alright! Come here! Give old Devi a hug!" He had stretched his arms out wide for her.
And that was how Amber Lily had learned that due to Zacharia's excessive partying, their parents were sick of them always coming home to see the house a mess that they decided that instead of going to Hawaii for the summer, they were returning to Texas.
And that was also how Amber Lily had planned the whole meeting with Zacharia. She knew guys were into cars and stuff, and since she was always being forced to work in the garage with Angelique, why not use that to her advantages? She wore her favorite outfit and sprayed on perfume by Britney. Then at exactly eight thirty, she got ready in a position she knew no boy could ever resist.
Sure, meeting Zacharia after so many years would've been better if it were only the two of them and there was no annoying older sister of hers or younger brother of Zack's tagging along. But, sometimes you get what you get and you just have to make the best of it.
And this party was definitely something she could make the best out of it for whatever guilt trip the guys were trying to put her on for leaving Angelique back at the garage like that. She was doing her a favor to begin with; Angelique didn't even like parties. Not that she'd ever been to one. And anyway, she'd be worried over everything! She'd do no doubt have embarrassed Amber Lily to the point of no return.
And Zach and Deven were Amber Lily's friends; they didn't even know Angelique. She wouldn't have been able to have fun with them at all. She was better off at home.
With those thoughts in her head motivating her, Amber Lily let loose and spun around happily.
"Whoo!" She let out another cry. "I love that you two are back!"
"Aw, so are we, Amby baby." Zach told her, slinging an arm around her shoulders.
"Yeah, you really make this place worth coming back to." Deven added, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Amber Lily ignored the fact that Deven's hands were somewhere they didn't belong and turned her attention towards Zack who was absentmindedly squeezing her shoulder.
Together, all three of them walked down to the shore where the water was and greeted some old friends that they went to middle school with. The Bradberrys had moved away right after the summer before their freshman year of high school, but nothing much had really changed.
All three of them were still crazy popular and the best at everything. Deven was the smartest for his age and could play almost every instrument. Zacharia was not only the hottest guy at his high school, but also multi-talented. He could sing, dance, cook. It was as if the Bradberry Brothers could do it all. Amber Lily was pretty, sweet, was great at acting in plays and performances.
The only thing that's changed in all three of them was that Deven was always following his older brother around and taking part in his nuisances. Zacharia was becoming a bigger player with the days that went by and was getting into more and more trouble. And Amber Lily was no longer that nice and sweet girl she used to be. High school had gotten to all of them and since they weren't all together from their first day on, things have happened to ruin their once perfect personalities.
Amber Lily was sure that over the two months that she'd be spending with Zacharia and Deven, they'd somehow go back to being the perfect group of The Triumph Threesomes that they used to call themselves; she was really looking forward to it.
Zacharia and Deven were what made Amber Lily's life actually worth living, or else it was just a cloud of the same old boring routine everyday.
Amber Lily didn't plan to be home till pretty late and she wasn't worried overt the fact that her parents would be pissed at her; Angelique would cover for her just like she always did. She was so used to it that Amber Lily didn't even have to remind Angelique anymore.
She was a good sister, but Amber Lily was even an even better one - or so she thought.
"Hey, what kind of drink do you want?" She heard a voice ask.
It was Zacharia. He stood with three different kinds of bottles in his hands. "Beer, tequila, or vodka?"
"Oh, um..." Amber Lily had no idea what was appropriate for this kind of thing.
"You've had alcohol before, haven't you?" Deven narrowed his eyes at her.
"Of course I have!" She snapped at him. "I'll have whatever you guys are having."
"Well, we're starting with beer as usual and then we go through each drink after like an hour or forty-five minutes later." Zacharia explained to Amber Lily.
"Then I'll do that too." She smiled.
By the time, Amber Lily had tasted all three of the drinks, she had broke into a sweat and felt all giggly and sweet on the inside.
"Ooh, let's go dance!" She grabbed the guys' hands and pulled them closer to the fire where mostly couples were.
By the third dance, Amber Lily had stripped off her crop top blouse and was swinging it in the air, stripper style. The guys watched her with matching amused looks and soon joined in along side her.
While they were busy having the time of their lives, Angelique was at home wasting away her life.
That was exactly the way things have been for the two sisters and that was exactly the way things would've remained if not for the Bradberry Brothers' sudden appearance and presence for the rest of the summer.