Diamonds Are Forever

Aunt Sophie cracked a smile. “I disagree. It sounded like you were about to rip each other’s hair out. And since I have to live here while everyone else is angry at each other, I think we do need to talk it out. Let’s not make this weekend more stressful than it needs to be, okay?”

Savannah’s cheeks turned red, and she fiddled with her bracelets, unable to look at Aunt Sophie. If she’d heard that entire conversation, then she must have heard what Savannah had yelled at Courtney—about Britney being dead. She’d never said anything so mean, ever. Especially not to her sister.

Aunt Sophie must think she was a terrible person.

“I want each of you to sit on your beds, and we’ll discuss this—without yelling,” Aunt Sophie said.

“Are you a psychologist now or something?” Peyton asked, although she did stomp over to her bed and sit.

“No—but I was a teen once, and your grandma and I had quite our share of fights as well,” Aunt Sophie replied. “I know what it’s like to fight with your sister. And when it came to your grandma and I, I was always the peacekeeper of the two.”

“Like Courtney,” Savannah said. “Well...like Courtney is normally. Peyton and I fight all the time about stupid things, but Courtney always fixes it.”

“You’re right,” Courtney said. “I’m always there for both of you. When you and Peyton fight over what music to listen to, or taking each other’s stuff, or any of your stupid fights, I help you work it out. But now—the one time when I needed you to stand by me—you couldn’t do it. And you lied to me about it.”

“Which are you more upset about?” Aunt Sophie asked. “That Savannah talked to your mom and grandma, or that she kept it from you and Peyton?”

“Both.” Courtney sniffed. “But not telling us makes it worse.” She turned her focus to Savannah, her eyes full of so much anger that Savannah backed up against the wall. “How did you sit with us in the car today when I was talking about how grateful I was that you and Peyton kept your word, knowing that you hadn’t? How could you lie to me like that?”

“I didn’t mean to,” Savannah said. “You made me promise not to talk to them. Then they wanted to talk to me, and I hated ignoring them, so I didn’t. No one ever asked me if not talking to them was something I wanted to do.”

“It’s always about you, isn’t it?” Courtney said.

Savannah blinked, and looked down at her lap. How could Courtney say that to her?

“We’re supposed to be talking about this without fighting,” Aunt Sophie reminded them. “I don’t have the energy to deal with a fight like the one I overheard earlier—and I certainly don’t want to be surrounded by this attitude all weekend.”

“Sorry,” Courtney said. “I knew we shouldn’t have come here.” She leaned against the wall, pulled her legs up to her chest and added, “But maybe it’s best that we did. Otherwise we wouldn’t have found out that Savannah’s been lying to us.”

“So I was correct,” Aunt Sophie said. “It’s the lying that upset you the most.”

“I guess.” Courtney shrugged. “It definitely made it worse.”

“What was I supposed to do?” Savannah asked. “If I’d told you about talking with Mom and Grandma, it wouldn’t have changed anything. You still would have been mad.”

“Yeah,” Courtney said. “But not as mad. At least that way you wouldn’t have been going behind my back for weeks, lying to me and making me think you had my back this entire time.”

“I do have your back,” Savannah insisted. “I just couldn’t ignore Mom and Grandma, either.”

“So you never should have promised that you would.”

“Your sister makes a good point,” Aunt Sophie said to Savannah. “When you made that promise, did you know you wouldn’t be able to keep it?”

“No,” Savannah said. “I wanted to stick to it. I swear it.”

Peyton rolled her eyes. “So why didn’t you?” she asked. “It wasn’t hard—we live in a different state than Mom and Grandma. All you had to do was not pick up the phone when they called.”

Savannah shook her head, amazed that Peyton didn’t get it. “Maybe it wasn’t hard for you,” she said. “But it was for me. I kept thinking...what if Mom gets so upset by our ignoring her that she relapses? She kept calling and reaching out to us, so eventually I had to pick up, and once I started talking to her, I couldn’t just stop again. But I’ve felt terrible about talking to her every time.”

“You shouldn’t feel bad about wanting to be there for your mom,” Aunt Sophie said. “That was kind of you to do—­especially considering the magnitude of her lies. It takes strength to forgive and love unconditionally, and you have that strength, Savannah. It’s what makes you shine.”

“Thank you.” Savannah swallowed and glanced at her nails. She’d never had someone say something that nice to her before.

“I mean it,” Aunt Sophie said. “It seems like the real problem here is that you didn’t feel like you could be honest with your sisters.”

“I know,” Savannah said. “I was afraid. And I felt bad that I couldn’t follow through with the promise that I’d made them.” She took a deep breath and looked at both Peyton and Courtney. Peyton’s eyes were hard, and Courtney’s face was still red from the yelling she’d done earlier. “I hate when you guys are mad at me. I don’t want to take sides between both of you and Mom and Grandma, but I should have told you the moment I realized I couldn’t go through with the promise. And I shouldn’t have said any of that stuff to you just now. I didn’t mean it. I wasn’t thinking, and it just came out. I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t change what you did,” Peyton said. “Or what you said.”

“Is that fair, Peyton?” Aunt Sophie asked. “Of course Savannah can’t take back what she said or did—that’s how life works. There are no do-overs. Everyone makes mistakes, and if you can’t forgive them, you’ll end up pushing everyone away. That’s no way to live. What’s most important is intent. Do you think Savannah means what she’s saying in her apology?”

“Sure.” Peyton shrugged. “I guess.”

“All right.” Aunt Sophie nodded. “I suppose that’s progress. Now, what about you, Courtney? Do you accept Savannah’s apology?”

“I want to.” Courtney focused on Savannah, and while her eyes were glassy, they weren’t angry like they were earlier. “And I will. I know you didn’t want to go behind my back, but it doesn’t change that you did. I just hope in the future you’ll be honest with me. Okay?”

“Okay.” Savannah smiled. “I promise.”

“Does this mean we’ll be able to enjoy this weekend in peace?” Aunt Sophie asked. She coughed, took a few wheezing breaths, and cleared her throat. “After all, we do have Courtney’s birthday to celebrate tomorrow.”

“I’m going to be civil to Grandma and Mom,” Courtney said. “But that doesn’t mean I forgive them. What they did by not telling me that Britney even existed...that’s unforgivable.”

“But you have to forgive them eventually,” Savannah said. “Right?”

“I don’t know.” She grabbed her backpack and pulled it onto the bed. “But I do know we’re celebrating my birthday tomorrow, and I have homework I need to do today.”

“I supposed that’s enough for now,” Aunt Sophie said. “And I need to get some rest. Would one of you mind helping me up the stairs?”

“Of course.” Courtney jumped up off her bed and helped Aunt Sophie up. “I’m so sorry that we bothered you.”

“No need to apologize,” she said. “I just hope I helped.”

“You did,” Savannah said, watching Courtney lead Aunt Sophie out of their room. Every step of Aunt Sophie’s was slow, and she breathed heavily as she walked. She couldn’t imagine how she’d come down here on her own.

“She seems really nice,” she said to Peyton once Aunt Sophie and Courtney were up the steps.

“Yeah,” Peyton agreed. “It sucks that she’s so sick.”

“I’ve never known what to say to her,” Savannah said. “She’s the first person I’ve ever known who knows she’s dying. But after that conversation...I’m glad we’re here this weekend.”

“I’m glad we’re here, too,” Peyton said, pulling at the ends of her sleeves. “It’s weird, though. Talking to her is almost like...talking to a ghost.”

Savannah shivered, and they were both silent for a few seconds.

Then her phone buzzed with a text. Evie.

Hey, Savannah! I saw on Twitter that you’re in California, and was hoping we could hang out? :)