next four years, halfway enjoying college life and halfway stuck under my parents’ supervision. Now, it seemed like a home and not a prison.
Except there were three siblings running out the front door with furious looks on their faces.
As I got out of my car, I said, “What’s going on?”
“YOU KNOW RYDE ALEXANDER?” Cori yelled.
“WE LOVE HIM!” Tarra yelled.
“YEAH!” Cara cried. “When were we going to meet him?”
I smiled smugly. “Oh, Ryde? He’s just an acquaintance.”
Cori held out her phone, showing the selfie of us together. “His ‘beautiful’ fan? Heart? WINKY FACE?”
I barely stifled a smile.
Tarra nodded fervently. “You don’t even like him that much.” She pointed between her and Cara. “We’re the ones who have a poster of him on our ceiling.”
“He said he thought that was weird,” I teased.
Cara’s mouth fell open. “You did not tell him that.”
I laughed. “No! I didn’t even know he was going to be there last night. We just took a selfie to annoy you guys.”
Cori looked visibly relaxed. “So he’s still single.” My hesitation made her frown. “WHAT? ARE YOU DATING RYDE ALEXANDER?”
“He’s not in a relationship with me!” I cried. “He’s dating my friend.”
The twins’ mouths fell open, and Tarra said, “You have a friend who’s dating Ryde Alexander? How did you get so cool?”
“As a matter of fact, I am cool,” I said, rubbing my arms. “Can we move the interrogation inside?”
They seemed to realize it was early February and freezing out because they begrudgingly let me indoors.
“Which friend?” Cori asked.
“Zara, but don’t say anything. I’m not sure if the press knows yet.”
Cori sagged into the living room couch. “Zara is so cool.”
I sat next to her. “I know.”
Tarra stood in front of me, and Cara moved to do the same. Leaning in, Tarra asked, “Does that mean you can help us meet him?”
I grinned at her. “I can try.”
They both hugged me, kissing me on opposite cheeks.
“We love you!” Tarra cried.
“Yeah,” Cara said. “Totally forgiven.”
The sound of my mom’s laugh came from the kitchen. She was holding her cell phone in her hands and walking toward us, a giant grin on her face.
My eyebrows drew together. “Why do you look so happy?”
“Yeah, what’s going on?” Tarra asked.
Mom held up her phone. “I just got a call from the producer. The twins have the role!”
The loudest squeals I’d ever heard commenced in our living room.
“How?” I asked.
My mom’s smile couldn’t have been wider. “The producers were really disappointed when they didn’t attend the last callback, and then when they got your video of them, they loved it so much they decided to cast them in the role!”
I grinned, but my happiness was quickly replaced by confusion. “But I didn’t send the video. How did they see it?”
Cori shyly raised her hand. “I hope you don’t mind. I sent it after you fell asleep.”
I wrapped an arm around her and hugged her. “Of course I don’t mind! This is awesome!”
The twins piled on too, and soon we were all hugging and screaming and cheering about the twins getting the part after all.
The rest of the evening, as I heard my mom call every relative we had, I couldn’t help but think how happy I was that things were finally coming back together. Well, everything except my relationship with Ray. But maybe not all scenes had to make it to the final movie.
Sixty-One
In the morning, I went and did my breathing treatment. Mom was back at the table with her notepad, adding to a list that looked to be at least three pages long.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“We have to plan!” she said. “The twins are supposed to be on location in LA in three weeks. That means we have to find out how they’ll finish the school year, get the house ready for Aunt Rosie to have an extended stay, be sure you and Cori are set to come and visit us every weekend, or the other way around.”
“I thought you were mad at Rosie?” I said.
Mom kept her gaze on the notepad. “We talked it out, and I had to make some...concessions.”
“My mom, making concessions?” I teased.
She gave me a sheepish smile. “It happens from time to time.” She shook her head. “I guess you can be the first to know. Rosie is staying here while the twins are on set—and so is her dog.”
My mouth fell open. Was this a prank? An early April Fool’s joke.
She waved her pencil in the air. “But the second you feel even