The Princess Sisters (The Princess Sisters Series) (15 page)

Chapter
Twenty-Two

Dave
glanced at the two blonde, resting figures in his rearview mirror as he guided
the car home that night.  Ariel was sleeping with her head on the middle hump,
while Aurora was bent in half, her head resting on Ariel’s shoulder.  Aurora sat up and looked at her sleeping sister with a pang of jealousy, then she put her
earbuds in, turned up her I-pod, and lay back down.  With their two heads
almost touching, it was a mass of blonde curls and impossible to tell whose
hair was whose.  Then Dave looked beside himself at the still figure of Belle. 
Her head was leaned back against the headrest and her eyes were closed, but he
wasn’t sure if she was asleep.  His answer soon came when Belle sat up and
peered around the side of her chair at the two still figures.  She then resumed
her restful position and without looking at him asked, “So what’s going on with
you and Aurora?”

Dave’s
hands tightened around the steering wheel, “What do you mean?”

“Well,
she obviously likes you and you didn’t do anything to deter her attention,
so…?” Belle paused, hoping for him to quickly deny the accusations she was
implying, but Dave was silent for too long.

“I’m
not really sure what you mean?” he asked.

“Do
you like her?  Cause I thought you liked me too at one point.  I mean, we
kissed, but clearly that doesn’t mean much to you.”  It was like someone had
finally broken through the barrier that stood between Belle and Dave when she
mentioned the kiss.  The tension between them had been building since that
fateful night, but neither had dared bring it up again.  Now that the topic had
finally resurfaced, it was like a breath of fresh air.

“I
do like you,” Dave said, reaching over and placing a hand on top of hers. 
“More than you might think,” he quickly added.  “But it’s complicated.”

“How
is it complicated?” Belle’s voice rose and they both absentmindedly glanced in
the backseat to make sure the twins hadn’t heard.

“Can
we talk about this later?” Dave asked.

“Sure,”
Belle said, pulling her hand out from underneath his.  “Just like the kiss and
just like our relationship.  We’ll discuss it later.”  Belle made hand quotes
in the air when she said the word ‘later’, then folded her arms across her
chest and shifted in her seat so she was facing away from Dave.  He tried to
reach over and put his hand on her back, but the backseat started to move and
the subject was dropped again.

“What’s
going on?” Aurora asked, stretching her arms above her head so they touched the
carpeted ceiling of the car.

“Nothing,”
Dave and Belle both said in unison.

“I
thought I heard something.”

“Ariel
fell asleep and you seemed pretty peaceful, so Belle and I were just talking,”
Dave responded.

The
headlights briefly shone on the bright green street sign ahead as the car
slowed and Dave turned onto their little street.  The car didn’t even come to a
complete stop when Belle’s door flew open and she jumped out.  Dave tried to
stop, but the jerking of the car made Belle lose her balance and she ended up
landing hard on the gravel.

“Oh
my gosh Belle! Are you okay?” Dave asked.

“I’m
fine!” she said.  But she limped slightly as she walked toward her house.

“Nothing,
huh?” Aurora asked as she opened her own door.

Dave
glanced back at Aurora without really seeing her, then his eyes followed Belle
until she disappeared behind her front door.  Ariel and Aurora thanked Dave as
they climbed out of the car and then ventured up their own steps.

“Well,
the day started out fun,” Ariel said once the twins were inside.

“Oh
come on, you didn’t think that was fun?” Aurora asked with a sly grin as she
headed up the stairs to their shared bedroom.

“Watching
Belle leave in a huff? No, I’m going to say that part was just awkward.”

“I
wonder what happened in the car,” Aurora said, seeming a little too eager about
the prospective answer.

“You
know exactly what happened,” Ariel replied.  “Don’t play dumb.”

“You
think it was my fault,” Aurora stated more than asked as she slipped into her
pajamas.

“Come
on, you know Belle likes Dave, but you were flirting pretty heavy with him
today.”  Ariel stepped out of the room to wash her face in the adjoining
bathroom.  She really didn’t want to have this conversation, as she thought
about the Surf n Swim and her secret kiss with Dave.  Somehow, she just hadn’t
been able to discuss it with Aurora, and now she was glad she hadn’t.  Her
heart fell when she thought back over the day.  Dave hadn’t acted any
differently toward her.  But even as she continued getting ready for bed, Aurora pushed the conversation onward.

“So
what, does she have dibs on him or something?  Belle thinks he’s cute so I’m
not allowed too?  Besides, he was flirting back!”  Aurora said, following her
around.  “There’s no harm in that.”

“Dave
flirts with everybody. That’s not exactly saying anything that he was flirting
with you. It doesn’t necessarily mean he likes you back.”

“Fine,”
Aurora said, looking at Ariel through the mirror as they finished washing
their faces.  Then pausing for effect, “But does he kiss everybody?”

“When
did Dave kiss you?!” Ariel asked, splashing water on her face and then hurrying
to follow Aurora back into their bedroom.  Aurora shrugged and climbed into
bed.

“Now
you know you can’t leave me hanging like that!” Ariel said, sitting down on the
edge of Aurora’s bed.  Aurora just grinned, then pulled the covers up under her
chin and pretended to sleep.

“Fine,”
said Ariel, getting into her own bed.  “But just know he kissed me first,” she
added, switching the lights off.  They immediately came back on and Aurora was staring hard at her identical sister.

“When
did Dave kiss you?” she asked, no longer smiling.

“At
the Surf n Swim,” Ariel said.  “But he told me to keep it quiet and nothing has
happened since then.  I think he’s just a player.”  Even as Ariel spoke the
words, she wished they weren’t true.  She had been hoping Dave would show his
interest again, but now that he’d kissed Aurora, she wasn’t sure what to think.

“He
kissed me in the spook house,” Aurora said quietly, her voice no longer
boastful.  Ariel and Aurora each lay awake for several hours, but neither of
them spoke another word that night.

***

Dana
got home shortly after Scott left and sent Snow White on her way.

“Cinderella
is still grounded,” she reminded her.

Then
around 11:00pm Cinderella could hear her cell phone going off in the other
room.  She could hear her mom’s agitated voice as she answered the late call.

“No….that’s…but
she’s grounded.”

Then
Dana’s voice softened, “What’s wrong?”  Then it turned accusatory, “Did that
boy do something to you?  Alright, but only for a few minutes.”

Cinderella’s
door opened and Dana handed her daughter the cell phone.

“It’s
Belle.  She said it’s an emergency, but I told her you could only talk for a
few minutes, okay?” she said.

“Belle?”
Cinderella asked as soon as her mom had left the room.

“I
don’t know what to do!” Belle choked.  Cinderella could tell by her voice that
she had been crying.

“What’s
going on?” Cinderella asked.

Belle
proceeded to tell her cousin everything; from the kiss at the redbox to their
day at Lagoon and Aurora’s flirty behavior.

“I
know Dave told me it was between us and to keep it a secret, but I just can’t
hold it in anymore!”

Cinderella
could feel a lump growing in her throat. 
I guess I read him wrong when we
were in Logan.
 
It seems like he’ll kiss anybody who will let him!
  
Cinderella swallowed her lump and tried to think of the best way to break this
news to Belle.  “I'm beginning to think Dave is just playing us.”  Cinderella
tried to sound as calm and sweet as possible.

“Us?”
Belle asked, sounding agitated.

“I
wasn't going to tell you this, but when I went to Logan with Dave and his
brother kissed me, Dave kissed me too.”

Belle
was silent for a little while.  “Really?” she asked quietly.

“He
said he didn't want me to say anything about it either.  He didn't want to make
things weird with the rest of you.  I don’t think Dave is the prince we thought
he was.  I’d like to think he might still be a frog, but it sounds like he was
acting like a total toad today.”

Belle
paused again.  “Sounds like he really played you then,” she said, anger
replacing sadness in her voice.  Then she hung up.

Cinderella
sat staring at her phone for a while, her jaw unconsciously remained open. 
Then she slapped the phone shut and returned it to Dana.

“It
wasn’t really an emergency,” she said, trying to hide the anger that threatened
to spill out through her words.  “Just Belle being dramatic.”

“So
everything is okay then?” Dana asked.

“Yup,”
Cinderella said.  “Everything is just fine.”

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Wednesday,
August 4th

“Where
is it?”

“Where’s
what?”

“Come
on, I know you took it!”

“What
did I take?!”

“Stop
being such a brat and give it back to me!”

Rachel
awoke the next morning to her daughters’ bickering voices in the next bedroom. 
She’d worked a late shift and had been hoping to sleep in.  Their shouts grew
louder as Rachel lay in bed, puzzled by the sudden argument.  Her daughters
almost never fought!  She climbed out of bed and slid her robe from its hanger
behind the door.  Pulling it over her shoulders, she pushed the door open to
the girls’ bedroom.  Aurora was pulling things from Ariel’s drawers and tossing
them over her shoulders, shouting at her sister as the clothes flew about the
room.  Ariel sat on her bed, screaming for Aurora to stop.  Then she jumped off
the bed and charged her sister, knocking the both of them to the ground. 
Rachel ran in the room and pulled the girls apart.

“What
on earth is going on in here?”

“Ariel
stole my bracelet!”

“Your
bracelet?  Why on earth would I steal your bracelet?!”

“I
don’t know!  Maybe you’re just jealous that Dave likes me and not you!  Or
maybe you took it because yours is gone!  All I know is I had it last night,
and now it’s gone!”

“Think
about it genius,” Ariel shouted over Rachel’s slender frame that separated the
two of them.  “Why would I steal a bracelet with
your
name on it?!”

“I
have no idea!” Aurora screamed back.  “You’re the criminal mastermind, not me.”

“Don’t
be so stupid!” Ariel yelled.  “That doesn’t even make sense!”

Rachel
put a hand up in front of each girl’s face.  “That’s enough,” she said.

The
twins stopped and looked at their mother, finally noticing her presence. 
“Ariel, did you take Aurora’s bracelet for any reason?” she asked calmly.

“No!”

“Liar!”

Rachel
put her hands up again.  “Aurora, is it possible you lost your bracelet on a
ride yesterday?”

“No! 
I remember having it last night!”

“Well
maybe it fell off without your noticing.  Why don’t you put Ariel’s things back
where they go and she can help you look for it.”

“But…”
Ariel began.

“I’m
not asking,” Rachel said.  And there was a finality in her voice that stopped
the twins from arguing any further.  “Check Dave’s car too,” Rachel said as she
pulled their door closed behind her.

Ariel
plopped back on her bed and picked up a magazine that was laying on the
nightstand.  She rolled onto her stomach and began flipping through the pages. 
“If you think I’m going to help you, you’ve got another thing coming.”

“I
don’t want your help anyway!” Aurora whisper-shouted so their mother wouldn’t
come back in.  “Besides, I’d rather go to Dave’s house myself.”

“Sure,
you wouldn’t want anyone around to get in the way of your sluttiness,” Ariel
mumbled under her breath.

“What
did you say?” Aurora asked with venom in her voice.  Ariel’s phone started
ringing and she quickly answered it.

“Sorry,
can’t talk,” Ariel mouthed.  Then she frowned at the phone.  “I don’t really
want to talk about that, ask Aurora,” she said.  Ariel tossed the phone in Aurora’s direction.  “It’s Belle,” she said, going back to her magazine.

An
hour later, showered and primped, Aurora stood on Dave’s front steps.  She had
to knock twice before Dave’s mom answered the door.

“Is
Dave here?” she asked.

“Oh
no, I’m sorry sweetie,” she said, shaking her head.  “He had football practice
this morning.”

“Oh
okay,” Aurora replied.  “Would you have him call me?”

“Sure
thing.  It’s Ariel, right?”

Aurora
gritted her teeth.  “No, it’s Aurora actually.”

“Oh,
I’m sorry!  I’ll have him give you a call.”

“Thanks,”
Aurora said, and she turned and walked away.

***

Cinderella
sat by her bedroom window, watching Aurora walk away from Dave’s house.  She
shook her head but couldn’t help a little smile from creeping across her face. 
It serves Belle right for being such a jerk last night.
  Then almost
immediately she felt bad for having such thoughts about her cousin.  Cinderella
was about to close the curtains when she saw a white sneaker fly through the
air and land on the balcony in front of her.  She slid open the glass door and
stepped out into the sunlight, looking around.  Snow White stood on her balcony
next door, another shoe in hand, prepared to launch.

“Whoa,”
Cinderella said, putting her hands up.  “I surrender!”  But it quickly became
apparent to Cinderella that Snow White was not in a joking mood.

“Why
didn’t you tell us you kissed Dave?” Then quickly correcting herself, “Why
didn’t you tell
me
?”

“Who…?” 
But Cinderella knew who before she could even get the rest of the question
out.  “When did Belle tell you?” she asked.

“She
called me this morning,” Snow White said, her eyes refusing to make contact
with Cinderella’s.  “Why am I always the last to know everything?” she asked.

“Belle
only found out last night and I didn’t tell Ariel or Aurora either,” Cinderella
defended herself.

“Well,
Aurora called me about ten minutes after Belle did to see if it was true, so
I guess she got to them too.”

Cinderella
clenched her fists.  “It really wasn’t that big a deal,” she said.

“I
just can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me something like that.  Especially after
I ditched them to spend all day here with you.”  Snow White looked like she was
about to cry.

“I
didn’t mean to hurt you, Snow!  Honest!  I just didn’t think it was that big a
deal.  I only kissed him for that stupid ‘True Aggie’ thing.  It doesn’t even
matter now; I like Scott anyway.”

“Well
it matters to me,” Snow White said.  “I would have been more prepared when he
kissed me, if you had warned us,” she barely spoke above a whisper.

“Wait! 
He what?!”  But it was too late.  Snow White had already turned and gone back
inside.  “Snow wait!  Snow?”

Cinderella
turned and stepped back into her own bedroom, slamming the glass door behind
her.  Or at least slamming the sliding glass door as best as one can.  She
paced around her room in a huff before throwing herself down on the bed. 
Cinderella screamed into her pillow, but it didn’t seem to relieve all her
frustrations. 
That brat!
 
I can’t believe she told on me!
  Then
she sat up on the edge of her bed and paused for a moment.  “Let’s see how
she
likes it,” Cinderella whispered to herself.  Then, ever so quietly, Cinderella
opened her bedroom door and tiptoed into her mom’s bedroom.  She could hear
Dana downstairs in the kitchen.  She glanced around for a moment before
noticing the pink cell phone sitting on her mom’s dresser.  Grabbing the
contraband item, Cinderella punched a familiar number on her speed dial and
listened to the rings.

“Hello?”

“Hi
Aunt Mary, it’s Cinderella.”

“Hey
sweetie, I thought you weren’t allowed to talk on the phone.  Did the warden
let up on you already?”

“No,
but this is important,” Cinderella began.  “I’ve been holding a secret in and I
just can’t lie to you anymore.”

“What’s
going on?”

“Belle
got her belly-button pierced about a month ago and I’m not trying to be a
tattle-tale, but I think you deserve to know the truth.”  The other line was
silent for a moment; exactly the reaction Cinderella had been hoping for.

“Thanks
for calling,” Mary said in a tight voice and she hung up the phone. 

Cinderella
snapped her own phone shut and returned it to the exact spot on her mom’s
dresser.  Then she skipped down the stairs, taking two at a time, to join Dana
in the kitchen for breakfast.