Two seconds later, the loudest crunch I ever heard echoed in my head, and the world spun like a whirlpool. Within another few seconds, we were upside down and the car was filling with water.
I screamed to wake my mother, but she wasn’t moving. The next thing I remember was waking up in hospital with a tall man in a white coat shining a light into my eyes.
My mother was killed when the car hit us, apparently. And I would have drowned, but some good Samaritan saw what happened and dived into the lake to save me.
My dad told me her name was Caroline and that she wanted to remain anonymous. When I questioned that on my sixteenth birthday, my dad was finally honest about it.
Caroline shouldn’t have been anywhere near the accident site, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out she was having an affair. Kind of ironic, really. I hate lies and infidelity, but I wouldn’t be here if everyone was honest and faithful.
My dad said the drunk guy who hit us was sentenced to sixteen years in prison.
No name. No news articles. Nothing.
I call bullshit, but lying just comes naturally to my father.
And I lie too, sometimes. I didn’t get my period. I haven’t been anywhere near water since the night my mother died, and I can’t swim.
That’s why I have less than zero interest in joining in with their swimming pool antics. Maria usually thinks up an excuse for me, but she couldn’t be here tonight. She’s out on some hot date with a guy from our art class. Lucky bitch.
“Oh well,” I mumble, pulling off my baggy T-shirt. “Here goes.”
I press a flat hand to my tummy and turn sideways in front of the mirror. The black high heels I borrowed from Maria look nice, but I can’t figure out if this dress makes me look dumpy.
“Harper?” a girl says. “You in there, Harper?”
“Someone actually got my name right,” I mutter down at my battered old teddy bear. “Yeah! Who is it?”
“Christina!” she shouts.
Oh. My. God.
The panic makes my knees buckle and I flop sideways, landing on top of my childhood bear.
“Can I use your bathroom?” she yells.
My door is opening. I’m never going to live this down.
“Someone is using the one down… Eww!” The most popular girl in college is pointing at the bear I’m apparently riding.
Kill me now. “You want me to give you two a moment?”
I edge backward across the teddy, which lifts my dress so high my underwear is visible.
I mean, why wouldn’t that happen?
“Nice panties, girl,” Christina Fawkes says as I pull the bottom of my dress a little too hard. “Nice bra too. Where’d you get them?”
“Christmas gift,” I mumble as the shame sets fire to my cheeks.
“From your mom?” Christina throws a hand to her mouth. “Shit. Sorry, Harper. Me and my big mouth. Your mom’s dead, right? You have a dead mom?”
I nod. “Yeah. How did you know?”
“Oscar just told me downstairs,” she says.
The way her yellow dress hugs her massive boobs makes me feel like a teenage boy. “Oscar who?”
“Karlson. Tall boy, dreamy green eyes.”
What the hell?
I’ve had a crush on Oscar Karlson since the first day of college.
Christina smirks and winks at me. “Like him, huh?”
I shrug. “He’s okay.”
“Want me to see if he’s interested? But fair warning, he kisses like a fish.”
“Youkissed him?” I gasp.
And that right there is the reason Oscar Karlson would never be interested in girls like me.
“Yeah. Just now. That’s when he told me about your dead mom.”
“Can you please stop sayi?-“
“Ireally need to pee,” she says, pointing at my bathroom door. “Can I…”
“Oh. Umm. Yeah.”
“Great!” Apparently, sorority girls really enjoy peeing because she’s running at me. Christina grabs my arm and now she’s dragging me to my door. “You know, I can’t believe we didn’t become friends earlier.”
My eyes grow so wide they hurt. “Really?”
“Of course!” She pushes me out into the hallway. “You’re super cool. I’m gonna go pee.”
“Oh, okay.”
Christina slams my door shut, and I glance around the hallway.
“I guess I’ll just wait outside my own…room?” I mutter.
“Hey, Heather!” someone yells, and I turn to find Becca King bounding up the stairs.
“Hey,” I say. “It’s Harper.”
She laughs for no reason and pats my head like a dog. “Of course it is, sweetie!”
Thinking I can hear giggling inside my room, I press my ear to the door, but Becca grabs my shoulder and pulls me backward.
“Those shoes are divine!” she shouts in my face. “Where’d you get them?”
My dad gave me a thousand dollars and no birthday card when I turned twenty-one. He told me to “spend it on shoes,” but no way was I wasting that much cash on footwear. I ended up spending the money on tickets to a music festival with Maria. Igot these wedge heels from a thrift store in town, but I’d rather die than tell her that.
“Can’t remember.” Hearing more laughter in my room, I raise my voice. “Everything okay in there?”
“Yeah! Nearly done!” Christina yells.
“Great party!” Becca says, running down my stairs two at a time.
Popular sorority girls are strange.
Christina Fawkes pulls open my door and grabs my wrist before dragging me downstairs.
“So what’s it like having a dead mom? Do you like, miss her and stuff?”
“Every day,” I mumble, trying to keep my balance in my high heels.
“Aww. Bless you.”
The most popular girl in school pulls me through to the dining room and claps her hands.
“Quiet, everyone!” she yells.
I have no idea what’s going on, but the whole house falls silent when Christina jumps up onto my table.
“You guys seem kinda bored,” she says. “Why don’t we spice this lame ass party up a little?”
Reaching down into her mammoth bra, Christina pulls out a pink notebook, and I throw a hand to my mouth.
No. Please no…
“Let’s read some of Harper’s diary!”
TEN
Chris
“Have you seen Harper?” I ask for what feels like the thousandth time.
The stoned college kid just grins and shrugs. “Nah, bro. You have fireworks and candy coming out of your ears, dude. Neat.”
I shake my head and gaze around the garden. There must be over a hundred people out here and none of them seem to even know who Harper is. That slimeball Bryan isn’t here either.
He better not have fucking taken her.
Pulling out my phone, I walk up to the only sober-looking girl in the crowd and tap her shoulder. “Tell me you know who Harper Reeves is?”
“Yeah. This is her house, right?” she asks.
Finally! Wherever Bryan is, Harper is probably with him, so I tell the girl to stay where she is and press the phone to my ear.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.