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Cheryl had never said before. A chill ran through her body. “What do you mean?”
    “She wants your place. She wants that boy you’re dating.”
    Bash pounced on that, hoping that could be a good segue into a different topic. “Actually, Mom, that’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” she said, her face breaking into a grin just thinking about Seth. “You know my boyfriend, Seth? He asked me to marry him.”
    Cheryl’s grip on her arm lessened so suddenly, Bash thought she had disappeared. “Marry him?” Her mother’s voice was reverent suddenly, her terror of Lily completely forgotten. “He asked you to marry him?”
    “Yep.” Bash couldn’t hide the excitement from her voice.
    “And what did you say?”
    “I said yes. I wanted you to be the first person to know.”
    Cheryl gently stroked Bash’s face. “Aw, honey, I’m so happy to hear that.”
    Bash blinked, hoping to hide the tears she felt forming. “I’m happy too, Mom. I’m very happy.”
     
    *****
     
    Across the gardens, Lily sulked under a tree, watching her mother and sister share a tender moment together. Cheryl always tried to exclude Lily from their heart-to-hearts, which was part of the reason why she hated visiting.
    The itching behind her eyes threatened to turn into tears. She roughly wiped her face. She refused to cry, especially when she had been expecting this.
    As if on cue, a splitting crack ran through her skull, her hangover rearing its ugly head. It nearly debilitated her. She put a hand to her forehead, grimacing in pain. She didn’t notice that the leaves were shaking in the bushes around her even though there was no wind.
    I really have to stop doing that , she told herself, trying to get over the stranglehold of her hangover. I really have to stop being so stupid.
    Lily, the voice in the back of her mind chimed in again. Lii—iiiillllyy.
    Shut up , she told it. She often tried to ignore it. She never tried to get any help for it, because she feared that someone would think she was crazy and she didn’t want to end up in a looney bin like this. She would cope with whatever dark, crazy whisperings her inner psyche would say to her. She’d done it for so long anyways. It did, however, feel like the voice was getting more insistent these days.
    They’re talking about you, Lily , the voice taunted. Talking about how much better Bash’s life is because YOU failed us.
    Of course they would be. Cheryl had just kicked her out of the conversation. Bash would be talking to her, trying to repair whatever it was.
    Truth be told, on some level, Lily did blame Bash for their parents’ accident. That fateful morning, Lily was just going to endure Cheryl’s condemnation and that would be the end of it. Then Bash had to step in and tell them to leave. Lily had it under control, and then Bash had to ruin it. Like she always did when it came to Lily’s life.
    Not to mention that Cheryl now treated Lily like she was the scum of the universe. Something had happened in that car wreck that made their mother hate Lily now. All because Bash couldn’t keep her damn mouth shut.
    Her thoughts drifted back to Seth, and her heart ached thinking about it. He treated her like some sort of stranger now too. Like he hadn’t arrived that night to see her . Like there wasn’t any sort of connection between them.
    She thought back to their impending ski trip in two weeks’ time and wondered yet again why she agreed to go along. Maybe it was because Bash had allowed her to choose where they would go and offered to pay her way. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Seth was going.
    She combed her fingers through her hair. The tears really were forcing their way down her cheeks now. Nothing felt fair to her.
    Liii—iiiillyy .
    Shut up! she screamed mentally.
    Unfortunately, the voice wouldn’t hear of it.
    She’s marrying him, Lily. Him. Your soul mate.
    She was trying not to listen to the voice. It was just very difficult to ignore its