I ignored her for days. I had to teach myself how to do it, but like I said. I’m good at everything I try more than once. And she ignored me as well. The Ashley-shaped imprint that used to live at the foot of my bed was gone.

I missed it.

But I wasn’t going to be taken for granted either. Yes, I wanted Ashley. But I wasn’t completely blinded by that desire. I was still of rational mind and that rationality enabled me to see that Ashley was out of my reach. Every time I felt as though we were getting somewhere, she slipped out of my hands.

I tried to talk to Kyla about it, but she wasn’t exactly receptive when it came to the subject of her sister. I wanted answers on the state of their obviously deteriorating relationship as much as I wanted to know the deal with Ashley and Aiden.

“She’s a bitch.”

“So you’ve said.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Spencer. She’s always been a bitch. She’s a bitch now. She’ll die…”

“A bitch?”

“Exactly. See? You’re starting to get it.”

“Ok, Kyla, I get that you don’t like her but you never say why. Like, why is it that you feel this way?” I ask as I sit on her floor, staring up at her face.

Waiting.

“Ashley and I are only half-sisters.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Our dad cheated on her mom with my mom. So as you can imagine, she’s a little resentful.”

“Right.”

“And when her father moved me and my mom to L.A. so he could have a relationship with me, things just got worse. Because for whatever reason, he got this fucked up notion that it was important for Ashley and I to form some sort of sisterly bond.”

“Well, that makes sense…right?”

“No, Spencer! It’s insane!”

“Insane?”

“Don’t you get it? We were destined to hate each other. You can’t ever get past the stuff that separates me and Ashley. You just can’t.”

“Don’t you wish you could, though?”

“No!” she exclaims, throwing herself back on her bed where I can no longer see her.

“Ok, ok! I get it,” I reply, standing up, “so you’re basically saying that you can’t help me? Is that what I’m supposed to gather from all of this?”