Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
“I responded to your taunts. I responded to your tricks.” Kala looked Devi’s way. “Do you know why Kenz and I went pink the first time?”
“No.” Devi was so intrigued it almost made up for being left behind. “I thought you liked the color.”
“I was fourteen and my mom told me I couldn’t dye my hair until I was at least sixteen, and then we would talk. But then some asshole put bleach in my shampoo while my family was on vacation.”
“I’m not proud of that, but I will say I was young and you told me I couldn’t come with you and Poppy.” Lucy’s mouth tightened with the memory. “You told me Poppy needed older friends and I should find some kids my own age, but there weren’t many kids my own age. I only had her. Everyone else thought I was weird. What would you have done if someone told you they were taking your sister away?”
“I didn’t mean it like that, and I would punch them. I wouldn’t put bleach in their shampoo. It could have gotten into my eyes,” Kala replied.
“I didn’t think about that at the time. I was freaking nine, and all I knew was my sister talked about how pretty your hair was, how much she liked the color. Do you think I haven’t thought about what could have happened?” Lucy breathed deeply, as though she needed some strength to get through this conversation. “My mom talked about how lucky you were. And then she protested the shampoo company because you never told her you thought it was me. Why?”
“Snitches get stitches, baby.” Kala sent her a peace sign that felt more like war. “I knew that even at fourteen. Besides, I didn’t get it in my eyes. I only had it on part of my hair when I realized something was wrong.”
Devi frowned her way. There were a few things off with this scenario. It wasn’t like the shampoo would cover the scent. Not even Lucy’s evil genius would have manifested so clearly at the age of nine. “Lucy might not have really known what could happen, but you did know what bleach would do. You would have smelled it. You at fourteen were practically a PI. You had already started hacking, and Kenzie was excellent at manipulating…” She pointed a finger her cousin’s way because she did remember a couple of things that happened before that summer. “You said you were going to find a way to not wait two years. You complete sneaky bitch. You smelled it and put it on anyway.”
Kala’s lips curled up. “Kenz and I flipped for who had to do it. I lost, but Mom came through. I bravely offered to cut my hair and Kenz cried because then she would have to cut her hair, too. Mom was so upset with Kenzie’s tears that we got to go pink. So…suck it.”
Her cousin was so immature sometimes. Only sometimes. Or this was all part of Kala who often didn’t get the nuances or know how to let go of a grudge. “So she’s a kid who you left out and she’s kind of mean like you and she tries to get some revenge. Again, she’s nine. And her revenge leads to you getting something you’ve always wanted and you call her Lucifer.”
“Only because her mom didn’t properly name her,” Kala quipped.
“I’m sorry. I was sorry when I did it,” Lucy said, her tone rigid. “I felt bad and I tried to stop you, but you already figured it out. I loved my sister. I didn’t want to lose her, and I never found a Lou. So there. Call me whatever you want. I’ll be in the study waiting for word.”
Kala turned Devi’s way. “Seriously? You suck.”
Devi’s hands came up. “I suck? You bullied a kid.”
“I didn’t bully her.” Kala groaned. “I didn’t. Poppy wanted to hang with kids her age and not have to deal with her little sister. That doesn’t mean she didn’t love Lucy. It meant that during the summers she wanted some space, but she didn’t know how to ask for it. So I did it for her.”
“You told a kid her sister didn’t want to be around her?”
“Of course I didn’t. I told her to hit the road and go play with kids her own age,” Kala replied. “We were teens and we wanted to hang out and not worry about baby sister getting in trouble. And now I can maybe see how she would have taken it wrong, but she was mean as shit.”
“I’m trying to imagine you without your sisters,” Devi pointed out because she thought Kala was being short sighted here. “You without Kenz to balance you. You have always been excellent at finding people who see you. What if Lucy didn’t have that? What if Lucy’s only real friend was her sister and you tried to take her away?”