Every Little Piece

Text copyright © 2013 by Kate Ashton

All rights reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher and author. For information visit
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Summary: The night before graduation changes everything. Lies are told. Mistakes are made. A year later, neither Haley nor Seth are prepared for the shock of what really happened.

Edited by Cindy Davis,
The Fiction Doctor
; Interior Design by
Novel Ninjutsu

ebook ISBN: 978-0-9852327-4-0

Find out more at
kateashtonbooks.com

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Simple reflective surfaces can be used for many complicated pursuits. Applying lipstick, checking for spinach between teeth, and spying on older brothers.

My favorite mirror sat on the nightstand next to my bed. It wasn’t your standard boring one that hung on a wall. This one tilted in a full 360-degree circle and swiveled back and forth. Lying on my bed, I could view my entire room with just slight adjustments.

One small nudge, and my perspective changed.

I usually faced it so I could see the great wall of Haley. Every happy memory covered the surface. Photos, ribbons, newspaper articles, scribbled notes, programs—my life in pieces.

One of those pieces sat sprawled on my plush pink carpet. My best friend, Brin, hunched over her knees, her long dark hair shimmering. She meticulously painted her toenails, so absorbed in the process of adding silver stripes that she didn’t hear me slide off the bed. Or tiptoe across the floor.

I popped in front of her and yelled, “Boo!”

She screamed and jumped back. After annoyance flashed across her face, she burst out laughing. “You bitch!”

I twirled my finger through the coarse black locks springing out all over my head. The wig had been part of my brother’s Halloween costume from ten years ago. Once upon a time it was in great condition but the fake hair was now matted like an old Barbie doll’s.

“Seriously, Haley, we’re graduating tomorrow. It’s the biggest event of our life after birth, and you’re still acting like a three-year-old.”

I pursed my lips together and fake pouted. She couldn’t help but forgive me even though she turned huffy and went back to the stripes. What could I say? I loved to see people smile, especially my friends. Maybe it came from living with an older brother who’s so damn serious all the time. It drove me nuts. Thank God he had me or his mouth would be stuck in a permanent frown.

If it weren’t for me, anyone who crossed onto our premises would have to be given a warning. Watch out—laughter not allowed. Or we’d have to plant a sign with a big X through a smiley face. My parents were as bad as my brother.

“Come paint your nails,” Brin said. “I’ve got the perfect color blue.”

I flounced to the spa set up all over my floor. “Well, you know darling,” I said with an English accent, “I do have a reputation to maintain. I mustn’t leave the house without my nails done.”

She ignored my comment and wiped a smear of silver from her big toe. I didn’t even get an eye roll. “Are you still going to talk like that when you get married?”

I dropped the accent. “Married? Ha! Not likely.”

She added black dots between the stripes, slow and careful. “What about Seth?”

“What about him?” I grabbed the blue bottle and unscrewed the cap. I waved it under my nose and breathed in the chemical smell.

“You’re going to die early from chemical poisoning if you don’t lay off the fumes.”

I shrugged. “Can’t help it. It’s a habit.” When opening a new book I always pressed my nose into the center of the pages and inhaled the smell too. Old or new, it didn’t matter.

Brin cleared her throat with purpose. “You avoided the question. Seth?”

“I have no plans to get married right now. Even to Seth.” I wiped off a bit of blue. I couldn’t stay within the lines if my life depended on it.

Seth and I had been going out since middle school. It started off slow and a bit awkward, dancing at school events with the zombie-sway back and forth while muttering mind-numbingly boring conversation. Somehow we stayed together and the awkward convos turned into a friendship that was more than dates eating pizza and making out in the car before my curfew. Of course, all those things were an important part of our relationship, but it was the tender moments, when he bared his heart, that I held onto. Even if I couldn’t pin them to a corkboard.

“You know how many high school sweethearts make it?” I asked.

“Your relationship with Seth is not a statistic. Where’s your sense of romance? Of adventure? You’re the one who should see you two together forever.”

She was right. But maybe she didn’t realize that behind my endless smiles, lay dreams and doubts. And maybe, just maybe, I was terrified that if I admitted my dreams of a future with Seth, then I’d be the fool. Because as much as I knew he loved me, he’d never talked about marriage or us being together forever.

“Here.” She tossed me the white. “Add some polka dots or something.”

“Thanks.” I dutifully added dots while she cranked the radio. She didn’t press me for answers. I was thankful. After a few minutes, I turned down the music. “Hey, Brin, can I ask you something?”

She tensed up beside me. “What?” Her voice was clipped and terse.

I hesitated, not wanting to bring up her dad’s passing. “How’s your mom?”

She didn’t say anything at first, and I didn’t take offense. If she didn’t answer I wouldn’t ask again. I always gave her a chance, because sometimes the bad stuff that we keep hidden will rise to the surface if someone shows they care.

Brin sighed. “The same. It was bad the other night.” Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “It was their anniversary.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know what else to say. What do you say to someone who lost both her parents all in the same year? It was two years ago. Her dad died from an accident on the job, and her mom never recovered. Though they lived in the same house, her mom was a ghost, flitting in and out of her life, sometimes angry, other times depressed. Brin cooked, cleaned, and took care of both of them.

“I can’t wait to fly.” Her voice was raspy with flecks of steely resignation. “Away from here. Land someplace completely new where people don’t look at with me pity, where no one knows my mom is the town drunk. I’ll plaster a smile on my face and no one will know my past. And I’ll keep it like that.”

I wiped a silent tear from my eye before she could see it. I held back the sniffle building in my nose and stifled the ache in my chest over her grief. I could’ve told her that true friends wanted to know everything about you: the good, the bad and the ugly. If she met a guy and fell in the forever-kind-of-love, he’d need to know about this part of her life.

Brin reached out and squeezed my hand. I smiled.

We leaned against my bed with our limbs splayed out so our nails could dry. We were content to be alone with our thoughts and look back on our life reflected on the great wall of Haley.

The front door slammed and a commotion went on downstairs. Brin and I smiled at each other.

“Ready?” I asked.

Brin grabbed for my wig. “Take that ridiculous thing off.” Then we jumped into action. She scooped the polish into her bag, leaving room on the floor. We braced ourselves for the whirlwind about to enter.

My bedroom door slammed open, and Kama bounced in. Her eyes were bright and her blonde curly hair framed her face. She swayed her hips while turning in a circle. She swung her arm in the air like a lasso. “Woo hoo. Woo hoo. Time to party, sistahs!”

I flashed her a smile, but it was weak.

“Whoa!” Kama threw up her hands, palms out. “Thank God I arrived. Or you two would be digging your own graves.”

Kama’s always been the dramatic one. All those play programs on my wall? Brin and I’d watched her steal the show of every drama production. Her life was set and the path was clear. She was going to be a musical theater major and head to New York. At some point in the future, I’d be seeing her on Broadway, of that, I was sure.

“Seriously. Totally lame in here.” She held out her hand and helped Brin stand. “Let’s get outta here before I fall asleep from boredom.”

I put up a meager defense. “Hey, it’s only five in the afternoon. The party won’t be rolling until at least eight.”

“Party?” She blew air through her lips. “We’ll have time for that later.” She pulled me up too. “Tonight…we’re going on a journey.”

Brin and I rolled our eyes.

Kama swiped her arm across the front of her body like she was a movie producer trying to show us the big picture. “We’re going back…in time.”

I groaned. Brin started to get into the whole adventure thing. In fact, she squealed. Their enthusiasm was catching and my doom and gloom mood lifted. In a few seconds, we were all jumping up and down, squeeing like schoolgirls. I had no idea what she meant by going back in time but it sounded perfect for this night.