“It’s beautiful!” Emma breathed. “How did you know this was up here?”
Ethan walked over to the railing and tipped his face up to the night sky. “My mom was sick for a while. She had a lot of doctor’s appointments around here. I got to know the city pretty well.”
“Is she … okay?” Emma asked softly. Ethan had never told her about his mom being sick.
Ethan shrugged, seeming a little closed off. “I guess so. As good as she can be.” He stared out at the twinkling lights. “She had cancer. But she’s okay now, I think.”
“I’m sorry,” Emma breathed.
“It’s cool,” Ethan said. “I was the one who helped her through it, though. You know how I told you my dad practically lives in San Diego? Well, he never came back for any of her chemo treatments. It blew.”
“Maybe he couldn’t deal with her being sick,” Emma said. “Some people don’t handle that stuff very well.”
“Yeah, well, he should have,” Ethan snapped, his eyes flashing.
Emma backed off. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Ethan shut his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I’ve never really told anyone about my mom. But, well, I want us to be totally honest with each other. I want us to share everything.
Even if it’s bad. I hope you share everything with me, too.” Emma breathed in, feeling both touched and horribly guilty. There was something huge she wasn’t sharing with Ethan: the prank against him. Should she say something?
Would he be angry that she’d let it go on for so long without telling him? Maybe it was better just to say nothing and figure out a way to thwart the prank before it happened.
What Ethan didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
Way to be totally honest, Sis. But I understood the predicament she was in.
Emma wrapped her arms around Ethan’s waist and leaned her cheek against his back. He turned around and hugged her to him, kissing her forehead. “Can we stay here forever?” she asked with a sigh. “It’s so wonderful not being Sutton for once. Just being … me.”
“We can stay as long as you’d like,” Ethan promised.
“Or, well, at least until we have to go to school tomorrow.” Cars honked on the streets below. A helicopter zoomed overhead, sending a single white beam to a source near the mountains. A car alarm blared, cycling through a series of irritating beeps and whoops and buzzes until someone shut it off.
But as she stood warm and safe in Ethan’s arms, Emma decided this was the most romantic date she’d ever been on.
16
THE MAKEUP
On Sunday afternoon, Emma, Madeline, Charlotte, Laurel, and the Twitter Twins waited in line at Pam’s Pretzels, a shoddy stand propped in a corner of La Encantada on the outskirts of Tucson. Even though Sutton’s friends had sworn off carbs, the pretzels were worth breaking their diets for.
They were covered in Mexican queso and contained a spice combination that was, as Madeline put it, “better than sex.” The smell of baked bread and mustard infused the air.
Customers swooned as they took big, doughy bites. One woman looked like she was actually going to faint with pleasure as she chewed.
The line was long, and a bunch of college-age boys in band T-shirts and long, grungy hair stood in front of them.
Madeline was inching away from them as though they had fleas. Charlotte, whose flaming red hair was tied back in a severe bun, elbowed Laurel, who was busy texting something to Caleb. “Does that bring back fond memories?” she said, gesturing to a four-by-four-foot raised garden box covered with felt.
Laurel giggled at what Charlotte was pointing at. “That Christmas tree was so much heavier than it looked. And I had tinsel in my hair for days.” She shook her hair around for effect.
Madeline covered her mouth and let out a snort. “That was priceless.”
“Seriously,” Emma said, even though she had no idea what the girls were talking about—probably an old Lying Game prank.
Game prank.
The line moved quickly, and soon it was the Twitter Twins’ turn. “One pretzel with queso, extra dipping sauce.” Lili shifted her weight from one black knee-high stiletto boot to the other. The other girls ordered more or less the same thing, and once the pretzels were ready they carried them to a courtyard table and sat down. Only Emma and Madeline lingered at the fixin’s bar, slowly salting their treats.
Emma looked around. The outdoor mall was bustling today with girls in short shorts, batwing-sleeved blouses, and high wedge heels. Everyone toted carrier bags from Tiffany, Anthropologie, and Tory Burch. She craned her neck and noticed the vintage store on the second level. Not long ago, she and Madeline had gone to that vintage store and had a great time. She’d felt like Emma that day, not The Girl Who Was Supposed to Be Sutton.
Madeline breathed in. When Emma turned, she noticed that Madeline was looking up at the vintage store, too. Then she faced Emma, her expression contemplative and a little awkward. “Listen, I don’t want to be pissed at you anymore,” she said.
“I don’t want you to be pissed at me either!” Emma exclaimed gratefully.
Madeline lifted a hand to shade her eyes. “No matter how upset I am about Thayer, I know him disappearing isn’t your fault. I’m really sorry I’ve been so awful to you.” Relief coursed through Emma. “I’m sorry, too. I can’t imagine what this has been like for you and your family, and I’m sorry if I made things worse in any way.” Madeline opened a packet of mustard with her teeth.