Kasey Screws Up the World (19 page)

“No.” The golf simulator made a whipping sound as Hayden swung his club. “Because she spent an hour crying to me and saying weird shit, like I was the only thing that mattered to her anymore. Um, I just met her five days ago.”

My eyes flicked to Finn, triggering heart palpitations. Did he feel the same way?

He was too busy wiping his sunglasses on his shirt. I stepped closer to Hayden. “She only wants a fling, I swear,” I said, even though I was pretty sure she’d changed her mind since she had told me that.

Hayden concentrated on aligning his next shot.

“Listen, Lara’s going to sneak out tonight to one of the clubs on shore for a little dancing therapy. Please go with her. Just for tonight. I promise after the ship docks, you never have to see her again.” I sucked in a deep breath.

“I’ll pay for your drinks,” Finn offered even though this wasn’t his battle to fight.

Hayden’s head snapped up. “I’ll think about it, dude.”

I pulled Finn aside. “Thanks.”

“We’re going too, you know.” His dimples cast grand shadows on his cheeks.

I let out a strained laugh. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not following in my sister’s footsteps any more. And who’s to say we’ll even get in? Not eighteen yet, remember?”

“All the more reason to make it a covert mission. Like real spies. Passbacks might actually work in Mexico.”

His offer was tempting, and I hoped if I could hook Lara back up with Hayden she’d be so grateful, she’d let me tagalong. She’d forgive me.

I needed this plan to work.

I took a deep breath before I pushed open the door to my room. Lara lay on her bed, eyes closed, listening to the fast beats pumping out of her earbuds. I recognized the Katy Perry song from the talent show. A plate of untouched chicken and veggies from the dinner buffet sat on the floor. I ripped the earbud out of her ear.

“Haydenwantstogooutwithyoutonight.” All the words squished together in a rush to get out of my mouth. I tried again. “Hayden wants to take you on a date.” I tugged at her arm. “Come on, get ready. He’ll be here in ten minutes.”

She put her earbud back in her ear. “I told you to stay out of it.”

“So, what?” I shouted over her music. “You’re not into him now?”

She sighed and turned off the music. “What did he say exactly?”

“He said…” I racked my brain for something, anything that might convince her. She was always so good with the boy stuff, but I knew there was one area I was better at than her. Deception. “That he realized what a jerk he was being. And he feels stupid now about standing you up and wants to make it up to you.”

The hint of a smile creased her lips and my shoulders relaxed. She pushed herself off the bed. “Fine, get the green dress from the closet.”

It wasn’t a thank you or even an apology, but I would take it if it meant she was acknowledging my existence again. Sisters were forever. Fights were temporary.

Lara paused with the lip-gloss stick at her mouth, her upper lip shiny while her lower lip showed the cracks of a night of biting. “Wait, how am I going to get off the ship? Mom and Dad are already gone and my passport is in their room.”

My skin went cold. Crap. I’d totally forgotten about that. “Don’t worry about that,” I said. I hoped once Hayden showed up, it wouldn’t matter about the passport, there were plenty of places on the ship to make out.

A knock on the door startled us both. “It’s just me,” Finn said through the door.

Lara frantically swiped eye shadow across her lids.

“One sec,” I called through the door as I threw the green dress to her. She shimmied out of her pajamas and squeezed herself into the tight-fitting dress. It accentuated her toned muscles by following her curves. I’d have to practice a thousand hours a day—and grow a few inches in height—to ever fit into a dress like that. “Lara, you look amazing.”

She traced her hands over the dress, pulling and tugging it in various directions, like she couldn’t quite trust my compliment.

I let Finn inside.

“Where’s Hayden?” Lara asked as she traced her eyes with black charcoal.

“Kase, can I talk to you?” Finn didn’t have to make any covert gestures for me to decipher the coded part of his words.
In private
. I dragged him into the bathroom.

“I know. I’m not ready yet.” I tugged at the bottom of my denim shorts. “But I waited until the last minute to tell—”

“Bad news.” Finn paced the tiny length of the bathroom. The room was so small he was only able to take one step in either direction before having to turn around. At least it kept him in close proximity to me. “Hayden’s not coming.”

I didn’t need to look in the mirror to know my face had gone white. And that took extra special talent due to the sunburn I’d acquired. “Ugh. Lara’s going to hate me again.” I dragged my fingers over the skin of my face, pulling it taught. “Wait here while I go break my sister’s heart for the second time in twenty-four hours.”

Finn followed me into the room. I shot him a dirty look as I strode toward the balcony. “Lara, can you come outside for a sec?”

She capped her mascara and bounced out of her chair. Her gait could only be classified as skipping as she approached the balcony. I shut the door behind us for privacy.

The wind sent Lara’s hair blowing around her face, a few strands sticking to her lipstick. I dug through my brain to try to find the right words. Words I hoped existed. Words that would let her down gently without putting me in the crossfire once again.

She was the one who spoke first. “Thanks, Kase. I’m still kind of pissed, but I do appreciate what you did for me with Hayden.”

A smile lit her face against the sunset. She was so beautiful when she smiled like that. My heart shattered. As soon as I told her the truth, she’d take her words back. They weren’t mine to keep.

I glanced at her pointy heels where her foot tapped to the faint music coming from the shore. Maybe I didn’t have to break her heart. I just had to give her back the most important thing she’d lost. And that wasn’t Hayden.

The plot formed in my mind as easily as if it had come from a C.I.A assignment. I’d boost her confidence with compliments before I broke the news about Hayden once we were off the ship. She’d still want to go to the club, this time with me. Once she got on the dance floor, it wouldn’t matter if Hayden wasn’t there because she’d pick dancing instead, like she always did. And I’d take my place on the sidelines where I belonged.

“Well, then let’s get those passports.” I plastered on my brightest smile, but like everything else, it paled in comparison to Lara’s. “Wait here.”

I strode toward the side of the balcony that nearly connected with the one jutting out of my parents’ room. A three-foot-long gap separated the two balconies, and between them, the ocean rippled below. There was no way I could stretch my body across, but I could use the lounge chair like monkey bars and climb across, then get the passports from their room. Of course, I’d first have to stop my hands from shaking uncontrollably.

I yanked the lounge chair in the direction of my parents’ balcony. It made a loud scraping sound that made my face crumple. I grabbed the metal bar underneath the chair and lifted it up. It took all my strength to heave the chair until the edge teetered over the top of the ledge. I braced my hands against the back of the lounge chair and slid it forward. It hovered over the water.

Lara rushed to my side and helped glide it over to the opposite balcony inch by inch until it crested the other ledge, lying parallel to the ocean below. She pressed a hand on my back to stop me. “Let me handle this part. I’ve got better balance than you anyway.”

Even though my face blanched at the thought of crawling over the gap, something about Lara’s tone ignited the long dormant competitive need that had been building inside me.

Lara tossed off her heels, one by one, and they rolled onto our balcony. “Wait, I just realized you said pass
ports
. As in plural. You’re not coming to Cancun, right? I think it should just be me and Hayden.”

I sucked in a deep breath that made my nostrils flare. “Hayden’s not coming.” If she wouldn’t go with me, what was the point of her going at all?

Lara lifted her hands from the chair like it had burned her. “Oh. My. God. You tricked me? All you do is try to sabotage me!” She stretched one leg against the ledge.

“What? No! I’m—I’m sorry you think that.” It wasn’t what I wanted to say. Not by a long shot. I replaced my evil thoughts with a reminder that I loved my sister, no matter how annoying she got. “I know I can’t change what happened, but—”

“But nothing! This meant so much to me, and you didn’t even care. What if this was my big break?” Like a gymnast, she pressed her palms against the ledge and pushed herself up. Her outstretched leg swung over the balcony and her other leg replaced it until she straddled the ledge like she was riding a horse. “Whatever. I’m going myself. Leave me alone. You ruin everything.”

“God, Lara! “ My fingers crushed the metal spine of the chair, straining from the effort of holding it up. “You have everything!” She turned her torso toward my parents’ balcony. I wouldn’t let her stop me from saying all the things I’d wanted to say for years. Our sibling rivalry had finally reached a temperature of 213 Fahrenheit. “You have a support system of friends. You’re ultra talented and on your way to big things. And Mom puts so much effort into helping you succeed, yet she considers my dancing just an extra curricular activity.”

Lara’s eyes narrowed and she climbed onto the lounge chair, swinging her butt in my face. She curled her fingers and toes underneath the vinyl bands. Every muscle in her arms and legs popped to attention, becoming defined as she elongated one arm toward the opposite ledge.

The way the vinyl bands dipped in the center under Lara’s weight resembled a smile, coaxing me to get everything off my chest. “You think I sabotaged you, but don’t you see? You’re the one wrecking things for me. You’re making me feel guilty when you should have been congratulating me.” My voice rattled. “That was my one shot to have it all too.”

It hit me: What I really needed wasn’t her forgiveness over stealing her spotlight. I needed my sister to be proud of me like I’d always been of her.

She paused, not crawling forward but also not jumping back to solid ground where she would face me like a person. Like a rival. I shushed the voice inside my head that wanted to say more, because I knew when Lara spoke again, she would say the words I’d always wanted to hear.

“Oh my freaking God. This is not about you! Stop being jealous.” Lara grabbed a vinyl band a few inches ahead and paused to test her balance before she dragged her body to meet the arm. The chair wobbled beneath her weight. I threaded my elbows through the metal frame to act as an anchor.

“Don’t climb when you’re angry.” The chair shuddered beneath my hands as Lara inched forward.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” She slapped her hand on the metal frame like she didn’t care anymore about her safety. With a burst of energy that sent me flying forward until the bar dug into my chest, she flung herself toward the middle of the chair.

Just then the sliding glass door opened. “Is everything o—oh my God!”

I whipped my head toward Finn so fast, I took the end of the chair with me. It scraped across the top of the ledge. I’d forgotten I’d left him waiting in the room.

“Stop!” Lara yelled, clutching the vinyl bands with white knuckles. “Don’t you dare mess this up for me too.”

I concentrated hard on digging my fingers around the sides of the lounge chair to keep it steady.

Finn rushed over to me and grabbed onto the chair, looping his arms above my own. “What the hell are you doing?” He turned to me with a look that made my heart stop. “This is dangerous! You could die!”

Lara’s fingers tightened on the vinyl bands. Finn’s words must have gotten to her because she twirled around on the chair too fast, too jerky.

“Whoa, Lara. Slow and steady.” Finn held up one hand like he was directing traffic.

“Yeah, Lara. Don’t be stupid.” I’d meant my words to be encouraging, but they came off condescending.

“Shut. Up.” She crawled toward me at a fast clip. The look in her eyes was venomous. The entire structure rattled beneath my hands. “We’re done.” She lunged at me in an attempt to jump back onto the balcony.

Instinctively, I backed away. I’d like to say I was trying to give her room to land, but mostly I feared she would land
on
me. When I lifted my hands from the lounge chair, the weight of it teetered off balance as the back end came up from where it rested on the opposite balcony. Finn threw his entire torso onto our end of the chair, but wasn’t fast enough to steady it. The chair skidded off the opposite balcony ledge completely.

Three screams dragged from our collective lips. The chair swung toward our balcony and smacked hard into the white railing. Somehow Lara had managed to hang on but now she dangled there, gripping the flimsy vinyl bands. They pulled away from the metal chair frame and threatened to snap off. She held on with white knuckles, trying to win the battle with gravity.

Finn turned red faced as he tried with all his strength to keep the chair that held my sister from plummeting into the ocean below.