Read Online Gorgeous by Rachel Vail - Free Book Online Page A

way I could ever be anything of the kind, Phoebe puzzled that for a few seconds before rearranging her lovely features into a radiant smile and saying, “No, but really. Why did you go into the city?”
    I had to laugh. She was right not to believe it. The devil in my bedroom was a more plausible occurrence than me trying to be a fashion model. “Yeah, thanks,” I said, and, when she looked sorry and about to correct my (actually correct) impression of her disbelief, continued, “Ugh. Don’t even ask. You try to do a friend a favor and you end up getting your picture taken by a bunch of creeps with fake English…”
    I didn’t get to finish because Quinn was freaking out that I’d gotten my picture taken. Like it mattered anyway. To change the subject I asked what they were doing.
    It turned out Phoebe hadn’t canceled her graduation party after all, and the invitations to it had just come in the mail. And even worse, Mom’s check for the deposit had bounced, so our financial situation was about to become the talk of the town.
    Poor Phoebe was practically shaking.
    And Quinn, the tightass, was just making her feel worse.
    I told Phoebe I’d help her get money, and she looked so grateful I couldn’t help hugging her. Poor thing, she had no idea how to handle friendship stress or any kind of stress—everything had always fallen into place for her. Must be nice to be the baby of the family, I thought. I was the baby for just over a year but didn’t know enough as an infant to take full advantage of the situation.
    Surprisingly my generous offer didn’t perk Phoebe right up; she started to do that trembling-lip thing she does when she cries that could just break your heart (if you had one; mine, I figured, was probably on vacation in Tahiti with my soul; but still, even I felt a little bad for her).
    The three of us all scooted into Quinn’s gigantic closet and sat on her chaotic mess of stuff. I tried not to look around too much. How can a person who is so perfect in every other way be such a slob? Little by little Phoebe coughed up the rest of the story—her friends, basically, were dumping her.
    I promised Phoebe we’d come up with the money she needed for her party, but Quinn was all like, No way, you can’t, Mommy and Daddy will never let you , blah blah blah. She was totally destroying Phoebe, right there in the closet, breaking her into little bits. I couldn’t believe it. Usually I was the nasty one.
    Of course, Phoebe just lumped me right in there with Quinn’s meanness despite my (probably creaky from disuse) sweet generosity, and stomped out of the closet, out of Quinn’s room, cursing and slamming doors behind her as she went.
    I turned to Quinn to ask her why she was being so awful to Phoebe, but got a dose of it for myself before I had a chance.
    “Grow up,” Quinn spat at me. “You have to get your head out of your ass, Allison. This family is falling apart and what are you doing? Cutting school, climbing onto the roof, convincing Phoebe you can…what? Rob a bank for her?”
    “Rob? My own account, you jerk,” I said. “I wasn’t offering your money, you tightass.”
    I managed to get up off her war zone of a closet floor and out into her room. “You can pretend you’re a martyr all you want,” I said, heading toward her door. “Is it really helping anybody? Is it getting Mom her job back? And thanks for showing me I can really count on you to keep my secrets. Not.”
    I opened her door and slammed it shut behind me before I saw that Mom was standing there in the upstairs hall staring at me.
    “Hi,” I said, trying to smile.
    She stared at me for a few more seconds as curses and strategies chased each other through my brain. How much had she heard? Did she know I hadn’t come in through the front door? What should I say if she confronts me on whether I cut school? Cutting was bad, but lying about it would be way worse, unless I didn’t get caught, so…
    “Everything okay?”