Three Strikes (Four of a Kind Book 3)

by Kellie Bean

  I want to turn and give my sister a hug, but I'm not quite ready to stop looking at myself yet.

  "You like it?”

  "Yes! It's perfect!"

  I can't wait to show Rosie.

  My parents insist on one last ‘first day of school’ picture before Dad drops us off. An hour later, and by the time I lean over to hug him from the passenger seat, his eyes are watering a little, full of pride.

  I step out of the car and into the sunlight, feeling everything at once. I can’t help but feel a mixed-bag of emotions. Happy, sad, overwhelmed. We've had twelve years of this, of starting school together. Not one of us knows what our lives are going to look like by this time next year. So, I want to take a second to commemorate the moment. The moment is soon cut short when Reece takes off as soon as her feet hit pavement, making a beeline for some group of friends or another.

  "You okay?" Reagan asks, knocking her hip against mine.

  I shrug. She wouldn't have asked if she didn't already know the answer.

  "Just feeling all the things today. I'm all over the place."

  "That's totally fair," Rhiannon says with a nod that declares her word as law.

  She casts a quick glance over her shoulder before returning her gaze to mine.

  "Don't worry about me," I say. "Go do what you've gotta do."

  "Are you sure?"

  She's gone before I even finish nodding.

  Reagan and I end up around the back of the school with all of her friends. Rosie finds me quickly, her hand finding mine within seconds of our joining the group, before she pulls me in for a kiss. The kiss is nothing showy, and it's over so quickly that I barely have time to enjoy it. And still, the kiss makes a statement, that's for sure.

  It takes everything in me not to look around to see how many people were watching. Instead, I let my eyes stay on hers for a few seconds before she squeezes my hand again. It's all going to be okay.

  "Does anyone else have Erikson for English first period?" Rosie's friend Frank asks from beside me, pulling me back to reality.

  Everything will be okay, I repeat to myself.Despite feeling calmer, it's still going to be a long day of keeping my chin up, and doing my best impression of someone who doesn't care what other people think.

  Wait! Frank's question registers in my mind just as everyone else has moved on, talking about plans for the weekend. My first class of the day is Mrs. Erikson for English.

  Now I'm going to look like an idiot when I follow him across campus when the warning bell rings.

  Yeah, not caring what other people think might not be my strong suit.

  "We just have to get through four days," Kent says, answering a question I didn't catch, "Then it's our first weekend as seniors! As well as a certain birthday hootenanny." He leans over, wrapping his arm around my sister's shoulders.

  Like practically every year before, our birthday falls on the first week of school this year, two days from now. We're having one big party on Saturday night, rather than trying to pull off four separate ones all while balancing the beginning of senior year.

  There's no real plan, but I'm still looking forward to it, and the chance to see if maybe some of my friends here in Fairview would get along with Rosie's. So far, we've mostly been hanging out with her friends, which totally makes sense as it's easier. But, I barely saw Sarah or anyone else over the summer.

  With a new birthday and a new school year, it's all a fresh start to turn things around. I hope I can be at least a little better than I was before.

  "Hey," Rosie says, whispering in my ear, her breath tickling against the side of my neck. "I meant to ask you something earlier. I was wondering, could I steal you for a little while tomorrow night?"

  I turn back to look at her, tuning out the rest of the world in the process.

  "Don't worry," she says, "I haven't forgotten about the tradition with your sisters for right before midnight. I'd just love to see you before that. I just wanted to give you something, so you'll have it with you from the very second you turn seventeen."

  "You’re–" I start to say, already half-reconsidering. I do want to spend every second I can with Rosie, but the closer I get to turning another year older, the more weirdly sentimental about the whole thing I seem to be getting. I'm being silly. The last night of being sixteen shouldn't mean anything at all. It's just day three-sixty-five of the same thing we've been for the past year. Everyone already has somewhere to be on the actual night of our birthday, so the night before is supposed to be the one that's just for us.

  "It's just that this is—"

  "Your last birthday at home with your sisters." Rosie gets it right away. Without my having to explain anything. "I promise I won't let you miss midnight. It's not like my mom would let me stay out that late anyway."

  I open my mouth to respond, to surrender, but she stops me before I can start.

  "Nope. You know what? I'm nothing if not adaptable." Rosie says with only the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "How about the night of your birthday, after you have dinner with your family? We'll do something special, just you and me."

  Everything about this sounds completely perfect. I'm already smiling, so Rosie must know my answer. I'm pretty sure my heart is glowing inside of my chest right now.

  How did I get this lucky? Squeezing Rosie's hand in mine, I nod a few times, probably too enthusiastically to look like a totally sane, normal girlfriend.

  "I'm all yours."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The next day after dinner, I'm wired with excitement. Turning seventeen has never seemed like any sort of a real milestone, just a waypoint between two huge birthdays. But, for a million different reasons, this feels like it's going to be the best one yet.

  Before the presents, parties, or my date night with Rosie, comes one of my favorite moments of every year. We're still almost an hour away, but I can't seem to sit still! I keep flitting between each of my sisters, making sure I know where to find them when the time comes. Reagan's in her room playing City of Ages; she promised me that the quest she's on will be done with plenty of time to spare. Rhiannon is probably asleep already, but she'll get up when I ask her too.

  Which leaves Reece, who has been in her room for an hour now. Since I've got nothing else to do as I can't just sit and wait patiently, I head upstairs to go find her, being careful not to be too noisy as I pass Rhi's new room in the process. It's a courtesy Reece doesn't seem to have thought of.

  I can hear her before I reach the closed door to her room. There’s an edge to her voice as she talks to someone on the phone.

  I'm about to turn around when I catch, "I don't want to talk about this anymore, John. It's fine, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

  That is not at all the tone of voice I'm used to hearing from Reece when it comes to her boyfriend, John.

  Not my business, I remind myself, already walking away when I hear a heaving sob. I open the door to her room before I can think to stop myself, looking around in a panic until I find Reece sitting on her bed, knees curled up against her chest. She’s wearing a pinched expression and fighting back tears, her eyes bright pink.

  "What happened?" I ask, pressing my lips together.

  I hate to see anyone hurting, so seeing Reece looking this vulnerable twists my gut harder than most. She's fearless, unstoppable.

  "How much did you hear?" Reece asks, her face flushing an even darker red.

  I rush to reassure her.

  "Nothing. I came upstairs like thirty seconds ago to see if you wanted to hang out for a bit. What's wrong?"

  Every part of me wants to lean in and hug her, to stroke her hair like our dad used to do when we were hurting, but that's not what Reece needs. She'll push me back as soon as I get too close, so I settle for sitting on the edge of her bed, stretching my legs out so they're only a few inches from Reece's toes. Close, but not too close. There just in case she needs me.

  Reece doesn't say anything. I can tell she's stuck in her
own head.

  "If John did something, I am prepared to fight him if you need me to."

  A choked laugh spills out of Reece's mouth, tension in my own chest easing off.

  "He didn't do anything. Actually, that's not fair. He's done everything. He's like the dream boyfriend. It's me."

  "You're perfect!" I counter automatically.

  "Yeah, that's what he said too. I can tell though, he's not...happy. It's been like this since soccer tryouts started up. He wants to see me all the time. I want to see him too, of course, I just have a lot of other stuff going on, you know?"

  I nod, even though I feel just a little like I've been slapped across the face. I had no idea they were fighting. Searching my memories, I know I saw John here a few times over the summer. Reece talked about him a lot, I think.

  Or maybe, that was just her talking about the sex thing.

  "You guys are great together," I answer, because I'm not sure what else to say.

  "He'd be great with anyone. He's the best."

  "You guys love each other," I say. "I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out."

  After a second, Reece nods. "I know. Tomorrow night, we're going out with a bunch of the girls from the team, their boyfriends too. Just for ice cream, hanging out at Karen's house. It'll be fun. Then on the weekend, we're both helping out at the adoption fair, so I'll get to see lots of him."

  "Perfect," I say, just as Reagan comes in through the open door, carrying a massive pile of pillows.

  "Am I late?"

  I look down at my phone for the time. We still have a while to go before we usually all gather together in one room, but I'm all for getting a little extra time with my absolute favorite humans.

  "Nope. Can you go wake Rhiannon though?" I ask.

  Reagan groans, throwing all of the pillows down on the floor in front of her, before she does like I asked. No one likes to be the one to wake the beast. Still, if there's any day that Rhi won't fight having to get a little less sleep than she's used to, it's today.

  My excitement from earlier returns. This is it. The official end to last year and the beginning of a new one.

  Fifteen minutes later, the four of us have made ourselves a nest on the floor beside Reece's bed, taking all of the blankets and pillows we could find, and stacking them together until we manage something that's actually comfortable.

  My head rests on Reece's knee, while my legs sprawl awkwardly across Rhiannon's back. Ray sits up on the other side of our little makeshift structure, her crossed legs tucked under Rhiannon.

  "So," I ask after taking a long breath, "how do you guys think this last year went?"

  "Four stars," Reagan answers first. "Pretty solid. I'm so ready to be done with high school."

  I'm probably a little biased because of the last couple of months, but it's hard for me to remember the last year as anything but perfect.

  "Five stars," I say.

  "Agreed," Reece answers next. My eyes dart up to her face, and I find her already looking back down at me. She gives a quick nod. She's okay. "This year felt like it was one of my best."

  "No kidding," Rhiannon answers. "You got the guy, saved the day, and got your face all over the news." I can't see Rhi's face, but her voice holds nothing but absolute respect for everything Reece did last year. "I'll give mine four stars too. I'm with Ray; I'm so ready to start university it's not even funny."

  All I can hear is that she's so ready to leave, to turn her back on this house and this town, to start her own life. I want her to be happy, I remind myself, ignoring the pinch of sadness that's edging into my good mood.

  "Do you think this is the last time we'll ever do this?" I ask, breaking with tradition. All three of my sisters turn to look at me.

  I want someone to ask what I mean, to tell me I'm crazy. But by the way they're all watching me, waiting for someone else to speak first, I know they've all thought about it.

  "Who knows where we'll all be by this time next year," Reece says, her voice a little wistful.

  "Hopefully not too far apart," Reagan says.

  That's what I want too, but I don't know how realistic it is. Between Reece's talent and Rhiannon's grades, my sisters could end up anywhere.

  "There's always video chat," Rhiannon points out.

  Which could mean she has no intention of staying close.

  I take a long breath and steady myself.

  "Right! We still have this year!"

  I'm not going to let the future ruin this for any of us.

  "We're seniors now, baby!" Reece says too loudly, pumping her fist into the air.

  "Shh!" I say, reaching up to poke her in the ribs. "Mom and dad are sleeping."

  We all know that there's no way our parents will give us a hard time for staying up too late, not tonight. It doesn't take long for all of us to devolve into a fit of giggles, which somehow manages to lead into all of our guesses about what the next year will hold for us. We've moved onto some pretty ridiculous ideas, like Rhiannon joining both the drama club and the soccer team in an attempt to beef up her extracurriculars, and to be declared the best and brightest of the Donovan sisters once and for all.

  When the midnight alarm goes off on my phone, we all scramble to say happy birthday, not quite managing to be even a little in unison. It doesn't matter. This was perfect.

  It's another twenty minutes before things quiet down, and my eyes are starting to drift closed. I'm already half asleep when something tugs beneath my feet, sending my heels banging against the hardwood floor. My eyes flick open to find Rhiannon standing above me, her own blanket and pillow in hand.

  "You're leaving?" I ask. Reagan is already standing up too.

  "Yeah?" She sounds a little confused by the question. "I need to get some sleep."

  I push myself up to sitting, leaving the warmth of the blankets that surround me. "Right, I didn't realize how late it is."

  No one else protests as we all take our stuff, heading to our own corners of the house, leaving Reece behind. I guess this was always the plan...I just didn't see it. I get it, or at least I'm trying to. Our lives are busier now and none of us does well with a lousy night's sleep, which is what we probably would have gotten on the floor.

  Just because our little ritual is done, doesn't mean today isn't still going to be amazing. It's officially our birthday, which can only mean good things are coming.

  I'm just going to have to learn how to say goodbye to some of the little things that have gotten us this far.

  Not looking forward to that, not at all.

  By the time our birthday dinner with our parents ends, I've forgotten to be sad about not waking up with my sisters on our birthday for the first time ever. Today was perfect. My classes were all easy, Reagan's friends got cupcakes for both of us at lunch time, and my parents got me a new watercolor set that I hadn't even thought to ask for. Dad even made vegetarian chili just for me, so I had something of my own to enjoy while my sisters all had spaghetti with meatballs.

  We even make it through my parents’ retelling of the day we were born without anyone teasing them.

  It's all perfectly, wonderfully nice.

  Then the doorbell rings.

  "Your friends are early," Mom says, already standing to collect our dishes from the table.

  We'd had strict instructions that we were going to be spending time as a family until seven, then we were all free to spend a few hours of our birthday night with whoever we wanted to.

  "Nothing to worry about," Dad says, exaggerating a wink. "I cleared this one. Reece, you might want to get that."

  My sister squeals and leaps up from the table, almost knocking over her chair as she scrambles down the hallway.

  "It's John," my dad explains once she's out of earshot. "He planned something special for the two of them tonight."

  "Aww," I say, smiling.

  "Cute," Rhiannon adds.

  "What are you doing tonight?" I ask her, not wanting her to feel left out that she's the only one
not going on a date tonight.

  "Marie, Jake, and I are going to see a movie. My pick. Then I think the plan was pizza. I'm not sure I can eat anything else."

  When I get up to try and help load the dishwasher, my parents quickly shoo me away with a reminder that I should be having fun tonight. I've still got another few minutes before I'm supposed to leave. Plenty of time to get changed and run a brush through my hair. Rosie and I are meeting at the park, so I tried not to get overdressed. Whatever Rosie has planned tonight, I want to look my best. For her.

  When I pass the living room on my way upstairs, I'm surprised to see Reece and John are still here, talking on the couch. A bouquet of flowers sits abandoned on the coffee table.

  A grin escapes onto my face when I catch sight of the silver tie John's wearing over his black button up. He's going all out for my sister tonight.

  Freaking adorable.

  By the time I make it back down to my bedroom, after stealing some eyeshadow from Reece's room in the attic, raised voices are drifting up from the living room.

  John and Reece are talking over one another, too quickly for me to catch all of it.

  I freeze in place, glued to the landing as I try and figure out what's happening. What did I miss?

  Reece is yelling now. She doesn't sound angry, more tired.

  Someone grabs my wrist, and I turn in time to see Reagan pull me into her room. Rhiannon is already sitting in the chair in front of her desk.

  "What's happening?" I ask, looking frantically between them.

  "I don't know, but Reece seems pissed."

  My brows furrow together. "Why? It looks like he's trying to do something special for her."

  Rhiannon shrugs. "From what I've heard, I think she had other plans. With her friends or something."

  "Right!" I say, remembering our conversation from the night before. "They were going to go out with some of her soccer people."

  "I think John cancelled on them without telling her," Reagan says. "At least, I think that's what he said."

  "You were listening downstairs?" I ask.

  Reagan shrugs, the motion almost identical to Rhiannon's from a second ago. "Not on purpose. Reece is kind of loud."