Laurel Love was at a standstill in her life. It was like she was stuck doing things that didn't matter. Nothing had meaning in her life anymore. Laurel wanted her luck to change. What she didn't know was that something was going to change her life i...
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"You really want me to distract the Freakazoid?" I ask, staring between my parents, wondering when they went crazy. Molly is sitting on the couch, holding Vera. There's a confused look on her face, which makes sense because she doesn't know about the vacation Mom and Dad are planning for Fiona's birthday yet. "But -- but she will figure it out if I'm the one distracting her!"
"Either that, or she'll be so weirded out and not question it," Molly says, grinning over at me. She shifts Vera on her lap, and she makes a high-pitched noise. "Though, I don't know why you have to distract Fiona, so I don't really know how she'd react."
Mom and Dad quickly explain to Molly what we're going to do for Fiona's birthday. Molly is all for this birthday vacation, especially because it lines up perfectly with her spring break. She even has enough days saved up at her job to take the whole week off to spend more time with the rest of us. It feels like I'm the only one who isn't excited for this birthday vacation, especially because my birthday didn't have this much planning at all.
"That's why Laurel needs to distract Fiona," Dad tells Molly. "The rest of us are going to discuss where we should go for this vacation."
I guess I'm not going to be part of the birthday planning committee, either. That's okay. It's not like I know Fiona like I used to when we shared a room together. I don't know anything that she likes anymore, and I doubt she likes dinosaurs like she did when she was five years old.
"I still don't like this plan," I say to them. "You know the Freakazoid and I don't mix well together."
"You're our only hope, Laurel," Mom says. "You know how she finds out secrets easily. She was the first one to know about Molly's pregnancy. We don't want this to happen with her birthday." She looks at me with her mom eyes, making me sigh. "Also, you've been working a lot lately, so you should spend time with your younger sister."
"We already went to the museum together."
"We want you to spend more time with her."
I want to say no to them, but Mom, Dad, and Molly are all looking at me expectantly. They're expecting me to do this without saying no to them, which is what I normally do anyway. I go along with what Mom and Dad tell me without standing up for myself because that's how I was raised.
I nod quickly. Today is not the day to stand up to them. It's easier just doing what they want me to do. That way, I don't have to disappoint them. I have enough time for that later in my life.
Spinning on my heel, I walk out of the living room. I walk down the hallway, hiding my face from my framed family members. I know that they wouldn't like a girl standing up to her parents. They wouldn't like me anymore.
Fiona's door isn't shut like I thought it would. That could be a bad thing because Mom and Dad were kind of loud when they were explaining to Molly what we're doing for her birthday. She doesn't see me yet, so I stand there for a second, bracing myself for what's going to happen next. I don't know when lying became my fulltime job, but I've been doing it more and more lately.
