Three Times the Charm Read online

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Authors

  By Caitlin Ricci

  By A.M. Burns

  By Kimberly Cooper Griffin

  Visit Harmony Ink Press

  Copyright

  Three Times the Charm

  By Caitlin Ricci, A.M. Burns, and Kimberly Cooper Griffin

  Senior year is full of trials, but for one group of friends, it might mean facing life and death.

  Raine and Amelia have always been close friends, but it isn’t until Mel, a flirtatious out-and-proud lesbian, moves to their school that they recognize their feelings might be something more.

  But the three girls have little time to enjoy their budding romance before a crisis strikes. The eating disorder that Amelia’s been hiding for years is ravaging her health, even if she cannot admit the problem to herself. The trio must rally and stand together, because in a fight for Amelia’s life, they can’t afford to lose.

  Chapter One

  Raine

  “RAINE, IT’S time to rise and shine today,” intoned the dulcet voice, a gentle invasion of my sleep-muddled mind. “You’re smart, you’re funny, and your family and friends love you. You can do anything. Raine, it’s time to rise and shine today. You’re—”

  I reached over to turn off the custom alarm I had set on my smartphone and stretched awake. My bed was so comfy. Maybe a few more minutes of sleep. I rolled to my side and tucked my hands under my pillow. The scents of blueberry pancakes and bacon wafted through my room. Dad’s first-day-of-school breakfasts were the bomb. My eyes flew open. The first day of school! My last first day of school, at least of high school. College would be different. But this year was going to be the best year ever. Plus I would get to see Amelia more often. Summer had dragged on forever with her away at cheerleading camp for most of it. I kept busy with the art classes I took at the local college, but it wasn’t as fun without my best friend to hang out with.

  After jumping out of bed, I went to the closet to pick out an outfit before I showered. I selected my favorite T-shirt and some new jeans. I couldn’t choose between two scarves. Would it be the wild one my mom and I picked up in Santa Fe a few weeks earlier while visiting the Georgia O’Keeffe museum? Or would it be the one Amelia had given me for my birthday in July? I picked the one Amelia had given me. It still sort of smelled like her. It would also go great with the leather jacket I’d bought. I remembered the way Amelia had looked at me when I tried it on. It was probably still too warm for a jacket, but I wanted to see Amelia look at me like that again. I was so lucky to have her as my best friend. She made me feel pretty. And since she was the prettiest girl in school, that meant something. It wasn’t a competition. Nothing was with her. She brought out the best in me. Something about her made me feel awesome, like I could be anyone or anything I wanted to be.

  My shower was short. One of my brothers probably used most of the hot water—my bet would be on Teddy. Colin usually had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the bath, but Teddy was “at that age,” as Mom said, rolling her eyes every time she did. He’d been taking a lot of long showers lately. I didn’t want to think about what he was doing in there.

  I took some time with my makeup. I wanted to look good on my first day back. But my hair? My long dreads did what they wanted to. So I tied a few of them behind my head and pulled a funky stretchy headband over it all so they fanned out a little, hoping it gave me the careless artist look I was going for. I was an artist. But I didn’t want to appear as if I was trying to look like an artist. There’s an important difference.

  At the top of the stairs, I snapped a selfie and sent it to Amelia.

  First day as seniors! I texted.

  By the time I got to the bottom of the stairs, I had a reply:

  You look super cute!

  My stomach did that thing it always did when she complimented me. She looked as beautiful as ever in the pic she sent back. She was in her cheerleading uniform since there would be a back-to-school assembly that morning. It was green and white, and the green made the color of her eyes pop, especially with her long curly red hair framing her face. I noticed her eyes were a little red and I wondered if she’d gotten enough sleep.

  Backatcha! I texted back, knowing how she hated for anyone to comment on the way she looked. She had some serious image problems, and I blamed that on her uptight, controlling mother. I hoped some of that would change when we went to college in a year and she could get away from her. I didn’t want to think too much about that, because there was a huge possibility she’d be getting away from me too. I’d already sent a few college applications out and none of them were to schools in Colorado. I tried to shoo away the possible future that made me homesick before I ever even left….

  “Morning, sunshine! You ready for some flapjacks? How many do you want?” Dad asked as I entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to get the orange juice. The smell in the kitchen was enough to make my mouth water, and the depressing thoughts were replaced with how many pancakes I could possibly eat.

  “Have I ever said no to your cooking, Dad? Let’s start with five for now,” I replied, pulling out a chair at the table. My heart sank at the sight of the plate in the middle of the table, which only had a few tiny bacon crumbs left on it. A diminutive brown hand reached over and picked up the last small pieces.

  “Here you go, Raine-drop,” said Dad, plopping a plate with a fresh stack of blueberry pancakes in front of me. There were three crisp slices of bacon right next to them. I looked up at him with grateful eyes.

  “Thanks, Dad.” I should’ve known he wouldn’t let me down. He was good at making sure everything was as close to perfect as possible for me.

  “There’s some on the stove for Teddy, if he ever decides to make his appearance.”

  The small brown hand went for my plate.

  “I’ll be forced to eat your fingers, Colin,” I growled with a laser-beam stare at my youngest brother.

  “You won’t,” he giggled. But he withdrew his hand.

  “I will.” I gave him a serious glare before I handed him one of my slices of bacon. He giggled again as he chomped down on his prize, swinging his little legs, clad in brand-new jeans.

  “You guys have about fifteen minutes before you have to leave,” reminded Dad, looking at his watch and dropping the rinsed pancake batter bowl into the dishwasher. “I have to get going before I’m late. Thanks for taking Colin and Teddy to school today, Raine.”

  “It’s on my way, so it’s no problem,” I said, digging into my pancakes. Teddy, who was in middle school, and Colin, who was starting kindergarten, went to schools right next to each other, Colin to Poudre Elementary School, and Teddy to Central Middle School. They were the same schools I had gone to. They were close to Amelia’s house and only a mile or so away from Dove Valley High, where I went to school, so I volunteered to take the boys that morning. It would have been a pain if I had to do it every day, but once in a while was fine. My dad, a teacher at my school, would normally drive them, but he needed to be in a little earlier for a meeting. My mom was a nurse, and she had an early shift at the hospital. It was probably best; she would have
cried herself silly dropping Colin off on his first day of school. Just like she’d cried when she’d taken Teddy, and she’d cried when she’d taken me before that. My mom was a crier, but that was because she loved us.

  “Teddy!” Dad yelled up the stairs. “Come and get your breakfast before it gets cold!” He dashed back into the kitchen to give me and Colin kisses on the foreheads. “I love you guys. Have a great first day of school.”

  With that, he grabbed his computer bag, opened the front door, and left for his meeting.

  A minute later Teddy ambled down the stairs, smelling like he’d bathed in the new cologne my mom had let him start wearing now that he was in middle school. He had the same hair as me, only his dreads were shorter, and they brushed his shoulders as he loped into the kitchen. I could tell he was feeling fine in his new school clothes, even as he tried to act all ultrachill. He casually raked his dreads back as he grabbed his plate from the stove and collapsed into his chair. He moved as fast as a snail sometimes.

  “Make it fast, Tedster. We have to leave in ten minutes,” I said, rinsing off my plate at the sink and putting it in the dishwasher. I cleared Colin’s plate and wiped bacon grease and syrup from his face and fingers.

  “You’re not the boss of me,” Teddy grumped, folding an entire pancake around a strip of bacon and shoveling it into his mouth.

  “If you want a ride to school, I am,” I said with a smile. Teddy and I generally got along, but I had a feeling that was going to change. Over the summer he’d developed a bit of an attitude. Not only with me, but with everyone. I was sure he’d be cool that morning since it was the first day of school. Attitude or not, the first day of middle school was usually a big deal.

  “Are you gonna pick up Amelia on the way, since it’s near my school?” he asked with his mouth full. I had to turn my head not to gag at the half-chewed food I could see. What was it with guys his age and their terrible table manners? Come to think about it, high school guys were worse.

  “Maybe. She said she’s walking this morning, but if I see her, I’ll pick her up.” I had laughed at Amelia the night before when she told me on the phone she was going to walk because she needed the exercise. The girl was, like, 5 percent body fat, tops. If you asked me, she needed a ride to school and a cheeseburger. But her mom had her on such a strict diet, I hadn’t seen her eat a cheeseburger since she got on the cheerleading squad. The last one had been years ago, and her constant diet of fruits, vegetables, and water wasn’t enough to keep a squirrel alive. I’d always be starving if I were her, but she never complained. She said she wasn’t really ever hungry, and I believed her. Some people didn’t have to eat very much… I guess.

  “Awesome!” said Teddy.

  “Don’t get too excited, Ted Man. I’ll probably drop you off first.”

  “Seriously? That sucks!”

  I believed my little brother had a crush on my best friend. That both annoyed me and grossed me out. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to think about it.

  I loaded the boys into my car, an old Prius that had been my mom’s before they gave it to me on my sixteenth birthday. I dropped them off at school with a few minutes to spare. Their schools started a half hour before mine. My mom had asked me to watch out for Colin in case he started to cry about being left in a strange place. But that little dude went cannonballing straight to the slide along with all the other little dudes and dudettes. I was glad Mom wasn’t there for that. She’d have double-cried at being cast aside. Like I said, it was only because she loved us.

  I got back into my car and drove down Sixth Street. It was a straight shot from the boys’ school to the high school, and I was sure to see Amelia on the way.

  Chapter Two

  Amelia

  THE FIRST day of school sucked for most people I knew, and generally I was one of them. I used to hate it. The summer ended and along with it my freedom as I was forced to go back and be around a bunch of people I didn’t like in order to get through this thing called high school so I could start my life. The only good thing about it was that my best friend, Raine, would be there. Her excitement was a little infectious.

  But this wasn’t just any first day of the school year. It was the beginning of our senior year, the last year I’d have to deal with all the irritating people, the last year of dealing with fake popularity, the last year I’d have to spend in the stuffy halls of Dove Valley High School. I was so ready to be done. Who knows what I’d do after this, but I was looking forward to finding out. I was ready for a change, and this was going to be it.

  The only bright spot in this whole high school existence had been Raine. She was more than my best friend, she was my confidant, and the girl I’d had a crush on since meeting her when I was twelve when we were forced to be partners in science class. She’d been focused on cell division. I’d been focused on her. I hadn’t been able to stop looking at her. She’d been so beautiful, and over the years had only gotten more so. She was way prettier than me, and the cool thing was she didn’t even know it.

  My routine for the past three years was simple ever since I’d made the cheerleading squad. I showered, got dressed, put on a little makeup, and then went down to the kitchen to weigh myself: 102 pounds. Shit. I’d gained 1.2 pounds. And, of course, there was no fudging since the scale sent the results straight to an app on my mom’s phone. She was so skinny and perfect. There was no way I was going to get away with this.

  She looked up from her coffee at the sound of the beep that notified her of my new weight, checked her phone, and then she gave me the look. I’d seen that look off and on since I was fourteen, but it was much worse after I became a cheerleader. It was like I was disappointing her in ways I couldn’t understand. There were times I wondered if she had ever been a teenager. It was a tough life.

  “Amelia,” she began as her red lips turned into a deep frown. “You know we need to work on that, don’t you? I shouldn’t have to repeat myself so often with you. You’re almost a grown woman now. We need to start acting like it more often. As you age your looks will become more and more important, and we need to get a handle on that little issue now before you balloon out of control.”

  By we, what she really meant was, I needed to work on my weight. I couldn’t be a cheerleader, couldn’t be at the top of the pyramid, and couldn’t get ahead in life if I was going to be gaining weight like donuts were going out of fashion.

  “I know,” I mumbled, wishing I could disappear under the table.

  She nodded. “Good. Go upstairs. We’ll do a recheck before you go to school.”

  A recheck meant that I wouldn’t have time for breakfast, not that I could afford the calories anyway. I went back upstairs to my bathroom and into my linen closet. There, I had a bottle of stool softeners and a bottle of ipecac. At least the ipecac worked quickly as I took some of the syrup and, a few minutes later, bent over my toilet throwing up anything I had left in my stomach. There wasn’t much since I’d done the exact same thing the night before.

  When I was done, I wiped away tears with shaking hands, my eyes watering enough to blur my vision. I downed more of the stool softener than the bottle said to take and drank enough water to ward off the cramps that would come with using them. I checked my phone and definitely didn’t have time for breakfast, but I did have just enough time to brush my teeth, wash my face, and go back downstairs for my recheck.

  I was down to 99.7 pounds. I passed. I got a hug from my mom for a job well done. She also handed me a bag of baby carrots for lunch and anytime I was hungry during the rest of the day. “See you after practice,” I called as I headed out the door.

  “You look so skinny and beautiful! Go knock ’em dead!” she said before blowing me a kiss.

  I left the house with my stomach feeling reassuringly tight. I ignored the inconvenient hunger pangs. I had my water bottle in my backpack so I’d be able to make it through until lunch, and I could eat a carrot or two between classes if I needed to. Plus, I had gum. That
always helped. By lunch, maybe I wouldn’t even be hungry anymore. Maybe if I was able to get through the day, I’d be solidly under 100 pounds again and not teetering on it like I was now. Then I could probably have an orange or an apple or something for breakfast tomorrow without it possibly being an issue. I often wondered why my weight, and inversely my popularity, was such a big problem for Mom. She was successful in her online job. Why couldn’t she be happy with her life and let me find my own way? I doubted I’d ever figure her out.

  I had about a mile to walk to school. I could have gotten a ride. My mom worked from home selling antique dolls online. But walking meant that I was burning calories. It was good exercise. A bonus was that a part of it was along the river trail, and I got to see the ducks and other wildlife that lived there. Unfortunately, that included some of the homeless. They couldn’t help it, but some of them were a little scary. I was always nice, but I kept my distance. Once in a while, there would be someone fishing, but not today.

  My stomach started hurting about halfway to school, so I sat down on a big rock and took out the carrots and my water bottle. I sipped the water, giving it time to help me feel full without stretching my stomach out, then I ate a carrot. Only one. They were each about three calories, and I was only allowed four hundred calories per day. While I chewed the carrot into mush, I took out my phone and recorded it in my food journal, along with my lower weight. It was way too close to one hundred. I cringed at that number. Two weeks ago I’d been ninety-five and my mom had said I was the prettiest she’d ever seen me. I needed to get back there. I had to be firmly back in my size 00 jeans.

  As I stood and headed on to school, I thought about how beautiful Raine had looked the day before when we met at the mall. She’d been buying new clothes for school and had needed a few last-minute things. The thing that really got me was the leather jacket she bought. It looked so good on her with her black hair and dark eyes, giving her a sort of badass vibe, even though she was the furthest thing from a badass I’d ever met. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much since it was so different from the normal funky-artist thing she usually did. Raine could pull off almost any look. And honestly, I would like her any way she chose to be. For a moment I imagined her in her leather jacket, looking at me when she’d tried it on. She’d looked like she wanted to kiss me when I’d straightened the collar for her and told her how beautiful she looked. But I was probably imagining it. Besides we couldn’t go there. Mom would have a fit if we did. It would derail her plans for me, whatever they were. Anyway, I hoped Raine would have the jacket on, even if it was probably too warm. I smiled as I continued to walk.