Impostor (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

L
ater that afternoon, I’m sitting on my bed, staring at the  necklace Lydia gave to me in the diner. The sunlight streaming through my window illuminates the diamond, and I can see angles and shapes, deep inside, that I never noticed before. It is so familiar, the stone I saw on my mother’s finger whenever she pushed me on a swing or stirred marshmallows into a mug of hot cocoa for me.

I pick up the necklace and hold it before me, swinging like a pendulum. I’m overcome with the need to put it on, to hold that part of my mother close to my heart. My hands shaking, I fasten the clasp around my neck, and then look down. The pendant rests at the hollow of my throat as if it was always meant to be there.

My eyelids start to droop, and I lower myself onto my pillow. These last few days have been exhausting. I allow myself to drift away, and the edges of the room become fuzzy. Then all is black.

I’m standing in our kitchen, rinsing tomatoes in the sink. My hands scrub the dirt from the firm, red fruit. The fingers are long, tipped with pale pink nail polish. I’ve slid into Lydia. She must have left some emotional residue on the necklace. Maybe she misses my mother more than I realized.

I hear my father’s voice, talking about something funny that happened at work today, a story about a nurse whose husband sent her a gift certificate to a nearby gym for their anniversary. He sounds relaxed and happy—the most carefree he’s been in months.

“How horrible,” Lydia says, but her giggles betray her. She glances up from her work to smile at my father, who takes her laughter as a sign of encouragement and launches into another story.

I should be glad that my father has someone to tell his boring stories to, someone who appreciates them more than Mattie or I do. But I can’t help but feel disgusted. Why didn’t he tell me the truth about Lydia? Is he starting to have feelings for her again? Do I detect a note of flirtation in his jokes?

When I slide out of the domestic scene, I am immersed in dread. Lydia said she wanted to get to know us better, really be a part of our family. Could she have meant that literally? She’s already won over my sister. What if she puts the moves on my father? Is it possible she could be aiming to reclaim his affection?

I sit up and look around. My room is just as it was when I fell asleep, the violet walls darkening as the sun dips lower in the sky. The chain around my neck pulls taut, caught on a knot in my hair. I look down in dismay at the necklace. If I wear the necklace, I will always risk sliding into Lydia. It’s now tainted.

I reach behind my neck and undo the clasp, pulling the necklace free. Carefully, I return it to the red velvet box and hide it in my bottom drawer, along with Scotch’s father’s glove and the various other items I’ve collected that allow me to slide into others.

I go to my mother’s rocking chair and sit down, pressing my face against the wood worn smooth over the years. I close my eyes and think of her and my father, how they used to laugh together in the kitchen while they prepared dinner. Now, Lydia is the one making my father smile, and I can’t stand it.

My father and Lydia are strangely giddy at dinner. They’ve each had a couple of glasses of wine, and they keep looking at each other and grinning and then looking away. Their thinly veiled flirtations make my stomach churn.

My father’s eyes gleam as he laughs at one of Lydia’s stories about her students in California. It must be impossible for him to not see Mom in Lydia when he looks at her. Doesn’t he see that it’s a betrayal, for him to reconnect with Mom’s sister?

Mattie, not seeming to notice the shift in tone between my father and Lydia, scoops a bite of spaghetti into her mouth. “Mmmm,” she says. “This sauce is delicious.”

“That would be Lydia’s doing,” my father says. “She shared a new recipe with me.” I think of my mother’s cookbook, stashed away, forgotten. What was wrong with
her
recipe?

“Hey, Dad. Did you decide whether I can go to that movie with Russ and Vee and Rollins Saturday night?”

My dad’s pleasant expression fades, replaced with confusion. “I’m sorry. Vee and Rollins and
who
?”

Mattie turns her attention to me. “Didn’t you talk to him yet? God, you’ve had forever.”

“Talk to me about what?”

“Russ is this guy from school. He’s a senior, but he’s really only Vee’s age. He’s just supersmart. He asked me out. I thought it would be okay if we doubled with Vee and Rollins.”

Dad crosses his arms. “Well, there’s just one problem with that. Vee is grounded.”

“What? You didn’t tell me that,” Mattie says to me. “Why are you grounded?”

I shrug, giving her a pointed look. “
You
don’t tell
me
a lot of things.”

Lydia jumps in. “It’s just a movie, Jared. What kind of trouble can she get in there?” I glare at her. I don’t need anyone to stand up for me, especially
her
.

Seeming to forget about my punishment, Mattie continues to nag my father. “Yeah, Dad. We’ll be home by midnight. Eleven, even. We’ll go to the early show.”

Lydia touches my father’s arm. “What do you say, Jared?”

He takes another bite of spaghetti. “Fine, fine. Be home by midnight.
Both of you
.” His final words are directed at me.

“Does this mean I can start hanging out with Rollins again?”

My father exchanges a look with Lydia. “I suppose so. As long as you never stay out all night again. Is that clear?”

I nod. Lydia gives me a look like she’s done me some big favor. I take a bite of my pasta and make a face, showing what I think of her special recipe.

Chapter Twenty-Five

T
he next morning, I find Lydia making a pot of coffee. I turn on my heel, hoping to avoid conversation, but it’s too late. She sees me.

“Good morning, Vee.”

Reluctantly, I turn back. “Oh, hey.” I grab a banana from the counter and peel it slowly, avoiding eye contact. I’m grateful for being ungrounded, but the fact that she had anything to do with it irritates me to no end.

“Are you ready to go? I just need to grab my purse, and then I’m all set.”

I blink. “Rollins is coming to get me. He always gives me a ride, and now that I’m not grounded anymore . . .”

“Oh.” She looks disappointed.

I take a bite of my banana and throw the peel in the trash. “Yeah.”

Lydia takes a step toward me. “Vee, why are you so hostile toward me?”

I finish chewing and swallow. “It’s simple. You disappeared for twenty years and then just showed up and expected us to welcome you with open arms, like nothing ever happened. You want to instantly be part of our family, but you haven’t done the legwork. To me, there’s something just a little bit creepy about that. Especially now that I know you have a past with my father. Does he know that you go by the name Lila Harrington these days?”

My last words hang in the air between us.

Lydia crosses her arms over her chest. “You went through my things.”

There’s no point in trying to deny it. “Yeah, I did. You didn’t answer my question. Does my father know about your new name? Or that you left a fiancé behind in California?”

“Vee, my past is . . . complicated. I’d rather not discuss these issues with your father, if it’s all the same to you.

“Look,” I say. “Either you tell my father, or I will.”

We are staring at each other when Mattie comes sailing into the room.

“Hey, we needed to leave like ten minutes ago. I’m supposed to retake a Spanish quiz this morning.”

Someone honks in the driveway. Rollins. Right on time.

“I’ve got to run. I’m sure Lydia won’t mind giving you a lift.”

I walk out of the room, leaving Mattie with her new best friend.

The hallway is filled with the rubbery squeaks from wet sneakers. Even though it’s a Friday, everyone seems muted, like they’re all actually asleep but just going through the motions. I’m standing with Rollins at his locker, flipping through his iPod while he locates his math book.

Anna appears from out of nowhere. “Hi, Vee.”

“Hi,” I say curtly.

Rollins straightens up. “Oh, hey, Anna. How’s it going?”

“Great. I’m soooo excited to see
Scar IV
tomorrow night.”

Rollins flicks his eyes toward me. “Shit. I forgot to tell you. Anna asked if I’d go to the movie with her. Since you were grounded, I said yes.”

I try to make my expression neutral, like it’s no big deal. They’re friends. That’s a thing that friends do together, right? They go to the movies. They hang out. There’s absolutely no reason for me to be angry.

“Oh, really? Well, actually, my dad ungrounded me. So I can go.” I fix my eyes on Anna to see if this news disappoints her. She doesn’t bat an eyelash.

“Great,” she says. “So I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I guess so.”

“Well, then. Later.” She flips her hair and winks at Rollins before turning to leave. Really? Who
winks
at their friends?

I don’t have time to get bent out of shape about the wink, though, because Rollins enfolds me in his arms. He stuffs his hands into my back pockets and snuggles close for a kiss. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish Anna would turn around right now and see us.

“Mmmmm, I’m glad your dad ungrounded you,” he whispers in my ear.

“Me too.”

I’m enjoying the feeling of Rollins’s breath against my neck when I notice Regina farther down the hall, shoving her backpack into her locker. I break away from Rollins. “Hey, I’m going to be late. See you at lunch?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

Regina looks up as I approach her. Am I imagining things, or does guilt flit across her face? She turns back to her locker, looking into the magnetic mirror stuck on the door, fluffing her hair. It’s fallen flat from the rain, and no amount of fluffing will save it.

“So I hear you went to visit Scotch yesterday.”

“Oh, yeah. I just wanted to see how he was doing.” She won’t look at me.

“And how is he?”

“Still unconscious. But I talked to him for a long time. And once, I swear, he squeezed my hand.”

“So did you meet his parents?”

She shakes her head quickly. “No, they’d gone home for a while. His mom was really tired. My mom was the same way when my brother died. It’s just exhausting, to maintain that level of worry for an extended period of time.”

“I’m surprised the nurses let you in to see him. Isn’t he in intensive care?”

“Well, I might have told them I was his little sister.”

“You know his parents will be looking for you now. Not only did a mysterious girl call to report Scotch’s whereabouts, but now the nurses will be able to describe what you look like to his mom and dad when they find out you were there. And they
will
find out.”

Regina freezes. Obviously, this hadn’t occurred to her.

“Be careful,” I say. “Samantha’s on the warpath. She’s pissed about you going to visit Scotch.”

Regina shrugs. “I’m tired of Samantha thinking she can rule the world.” With that, she slams her locker and walks away.

In English, Mrs. Winger asks us to get together with our partners to work on our essays. I take the desk next to Samantha’s. She’s dressed in an uncharacteristically muted fashion today, with a plain blue T-shirt, jeans, and no makeup. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail, and I can tell from the circles under her eyes that she didn’t sleep much last night. We have that in common.

“I just saw Regina in the hall,” I say when Mrs. Winger ducks out of the room to go make copies of a worksheet. “I told her she needs to be more careful.”

“Lot of good that does now,” Samantha says under her breath. “Did you see the cops in the cafeteria this morning? They’re still questioning people. It’s only a matter of time before they get to Regina. She’ll cave under the pressure.”

“I don’t think she’s going to say anything,” I say to appease Samantha, even though I’m not entirely sure about that.

Samantha closes her eyes. “Ugh, I just want to forget the whole thing ever happened. I want to think about normal things like which cheer we’re going to do at halftime or what’s going to happen next on
The Vampire Diaries
.”

“Same here,” I say. “You know, a bunch of us are going to the new
Scar
movie tomorrow night. Do you want to come?” Since Anna is coming, I figure it’s not really a double date anymore. Might as well invite one more person. The more, the merrier, and all. Besides, I think it’ll do Samantha some good.

“A bunch of us, meaning who?”

“Mattie, Russ White, Rollins. And this girl Rollins works with at the radio station, Anna.” I wrinkle my nose when I say Anna’s name.

“I take it we’re not a fan of Anna?”

I sigh. “It’s just . . . Rollins and I have kind of taken things to the next level. And Anna seems to keep getting in the way. They’re just friends, but . . . I wish she weren’t so pretty.”

“Say no more,” Samantha says. “You’ve come to the right person. I’m going to pick you up after cheerleading practice, and we’re going to the mall. Before the movie I’ll give you one of my famous makeovers, and when I’m through with you, Rollins won’t know what hit him.” I feel a bit ill, thinking about Samantha’s last “famous makeover,” but her cheeks have gotten a bit rosier in the last few minutes. If finding me some new lipstick will take her mind off everything that’s been happening, then why not?

“Ugh. Okay.”

She slaps me on the back.

“Get ready to meet your inner vixen.”

I’m waiting for Rollins by his locker after school when Mattie taps me on the shoulder. “Hey,” she says, readjusting the strap of the duffel bag in which she keeps all of her cheerleading stuff.

“Hey,” I say, picking some nonexistent fuzz off the sleeve of my hoodie.

“I hear Samantha is taking you to the mall after practice. You mind if I come with?”

I sigh. “Honestly, Mattie, I’m still kind of pissed that you and Lydia seem to be sharing everything with each other lately. Why would you keep that stuff about Lydia and Dad dating in high school a secret from me?”

Mattie touches my sleeve. “I’m sorry. I should have told you. But I knew you’d make a big thing out of it, and I . . . I just like having her around. Can’t you forgive me?”

I look into Mattie’s eyes. I’m tired of this tension between us.

“Okay.”

Mattie’s whole face lights up, and she draws me into a bear hug.

“I’ll see you after practice. We’ll find something really cute for you to wear.”

I groan. “I can’t wait.”