Page 132 of Next to Everything We Wanted

He hugged me back. “I’m excited for where our future is taking us.”

Everything inside me came to life at the idea of performing at Moonlight Lounge in a week. “Me too.”

CHAPTER 32

Sienna

I’d managed to calm my nerves about Mom working with Charm Street. Gavin hadn’t suspected a thing was wrong with me on Friday night.

Raina, however, did. She kept looking at me during our entire band practice on Saturday, like I had food on my face or something.

I tried to ignore it and focus on my excitement—we had two gigs at What Do You Bean next week, and our band was starting to gain traction on social media. Soon, we’d have a fanbase to visit us during our gigs.

It sucked that we were running out of time to perform with Caleb, with him leaving for New York next month, but we were making the most of our time. Arielle had nailed learning how to play the keyboard, so we’d be in good hands without him. Still, it wouldn’t be the same without the seven of us jamming out while Mollie and Bella watched.

When we were done rehearsing, Raina slid up next to me as I walked out of the house. “What was up with you today?”

“What do you mean?” I hugged my guitar to my chest. “I’m doing great.”

She shook her head, her earrings hitting her cheeks. “Nice try.”

I sighed. “I’ll talk about it when we get to your house, okay?” I’d promised to hang out at her house after practice, which meant I couldn’t go home and look up more stuff about Mom. I usually liked hanging out at the girls’ house, since it was massive—a kitchen stocked with endless food, a home theater, and bedrooms bigger than my living room—but I wasn’t looking forward to the deep conversation I had ahead.

Raina nodded. “Okay.”

We drove in our separate cars to her house. Arielle drove faster than me, so she and Raina arrived a few minutes before I did.

I admired their neighborhood as I drove through it. It was full of Mediterranean mansions with large yards, making me feel way out of my element. At the same time, I always imagined what it’d be like to live here.

Did Mom live in a place like this in LA?

Stop thinking about her. I parked in the driveway next to Gracelynn’s black SUV, trying to block out my thoughts.

When Mrs. Vermont opened the door for me, she gave me a warm smile. “Hello, Sienna. It’s been a while.” Each time I visited, she looked happier than before. Her dark eyes no longer had bags under them, and her brown hair was in neat waves. Even when she lounged around the house, she looked stunning. “It’s been a while.”

I grinned, closing the door. “Hey, Mrs. V. How have you been?”

“Better each day.” She gave me a short hug. “The girls are in Raina’s room.”

“Thanks.”

As I went up the spiral staircase, I took in the pictures of the Vermont family. Mr. Vermont smiled in each one he was in,holding his wife and daughters close. A pain tugged in my chest. The house hadn’t felt the same since he’d been arrested.

I opened the door to Raina’s room, which was covered in purple from head to toe—purple walls, purple sheets, purple couch, purple carpet, it never ended. My room was about the size of her ensuite bathroom. And yes, that was purple too.

Raina and Gracelynn were on the bed, Raina sitting up and petting her kitten Moonlight while Gracelynn lay on her stomach. They both smiled at me when I came in.

Gracelynn put her chin in the palm of her hands. “So, I heard Raina almost had to kill your boyfriend.”

“Notkill,” Raina said, twirling one of her hoop earrings. “Just beat up. With my foot.”

“And ruin your expensive shoes?”

“It’d be worth it for Sienna.”

I giggled, sitting next to Arielle on the loveseat. “No shoe-ruining was needed.”

“You know, you never said what he actually did,” Arielle said. “What happened last week?”