Free Thrive by Krista Ritchie, Becca Ritchie Page B

her
knee.
    “Hey, stop, Dais.” He moves her hand away. “Wait for some
ice first.” He looks up at me and then completely freezes when he sees Rose.
    “Stop looking at me like that,” she snaps.
    “You’re wearing Lily’s costume,” is all he can fucking say.
He’s staring at Rose like he wants to bang her.
    I smack the back of his head.
    He blinks a few times, as though it just now registers in
his brain who she is, along with her boyfriend’s identity. “I’m just fucking
surprised. Give me a minute to process this.”
    Rose fixes the wig on her head. “Process it and then move
on.” She looks to a confused Daisy. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you in the
room.” She asks, “Where’d you run off to anyway?”
    “Outside,” she tells her. “I just needed some fresh air.”
The elevator abruptly stops on our floor, and Daisy almost topples over,
teetering on one leg. Without asking, Ryke swiftly lifts Daisy back in his
arms. A smile spreads across her face.
    I internally shake my head. Then my phone buzzes in my belt,
distracting me. I take it out.
    This is the second
best day of my life. The director just accidentally touched my pinky finger!!!! – Lily
    I smile so goddamn much that I can hear my father yelling at
me for it. He used to do that when I was a kid. Be serious for once in your fucking life, Loren.
    My lips fall. I text back: What’s the first best day? I press send in an instant.
    She’s quick to reply.
    The day I fell in love
with you. – Lily
    I shut my eyes for a second, and I try to remember that day.
I try to transport my mind back to that place. But for every warmth there is
cold. For every ounce of light there is blackness.
    And for every happy memory, there is grief and pain.
    I can’t remember that day without crawling through it all.
    So I open my eyes, and I let it drift away.
    It’s okay.
    I’m going to make new best days with Lily Calloway.
    I can feel it.

 
    { 9 }
    0 years : 03 months
    November
     
    LILY CALLOWAY
    Our annual Thanksgiving tradition has been put to
rest, buried with other normal things that I can no longer do. We usually have
a pre-meal at Lucky’s Diner before eating with our families, but I haven’t been
back in three months: my twenty-first birthday when the manager refused to
close the blinds.
    Last Thanksgiving, the only people who knew about my sex
addiction were Rose, Connor, and Ryke. Before all of that, we used to just sit
at a family dinner table, carrying a lie in our hearts. Now that my addiction
is out in the open, the event has been more awkward and uncomfortable for every
person involved.
    My mom hasn’t even looked at me, and the weight only slowly
ascends off my chest when we take a break before coffee and dessert.
    “Are we having a sister powwow?” Daisy asks as she jumps on
our father’s oak desk.
    Rose said she had something important to tell us, so the
four of us retreated to the study before our mom calls us back for pie.
    I sit on the uglier paisley armchair, a spring hurting my
butt. I silently wish for the Hale’s leather couches that I can sink into.
    “Did Connor propose?” Poppy asks, a smile already enveloping
her face. She crosses her legs on the suede couch.
    Rose flinches back in surprise. “Of course not.”
    I try to adjust on the chair. Nope, the spring is definitely
going to bruise my ass after this.
    Poppy says, “I thought you were scared of babies, not
matrimony.”
    “First of all”—Rose paces in front of us—“I am not scared of babies. I hate babies.
They scream for no reason and can’t walk properly.”
    I shake my head.
    Daisy laughs, swinging her legs and tossing a crystal
paperweight in her hand.
    “They’re little—” Poppy tries to justify.
    “Devils. They’re little devils that only exist to annoy me.”
    She’s too dramatic for her own good.
    “And strangely,” Poppy says, “Maria adores you out of every
person in the family. Why is that?”
    “I don’t know. That’s