Page 3 of Take Care, Taylor

“Huh?” I held out my letter. “I’m just here to drop this off for Audrey.”

“Nonsense.” She ushered me inside. “You can personally give it to her—since you’re best friends.”

“We arenotbest friends,” I said. “We’re not even ‘basic’ friends…”

“Audrey!” she called over her shoulder. “Your first party guest is here!”

Audrey rounded the corner in a bright yellow dress, with curls that were half as long as they were yesterday.

Her eyes met mine and her smile instantly faded.

“Ugh.” She crossed her arms. “What couldyoupossibly want?”

“Nothing from you,” I said. “I came here to apologize to your parents.”

“Why? I don’t recall you treating them like trash.”

“I treat you how you deserve to be treated, which is pretty good since I don’t like you.”

“I don’t care.” She shrugged. “You weren’t invited to my birthday party, so you can leave now.”

“Gladly.” I started to walk away, but her mom carried a fudge tower past us, setting it on the dining room table.

The scent of the chocolate stopped me dead in my tracks.

Fudge was my favorite dessert, and my parents weren’t buying me anything sweeter than an apple while I was grounded.

“I think I’ll stay a little while,” I said, eyeing the tower. “When are you cutting that?”

“When someone I actually like gets here.”

“I’m not waitingyearsfor a slice of chocolate, Audrey.”

“Whatever.” She walked over to the gift table and fiddled with a bouquet of yellow balloons.

I took a seat and watched as her mom and dad continued setting desserts on the table.

Watching them was like watching one of those old sitcoms my grandparents put on late at night. They hummed and danced like an old couple, kissed each other’s cheeks every few minutes, and stared at each other like they were taking notes.

No wonder Audrey is so weird…

When I counted the fiftieth cupcake, I realized I was still the only kid here.

“Did we write the right time on the invitations?” Audrey’s mother stepped into the hall. “It’s been over an hour.”

“Couldn’t have.” Her father smiled at me. “What time did your invitation say, Taylor?”

“I don’t remember.” I looked at Audrey.

She really didn’t invite me to her birthday party?

“We’ll give it a little more time and I’ll make some calls,” her mom said. “In the meantime, let’s get a picture of the two best friends!”

“Who?” Audrey and I said in unison.

“Very funny.” Her mother tugged Audrey toward me. “Now, smile on three. One, two?—”

We both stared blankly ahead when she hit three.