There’s a whole lot of tanned skin and acrylic nails in that circle.
“Hey,” Hayley calls back in a halfhearted sort of way. Like, I have to talk to you because you started it, but I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t said anything.
“You should come over here and hang out with us!” one of them calls out.
I recognize her as one of the girls who was flirting with Brandon on the bus.
The second girl adds, “Don’t worry! The elevation over here is the same as over there! Just in case you’re afraid of heights!”
“Oh, hell no.” Hayley scrambles out of her chair while Kylie clearly chides the girls for being mean.
While all I can do is sit in my chair, wondering what the heck I did to insult them.
Then, I break out of my stupor in time to reach for her. “You don’t have to do this. Don’t start trouble.” Though I know, even as I’m saying it, that she didn’t start anything.
“Do me a favor, okay?” Hayley stands with her back to me, hands on her hips. “Keep your nasty little opinions to yourself. And keep your hands off my brother.”
“Okay,” I whisper, eyes darting back and forth between her and the circle of girls.
But it’s not okay.
“You wanna know why we’re not over there with you? Because you’re ridiculous and vapid, and the only reason I’m on the same island with any of you is because I have to be for my sister. That’s it. So, pretend we’re not here together. Got it? Thanks in advance.”
She then plops down in her chair and orders another drink without so much as a glance in their direction.
I don’t know if I’m scared of her or if I want to kiss her.
“Sorry,” she mumbles, staring straight ahead. “I couldn’t keep quiet. Nobody messes with you or Brandon. End of story.”
“I agree. On the Brandon thing anyway. I would never want you to get in a fight because of me.”
“It’s no big deal. Trust me. I would’ve said something about Brandon sooner rather than later anyway. You should’ve seen them hanging over him. He’s too good for this world.”
“So are you.” I can’t help but giggle, though I’m still mortified. “You know you’re never going to like anybody your brother dates until you start looking at him as a man and not, like, some unworldly man-child.”
“Probably not. You’re right.”
Kylie comes at us like a storm. A very blonde, very angry storm. “What the hell was that supposed to be?” she hisses, arms crossed over her midsection.
“It was supposed to be me telling your so-called friends they’re a bunch of mean girls who need to grow up and get a life.” She looks up at her sister, shrugging. “I mean, you were there. You didn’t see it? You didn’t hear it?”
“You’re the one who needs to grow up.” Kylie casts a look over her shoulder. “You could’ve just come over. They were trying to be friendly.”
“They were being nasty, catty bitches, and we both know it. I have no time for that. Just because you do doesn’t mean I have to put up with it. So, get that idea out of your head right now, okay?”
“It’s my wedding, Hayley.”
“No kidding, Kylie. And until now, I was fine with playing nice, pretending to be friends. But not when my best friend is being insulted for having a panic attack over something completely normal. I’m sorry, but if you bothered to know me at all, you wouldn’t expect me to put up with it for a second.”
Meanwhile, here I am, sinking deeper into my chair.
I’m the reason they’re having this fight—somewhat. How am I not supposed to feel like I did something wrong?
It looks like the rest of this week is going to be even more uncomfortable than I imagined.
CHAPTER NINE
One thing is clear by the time I reach the dock, where we’re scheduled to gather for the snorkeling session.
Absolutely no one is in any condition to go snorkeling.
Well, not no one. There is one person in particular who is over-the-moon excited to get started.
At least, she’s doing her best to convince us she is.
“I’ve always wanted to do this!” Kylie is in a one-piece suit, its white color standing out against her tanned skin, and she looks absolutely radiant.
Though, on closer inspection, the lines etched over the bridge of her nose, between her knitted brows, tell a different story. The girl is wound tight enough to pop. No matter how hard she smiles, it’s obvious she’s a mess inside.
There is only a handful of us out here. Hayley is on her way down, I know. She had a surprise phone call from the office that needed her attention. I want to tell Kylie about this, to explain why her sister isn’t with us yet.
Silly me, thinking that would be the biggest problem this morning.
Somebody needs to tell Zack’s groomsmen to lay off with the heavy drinking. Just like yesterday morning, they all look like death warmed over. Even worse since this is the second hangover in a row.
For all I know, it’s much more than the second. Maybe this is the sort of thing they do every night in their real lives, though if it is, I have to wonder how they manage to hold down jobs. I know that if I were their boss and they showed up every morning with a green color to their skin and the vague look of being on the verge of throwing up, they wouldn’t work for me for very long.
Call me crazy.
“I might sit this one out.” That’s Mitch, one of the groomsmen. He’s speaking low, like anything louder will make his head fall off. “I, um, don’t feel so good.”
“Is there anywhere to sit down?” asks Dave, another of Zack’s friends.
Our instructor looks to Kylie, his brow lifting. “Maybe this isn’t the best time for your group to do this?”
I barely manage to keep from cringing openly since I can only imagine how she’ll take this.
Her jaw twitches, and her eyes narrow, but she maintains that overly bright tone of voice. “Maybe we don’t all have to do it, but I did book this time.”
I can tell what she’s not saying out loud since it would be rude.
She paid for this time. And now, the buffoons her fiancé is friends with are ruining it.
All except for one.
While even Zack looks a little green around the gills, Kellen is as fresh as a daisy. It’s like he’s living in some parallel universe, outside the rest of them. I know I saw all of them together at the bar just off the lobby last night. He was with them.
Maybe he’s only drinking soft drinks? Maybe he knows his limits?
“I’m game,” he announces. “I’ve always wanted to do this too.”
Kylie shoots him a grateful look.
The instructor shrugs. “Okay, let me demonstrate how to use the equipment.”
Which is precisely the moment when Mitch throws up all over the place.
And I do mean, all over. I’m glad I’m standing nowhere near him since the splash radius is pretty extensive.
Everybody jumps back in horror. Dave covers his mouth with his hand and ducks behind a tree where he, too, throws his guts up. The smell is appalling. I turn away with my hand over my mouth and nose, gagging a little.