Chapter ONE

June 10th, which was the beginning of the week I would graduate high school, was the craziest day. I woke up at home, which I hadn't done in awhile. I'd been staying at Tess' for weeks - her parents didn't mind - but I'd gone home to get some clothes, and the house had been quiet. My house being quiet was rare, so I stayed the night, sleeping in that bedroom that I'd grown up in. It had been a few days, maybe more like a week, since I'd seen my mom, but in the morning she was making breakfast, while coffee brewed.

   "Hey," I said cautiously, entering the kitchen slowly.

   "Hi, good morning. I saw your shoes at the door. I'm so glad you're here." She seemed to be in a good mood and it was too weird for me.

   "Uh, yeah. I needed some clothes, and -"

   "You can stay now, Elena," she interrupted, flipping a pancake.

   Her dark hair and eyes were not unlike my own. Paige was the one who got my dad's blue eyes and light brown, wavy hair. Mine was pin straight and my brown eyes were nothing special. I looked too much like my mother, if you asked me.

   "What do you mean?" I asked her, confused.

   "I know you've been avoiding the house, because of... you know... but Edward left. A couple days ago."

   I hadn't been expecting that, at all. "Oh, uh, sorry, Mom."

   "No, no. We just weren't happy. Don't you worry. Just come home, okay?" she went on, forcing a smile. "And tell Paige."

   I nodded, without saying anything. Now that she was alone again, of course she expected me to be back home all the time.

   "What time is your graduation ceremony on Saturday?" she asked, now flopping the pancakes onto a plate, as if this was any other morning.

   The information had been on the fridge for two weeks. This was the first time she was asking about it.

   "2 P.M," I told her.

   "Okay, great. That's great," she finished.

   I worried about her mental health but she told me she was okay. I mean, I knew she was okay, but she'd never been alone. She was a teenager when she met my dad, barely twenty-one when Paige was born. Twelve years later she started dating Edward, before her divorce was even finalized. Now, almost eight years later, she would soon be divorced again. Maybe she needed to be on her own. Maybe she'd be happier. I didn't know, but I hoped she would be okay once I was gone to college. She and I had never really seen eye to eye, but she was still my mother.

   I answered my phone at lunch that afternoon, which I almost never did. It usually remained in the bottom of my book bag.

   It was my dad.

   He had been gone for three years. Like I said, we talked often, but never in the middle of a school day.

   "Hey, dad," I said casually, as my friends around me continued on.

   "Elena, honey, I'm glad you answered!" he yelled into my ear.

   "Uh, yeah, I'm on lunch," I told him. "Everything okay?"

   "Oh, right, you're at school... sorry sweety... I just wanted to tell you this first..."

   "What, Dad?" I asked, realizing something might be really wrong.

   "Oh, nothing bad! I'm actually getting married!"

   I almost dropped my phone into my salad. "What?"

   "Yes! I asked Jenna last night!" He was so excited, I felt bad for being mortified by this.

   "Uh, wow. Okay."

   He laughed. "I know. It's a surprise. We've only been together a year -"

   "At least you're said it and not me," I laughed. "But, congrats. I know she makes you really happy."

   "Thank you, Elena. I knew you would be happy for me." He paused, then continued, "Will you tell Paige, please?"

   It was the same thing my mother had said to me that morning. Was I the only one in this family who spoke to my sister? Ever since she left the house a couple months ago to stay at Keegan's, I made sure to talk to her often, usually before bed. I didn't want her and I to really fall apart. But why was I the one who had to tell her all of the family news? And why did our parents have to make these announcements on the same day? A separation and an engagement.

   "Uh, why can't you call her yourself?" I asked him. I wasn't as careful talking to him as I was to my mother. I wasn't scared to hurt his feelings.

   "Oh, Elena. Paige hasn't been answering my calls."

   "Since when?" I wanted to know. She hadn't told me that.

   "A month? Maybe more." He sounded pretty sad about this.

   "Oh. I'll talk to her," I said quickly. My lunch was almost over.

   "Thanks, honey. Oh, and the wedding will be in six weeks. On the beach -"

   "Six weeks?" I repeated.

   "Yes, I know, it's fast. But Jenna's son, Mateo? He's leaving for the East Coast, in August. So we  want him to be able to -"

   "Six weeks?" I said again. My eighteenth birthday was in July. It was in approximately six weeks.

   "I know. I promise I tried to make it a different weekend, El -"

   "Dad." I sucked in a breath. I didn't want to do this at school. "It's fine. I have to go."

   "Elena, please come to the wedding. Paige too, I hope," he went on.

   "Uh, I'll talk to her. I'll call you soon, okay?"

   "Okay, El. Thanks."

   I ended the call and dropped my phone back into my bag. Now, my stomach felt funny. Tess was the only one who noticed that I wasn't finishing my lunch. Her short hair was cut into a perfect bob, and freckles covered her nose and cheeks. She and I had met in fourth grade, when she moved from out of state. Tess knew everything about my family, except of course what I had just learned that day.

   "You okay?" she asked, after watching me toss the rest of my lunch.

   She followed me out of the cafeteria.

   "Um," I began, not sure I wanted to talk about it there, at school. "Yes."

   "Why'd your dad call?" she asked, not convinced.

   I sighed now, feeling dread wash over me. "He's getting married."

   "Oh, wow." Her eyes were wide.

   "Yeah. In July. And he wants me to tell Paige," I went on, letting it out.

   "In July?" she asked, realizing what this meant.

   I shrugged this off. "Also, I found out this morning that my mom is getting divorced again."

   "Uh, okay. Busy day in your life," Tess laughed. "Are you really okay?"

   "I don't really have a choice," I finished, before heading to my next class.

   After school, I figured I'd just call Paige and tell her. That way, I didn't have to see her face. Her reaction. Paige was overly sensitive. She got hurt easily. But I knew I had to do it.

   I was walking home when I called her. My house was about six blocks from the school and I liked walking when the weather was nice. We were having a beautiful June.

   "Elena?" Paige answered, her voice sounding worried. "Are you okay?"

   I had really missed my sister over the past few months, but she made sure to drop by the house when she knew I was alone, or take Tess and I out for dinner on the weekends that she wasn't working. I knew she had decided not to go to college because her and Keegan were getting serious and she "couldn't imagine not seeing him every day". I also knew she was a bit broken, and Keegan made her feel better. She worked at a clothing store in the mall, and Keegan worked at his family's department store.

   "I'm fine. Just walking home," I told her, taking in a breath. I kicked a rock with my shoe, waiting.

   "Oh, good. I was actually going to call you tonight -"

   "You were?"

   "Yeah. I have something to tell you," she said, sounding hesitant.

   More news? I didn't think I could take any more.

   "Oh, well, I have some things... that I have to -" I began.

   "Elena... I'm pregnant," my sister spat out.

   I froze, hoping I'd heard her wrong. "Uh, what did you -"

   "I just had a doctor's appointment yesterday. We heard the heartbeat. I'm, like, ten weeks... that's over two months..."

   "You're pregnant?" I asked, ignoring the rest.

   "I know. It's crazy. We didn't really mean to, but... it's so amazing, Elena." Somehow, she sounded happy. Happy, that she was having a baby.

   My sister was only nineteen. Her boyfriend was twenty. She was not married. She wasn't a grown up, in my eyes. She wasn't even that mature or responsible. How was she pregnant?

   "Mom is going to kill you," I said, without thinking.

   "Shit, Elena, why would you say that?" Paige yelled in my ear.

   "Paige... I have to go." I couldn't do this anymore.

   "Elena -"

   "Sorry, I just have to... I'll call you later..."

   I dropped my phone into my bag again, fighting to keep the tears from falling down my face.