Page 18 of Finding Us

“Too pink.” I sort through the rack next to her but all the dresses are long, like evening gowns, and too formal for the party.

“This one’s cute.” She takes out another bright pink dress. “Too bad it’s not my size.”

“You should go into a fashion career. How did you end up liking sports anyway?”

“My dad took me to games when I was little. My mom and sisters hate sports so they refused to go, but I loved going with him. I got my own father-daughter time.”

I hold up a turquoise blue dress. It’s way too short so I put it back. “So you and your dad bonded over sports?”

“Football, baseball, and basketball. And tennis, of course. My dad won’t admit it but I know he was hoping for a boy when my mom was pregnant with me.” She laughs. “I was his last chance because my mom told him they were only having three kids. Luckily for him I ended up liking sports.”

“So he must be excited about you going into sports broadcasting.”

“He doesn’t say much about it. I think he’s holding back his excitement until I actually get a job. It’s a tough field. I may not make it.”

“You’ll make it.” I pull out a yellow dress. “You like this one?”

She scrunches up her face. “Yellow’s not your color. I don’t look good in yellow either. Not many people do.”

I put it back on the rack. “Harper, does your dad get along with Sean?”

She stops shuffling through the dresses. “Um, yeah, I think so. Why?”

“He just didn’t seem that friendly to him. That’s all.”

“It doesn’t matter. I don’t really care if my dad likes him.” She sorts through the dresses again, not really looking at them but just shoving the hangers side to side like she’s angry.

I decide not to push the topic. It’s definitely bothering her, but she’s not ready to talk about it. Either that or she’s in denial, because after seeing that earlier encounter it’s clear that her dad doesn’t like Sean.

CHAPTERSEVEN

“Harper! You’re home!”A tall, skinny blond girl runs in the room followed by an even skinnier blond girl who’s a few inches shorter.

“Kylie! Caitlyn!”

As the three of them hug, I notice how similar they look. They all have the same eyes and the same blond hair color. They look just like their mom.

“This is my friend, Jade,” Harper says, leading them over to me. “Jade, these are my sisters. This is Caitlyn. She just got back from a photo shoot in Hawaii. And this is Kylie, the famous actress who gives you all the clothes.”

“Hi.” I go to shake their hands but they hug me instead. And they both say hi at the same time in high-pitched voices.

“Thanks for the clothes,” I say to Kylie. “It’s really nice of you to share like that.”

She glances around the room. “I could never wear all this stuff. You’re welcome to take anything in here. None of this stuff fits me anyway, except maybe the shoes.”

Kylie is so thin it’s almost hard to look at her. I can see her collarbone poking out beneath her shirt and her legs have no shape at all. They’re just tiny straight sticks coming out from her shorts. When she hugged me all I felt was bone. Caitlyn isn’t quite as thin as Kylie but she’s at least 20 pounds underweight for someone her height. She’s a model, so maybe she has to be that thin but it doesn’t look healthy. I’m 10 pounds under what the weight chart at the doctor’s office claims is my ideal weight and I look fat next to these two.

“Jade needs a dress for tonight,” Harper says. “What do you guys think she should wear?”

“I know!” Kylie says. “I just got this really cute dress sent to me last week. It’s still in my room. It’d be perfect on her.” She runs off, then comes back with a dark blue sleeveless dress covered in sparkly sequins. She hands it to me. “Try it on.”

I look around the room for a place to change.

“Just slip it on,” Kylie says.

I’m a little shy when it comes to undressing in front of people, especially people I just met, but the three of them think nothing of it. I duck behind a rack of clothes and put on the dress, then step out to model it for them.

“That looks amazing on you,” Caitlyn says.

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