The Backup Girlfriend (Grove Valley High #2) - Emma Doherty Page 0,8

I can’t help feeling like I already have given up.

3

My sister looks beautiful tonight.

But then, I suppose, she always does. She’s wearing a floor-length black gown with a sweetheart neckline that shows off her bust then pinches in at the waist, showing that she’s lost every ounce of baby weight she gained when she was pregnant with my nephew. Her perfectly highlighted blonde hair falls in waves down her back, and she’s gone for subtle shades with her makeup, which somehow makes her looks like she hasn’t tried at all even though I know she will have spent hours getting ready this evening.

Turns out tonight isn’t just your regular Saturday night dinner at the country club; instead it’s some sort of benefit for a local politician, and her husband, Eric, is one of the major donors and supporters of this guy. He’s working the room with Ellie at his side, shaking hands and introducing himself to people. I’m sure this is all to benefit him eventually, but as I watch the two of them circling the space, hand in hand, I don’t think about that. I just think about how good they look together, her the blonde beauty and he the dark-haired, slightly older distinguished man in his tux.

Really, it’s a shame I never have anything to say to him.

Looks really can make a person seem a lot more interesting than they are, and I’ve found that to be the case with Eric ever since I met him.

My mother waves at me from across the room, signaling that I should join her. I don’t move. When I got home from school on Thursday, still horrified that I’m failing so spectacularly, she didn’t even care. She’d already spoken to my coach and told me “These things happen,” and somehow it made me feel even more upset and worthless than if she’d gone crazy at me.

At least then she would have cared.

I don’t think she thinks I need an education. She just told me to do my best then poured another glass of wine, and I disappeared into my room for the rest of the night, my mind whirling.

I still haven’t been to see my teachers.

I still haven’t been able face it.

I still haven’t stopped thinking about the humiliation of not graduating with my friends. It’s going round and round like a loop in my head.

Sasha and Jennifer have been really sweet over the last couple of days, texting me to make sure I’m okay and checking in to see if I need anything or if they can help me get organized in any way. It’s been surprising and kind, and I probably don’t deserve it.

Sarah hasn’t even noticed that there’s anything wrong with me.

Laughter from a group of people to my right breaks me from my thoughts, and I take a sip of my water as I look around the room. There isn’t a single person here that’s my age. In fact, I’d hazard a guess and say my sister is the only other person under thirty (Eric hit that milestone last month), and I can’t help but check my phone again. It’s still early and I know this won’t be something that goes on late, but Aaron is throwing a party tonight and all my friends are getting ready together, pre-drinking and doing their makeup, and I know where I’d rather be.

I continue to look around, and my gaze locks on the guy behind the bar.

I stand corrected.

The bartender in the corner is under thirty. He looks around Ellie’s age, and I watch him as he polishes glasses while his colleague prepares drinks and waiters circulate with champagne glasses. He’s kind of cute, actually. He has longish dirty blond hair that is brushed back into a neat ponytail—not a hairstyle I’d usually like, but it somehow looks good on him—and he has a tan.

He looks like a surfer, I decide as I take a champagne glass from a passing waiter, turning away before they can get a better look at me. I doubt anyone would raise too much of a fuss about me drinking underage, certainly not my mother, but I don’t want to push it.

I continue watching everyone mingle for another couple of minutes, watching my sister when she pulls away from Eric’s grip as he introduces her to someone before he cuts her a look and she steps back into his side. My mother is also chatting it up with a bunch of people I vaguely recognize, but