Comeback Read online

  Lexa put away her nail polish. “Me too! We’re going to throw you a birthday bash like Canterwood’s never seen. Ooh, I can’t wait.”

  I smiled. It felt amazing to have my friends so excited about my birthday. They were all looking forward to it, and I was glad that Khloe had brought it up.

  “Promise me one thing?” I asked.

  “Anything,” Khloe said.

  “There’s plenty of time after the schooling show to plan. So, if you were going to start thinking up ideas, will you wait until after we compete? I want all your free time to go to practicing.”

  The three girls looked at one another.

  “Deal,” they said in unison.

  SLEEPOVER INTERRUPTED!

  THE REST OF THE NIGHT WAS SPENT IN TRUE sleepover fashion. We had pizza delivered, watched a couple of movies, and put face masks on each other. Clare had just gotten a new pineapple enzyme mask that we all wanted to try.

  “We smell like the beach,” I said, laughing. The clear goop on my face made my skin tingle.

  “I’ll happily take smelling like a picnic basket if it means tiny pores,” Lexa said.

  “Ditto,” Khloe said.

  My phone chimed, and I reached over to grab it off Clare’s bed. It was late, and all my friends were here—who was BBMing me?

  I opened BBM and saw Drew lit up.

  Drew:

  How’s ur nite?

  I typed back.

  Lauren:

  Great! @ Clare’s 4 a sleepover.

  Drew:

  U watching chick flicks & talking abt guys?

  Lauren:

  LOL. Maybe.

  Drew:

  I’ll let u go. U guys wanna trail ride w me 2mrw?

  Lauren:

  Lemme ask & I’ll let u know!

  I tossed my phone down and turned around. Khloe, Clare, and Lexa were staring at me with expectant looks on their faces.

  “What?” I asked, giggling.

  “Oh, this will take so much longer if you play the innocent act,” Khloe said. “What’s Drew up to?”

  Anytime his name was mentioned, I couldn’t help but blush. It was the most annoying reaction, but I couldn’t stop it. Maybe the pineapple mask concealed some of it. . . .

  “He was seeing what I was doing,” I said.

  “Aw!” the girls said simultaneously.

  “It was so not a big deal,” I said. “But he did ask if we wanted to trail ride with him tomorrow.”

  “First, it was a big deal,” Khloe said. “He messaged you on Friday night! He could have been playing Xbox or doing whatever boys do, and he stopped to say ‘hi’ to you. He was thinking about you.”

  “So romantic,” Clare said with a happy sigh. “Drew Adams like-likes our LT.”

  I tried not to give too much weight to Clare’s words, but I wanted them to be true. I knew that Drew liked me and I liked him. A lot. But I didn’t want to jump into anything too fast.

  “What about the second part?” I asked, pulling my pjs out of my bag. “You guys up for a trail ride tomorrow?”

  “YES!”

  Everyone’s near shout almost knocked me off my toes, where I was digging through my overnight bag.

  “I think I have your answers,” I said, grinning. “And we’re going to be lucky if the entire floor didn’t hear that.”

  We all changed into our pajamas, and I crawled into my sleeping bag.

  “I’ll write Drew tomorrow morning and say that we’re up for it,” I said. “Whisper’s getting shod in the morning, and then she’ll be all set.”

  “I’m going to be at the stable most of the day tomorrow,” Clare said. She pulled back the covers on her bed. “So I’m game for whenever.”

  Easy, quiet talk continued until each girl fell asleep. I was the last one awake, and I pulled my sleeping bag top over my head as I turned on my phone. I didn’t want the backlight to wake anyone.

  I read through my conversation with Drew. Smiling, I typed a message.

  Lauren:

  I hope ur phone’s off & this doesn’t wake u if ur asleep. Wanted 2 say we’d all love 2 trail ride 2mrw. Whenever ur free, let me know. C u then.

  I sent the message and opened Chatter. I read a few updates from my friends.

  AnaArtiste: No hmwk this wkend! Get 2 work with new oil paints.

  There was a short convo between Brielle and Taylor.

  BrielleisaBeauty: @TFrost: The movie was amaze!

  TFrost: @BrielleisaBeauty: Way better than I thought it would b.

  BrielleisaBeauty: @TFrost: Totally. C u tmrw.

  I read the message again. The message didn’t say whether any of our other friends from Yates had gone, too. It sounded as if it had been just Brielle and Taylor. But did I care? Should I care? I was kind of seeing someone else, and Taylor and I weren’t together anymore.

  Then I saw another message.

  AnaArtiste: @BrielleisaBeauty @TFrost: Loved the movie!!

  I wanted to smack myself. Ana had been there too. I had to stop jumping to conclusions. Besides, I had written one-on-one exchanges with Drew and hadn’t thought about Taylor seeing them and reading into it.

  I clicked on my profile and typed a new status update.

  LaurBell: Sleepover @CutieClare’s w @DramaRama & @Lexaaa was so fun. Every1’s asleep now. Night! Zzzz...

  I updated my status, poked my head out of my sleeping bag, and fell asleep with my phone in hand.

  A CHATTER ADDICTION CAN RUIN A SLEEPOVER

  “LAAAUREEEN.”

  I opened my eyes, blinking at the unfamiliar surroundings. Then I remembered I was at Clare’s.

  Khloe was crouched beside me, her blond hair wavy and her braid messy from sleep.

  “What?” I asked. Everyone else was still sleeping, and gentle sunlight filtered through Clare’s shades.

  Khloe looked over her shoulder at Lexa, who turned over in her sleeping bag, breathing deeply. Then she looked up at Clare, who had a purple mask over her eyes.

  “Come on,” Khloe whispered.

  I started to ask, but the look on Khloe’s face stopped me. Something was wrong. Khloe was never the first one awake, and she looked like she’d been up for a while. There weren’t any signs of sleepiness on her face—instead her mouth was pressed together, and she was clenching and unclenching her fingers.

  Without a word, I crawled out of my warm sleeping bag, then grabbed slippers and my blue robe to throw over my white shorts and lace eyelet tank top.

  Khloe eased open the door, made sure it was unlocked, and motioned me to go in front of her. We stepped into the silent hallway, and I slid into my slippers and pulled on my robe.

  “Okay. You’re scaring me. What’s going on?” I asked her.

  Khloe rubbed her forehead. “We’ve got a Riley problem.”

  We walked a few steps away from Clare’s door, and Khloe plopped onto the floor, patting the carpet next to her.

  I was still sleepy. “What do you mean? Riley’s not even here.”

  Khloe held out her phone and handed me mine. “I grabbed yours,” she explained. “You updated your Chatter status last night.”

  “Yeah . . . ,” I said, dragging out the word. “So? I don’t understand.”

  “You wrote that we were staying at Clare’s.” Khloe rubbed her forehead. “It’s so dumb that it’s an issue, but Clare didn’t tell Riley that Lexa, you, and I were sleeping over. Riley would have said no way and been really ticked at Clare for asking.”

  Suddenly, I got it. “And you said Clare didn’t even talk to Riley about it. So she probably wasn’t going to even tell Riley that we slept over,” I said, drawing my knees up to my chest.

  Khloe picked at the fresh polish on her thumb. “She definitely wasn’t going to say a word. Clare’s going to get ripped from Riley for having us over.”

  “Oh, no. Oh, Khlo. I didn’t even think last night. I should have. But wait, it’s early in the morning. I posted that really late last night. What if Riley didn’t even
see it? I can delete it right now and Riley will never know.”

  Khloe gave me a small smile. “If only Riley wasn’t a Chatter addict who checks it every two seconds. She already saw it. Check your phone.”

  I turned on my BlackBerry and there were Chatter notifications. I went straight to the replies.

  OfficiallyRiley: Wow! Seems like my bestie, @CutieClare, doesn’t miss me at all. She already filled our room w new roomies—@Lexaaa, @DramaRama, & @LaurBell.

  That was posted hours after I’d written my message.

  There were individual messages from Riley to each of us, all written minutes apart this morning.

  OfficiallyRiley: @CutieClare: I’m coming back tmrw, Clare. Hope that doesn’t disappoint u 2 much.

  “Are you kidding me?” I asked. “This is so immature!” I felt sick that I’d caused trouble between Clare and Riley. Poor, sleeping Clare had no idea yet about what she was going to wake up to. All because I’d been missing half my brain last night.

  Khloe shook her head. “I wish this was a joke. Keep reading.”

  OfficiallyRiley: @Lexaaa: Did u have fun sleeping in my dorm room, Lex? R @CutieClare & I invited 2 ur room next? We’d def want Jill’s OK first, tho.

  The girl was transparent. She was broadcasting what read like some kind of ultimate betrayal on Chatter and painting Clare like a girl who couldn’t wait to get rid of her roommate to have people over.

  OfficiallyRiley: @DramaRama: *claps* Bravo, KK! Good move sleeping over while I was away. 2 bad u just got 2 sleep on my floor while I slept in NYC.

  I couldn’t look at Khloe when I read that message. I knew how competitive the two girls were with acting. Khloe had to be practically burning from that.

  OfficiallyRiley: @LaurBell: So glad u had a bonding nite, new girl! If u moved any of my riding trophies, could u make sure they’re back in place? PS: Are u having urs sent here now that the word’s out, dressage champ?

  I exited the application and squeezed my eyes shut. “Great. What now? It’s my fault, so I’m obviously telling Clare. What if I BMM Riley an apology and say Clare told us we couldn’t sleep over, but we kept bugging her until she said yes?”

  Khloe shook her head. “Riley’s smarter than that. I think all we can do is tell Clare and let her decide how to handle it. She’s my best friend, but she’s Riley’s, too. At first I wanted to do something immediately to fix it for Clare, but I can’t. She has to decide if she’s going to start standing up for herself against Riley.”

  “I’m sorry, Khloe,” I said quietly. “I know this isn’t an easy situation for you. I can’t imagine how hard it is to have Clare be so tight with someone who treats you like trash.”

  “I’ve kind of learned to live with it,” Khloe said. She leaned her head against the wall. “Clare and Riley were friends first. Then I met Clare, and we became friends on our own. When Clare introduced me to Riley, she was really hoping the three of us would all get along. It just didn’t work out that way. At all.”

  “It’s made things difficult for you and Lexa, too,” I said. “But I want you to know how much I like Clare and that I support your friendship with her. From how Lexa acted last night, I think she and Clare have a shot at becoming friends.”

  Khloe nodded. “Lexa and Clare got along really well. Face it—everyone gets along better without Riley around.” She closed her eyes for a second. “I almost wish that Riley would get the acting gig in New York.”

  “She won’t,” I said firmly. “It would be easier without Riley here, but she’s not going to get the job, Khlo. We’ll have to learn how to coexist. Somehow.”

  Khloe patted my arm. “You’re a good friend, LT. I guess we should go back before anyone wakes up and worries that we’re gone.”

  “Agreed,” I said, standing and offering a hand to Khloe. “And I’m going to tell Clare right away. I don’t want Riley to have a chance to say anything else over Chatter.”

  We padded the few steps back to Clare and Riley’s, and I opened the door. Khloe shut the door behind us and I kicked off my slippers, taking a breath. I hoped Clare wouldn’t hate me because of what I’d done.

  It had gotten much lighter outside, and the clock beside Clare changed to 9:02 a.m. I leaned down to put my phone on my pillow, and Lexa shifted in her sleeping bag, blinking and looking up at me.

  “Hey,” she whispered.

  “Morning,” I said.

  Lexa rolled onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows. Her eyes shifted to Khloe, who’d sat on the edge of the coffee table. The friends waved at each other.

  Sheets rustled and Clare reached up to her face, pulling off her eye mask. A few red curls stuck up, having escaped from their ponytail. She yawned and smiled sleepily at us.

  “You guys been up long?” she asked, sitting up.

  Lexa shook her head. “Not even a minute.”

  Clare looked at the clock. “Did we fail sleepover morning after by not sleeping until noon?”

  We laughed, but mine was forced, and I had a feeling Khloe’s was as well.

  “Nah,” Khloe said. “Who wants to waste weekend minutes? We’ve all got stuff at the stable to do, and I’m excited about trail riding.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  Clare looked at her nightstand again. “Geez, my phone’s blinking like crazy.” She started to reach for it.

  “Clare,” I said. “Wait a sec. I need to tell you something.”

  Slowly, Clare pulled back her hand. “Okaaay.” She looked at Khloe. “Something happened. What?”

  That made Lexa sit up.

  I sat next to Khloe on the coffee table, facing Clare.

  “I messed up last night,” I said. “I was awake after you guys fell asleep. I wrote Drew back that we all wanted to trail ride with him.”

  Clare shook her head. “Not seeing how you messed up.”

  “Then I got on Chatter.” I took a big breath. Please don’t let Clare freak out, I thought. “I wrote about what an awesome time I was having last night. Sleeping over here with you, Khloe, and Lex.”

  Clare sat up straighter. “You said you guys were sleeping here?” She played with the strap on her eye mask. “I didn’t tell Riley.”

  “I know,” I said. “Clare, I’m so, so sorry. This morning, Khloe saw what I’d done and we were going to erase my message, but it’s too late. Riley saw it already, and she sent nasty messages to each of us. It’s all my fault. I promise that I’ll do anything you want to smooth things over between you and Riley.”

  Clare shook her head and reached for her phone. I watched as she stared at the screen for what felt like forever. She typed something, then put down the phone. Then she looked back at me, her expression blank. It was official: Clare was mad at me. I couldn’t blame her. I never should have sent the message.

  “Clare,” Khloe said, “we’re going to help with Riley. I know you’re upset, but please try to remember that this is your room too. You don’t need anyone’s permission to have friends over.”

  Clare nodded. “I know. I BBMed Riley and told her that I’d wanted you all to stay over. I told her I would have asked if she’d been here, but she wasn’t.” She looked at me. “Please don’t feel like you did something wrong. You didn’t. I’m sorry that all you guys got messages from Riley.”

  “Wait, wait,” Lexa said. “You’re serious? You basically told Riley to get over it? No offense, but I thought you’d be freaking out. You kind of . . .”

  Lexa let her sentence go without finishing.

  Clare pulled back her covers and walked to the floor, then sat down by all of us. She smoothed her oversize red I ♥ BOYS T-shirt, which she’d paired with black leggings. “I kind of always bow down to Riley. Or do whatever she says. It’s okay, Lexa. I know that.”

  “What made you write her something like that now?” Khloe asked. “Clare, she’s one of your best friends.”

  “Exactly. And a ‘best friend’ shouldn’t act like that. It’s one thing if Riley wants to freak
out at me, but I’m not letting her do that to all of you.” Clare looked down. “And Khloe, I’m so sorry. I let Riley get away with a lot of things that she’s said and done to you. I’m your best friend, and you deserve to have me act like one. I’m going to start doing a better job.”

  Khloe’s eyes got misty. She got up and leaned down to hug Clare. “Thanks, C. But I want you to keep your friendship with Riley, if you want.”

  They let go of each other, and Clare nodded. “I will. But some things have to change. She’s Riley Edwards. I don’t expect her to suddenly be sugary sweet to everyone, but the insults have to stop.”

  Lexa reached out an arm and hugged Clare. “You’re brave. It’s not easy to do what you did.”

  Clare shook her head. “I should have done that a long time ago.”

  I hugged Clare too. “Again, I’m sorry things happened this way. Remember that we’re all here for you, and maybe we can get Riley on board with the idea that it’s easier to be civil than to talk nasty about each other.”

  Clare squeezed me. “We’ll see, huh?”

  The four of us looked at each other. Khloe was the first to smile, and soon the rest of us did too.

  “Maybe Riley and I will be friends by my birthday party and she’ll give me a treat and not a trick!” I said.

  We giggled.

  “I think that’s a good goal, Laur,” Lexa said.

  Clare got off the floor, stretching, and started to make her bed. “Breakfast, change clothes, then head to stable?” she asked.

  “Done,” I said.

  Khloe and Lexa added their yeses. By the time we walked to the common room, it felt as though a piece of Clare had disappeared. It had been replaced by confidence that was trying to break through the surface of the girl who’d always followed at Riley’s heels.

  “Oh, check your Chatter, everyone,” Clare said as we walked into the common room.

  We pulled out our phones. I smiled as I read the update.

  CutieClare: Ready 4 trail ride w @DramaRama, @Lexaaa, @LaurBell, & @SwmerGuy. Xcited 4 @OfficiallyRiley 2 b back tmrw!

  SHOE SHOPPING OF A DIFFERENT KIND

  I SNAPPED A LEAD LINE TO WHISPER’S HALTER and kissed her cheek.