Peach Sparkling Water

I'd had a crush on the boy next door, Ethan, for years, but he and my sister, Lily, were totally into each other. The night our SAT scores came out, I caught them kissing on the roof. The summer air was thick and humid, and I felt like my soul had left my body. Later, when we ran into each other at college, Ethan, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, asked, "Ashley, do you, like, have a thing for me?" I played dumb. He smirked and said, "Then maybe don't look at me like that next time."

It all started the afternoon after the SATs. Mom took the day off to pick Lily and me up. "Mom, it's scorching out there," Lily complained, though it sounded more like a playful whine. Mom grinned. "Alright, alright, I'm taking you two out for a celebratory dinner." "Yay, thanks, Mom!" Lily cheered, hopping into the passenger seat. I, as usual, slid into the back.

The AC blasted, a welcome relief. I stared out the window, watching other test-takers milling about, the stress visibly melting off their faces. I was always the quiet one, unlike Lily, who was all sunshine and energy.

Up front, Mom and Lily chatted away. "So, how'd you do?" Mom asked. "Aced it! I'm thinking 1500, easy," Lily chirped, her voice brimming with confidence. "That's my girl!" Mom said, then, as an afterthought, "Ashley? How about you?" "Ashley will definitely get into a good college, right?" Lily turned to look at me. I fidgeted with my jeans and mumbled, "Yeah."

Lily was a science whiz. Beautiful, talented (piano and harp, no less), and always in the top three of her class. All of that made her the school's golden child, adored by teachers and students alike. People like that rarely look down. So she still thought I was the same Ashley from sophomore year, the one who cried at the drop of a hat and barely scraped by with a mediocre score on the PSATs. She had no idea how hard I'd worked these past two years.

Mom sighed. "A decent college is fine. You're a humanities student; you can always try for a government job after graduation." Lily quickly changed the subject. "Mom, where are we eating?" "That Italian place we like," Mom said, glancing at the traffic light. "Your Aunt Sarah will be there too. She'll be a great resource for college applications, you know, with Ethan at State University and all."

My breath hitched. The sunset outside was a glorious mess of orange and pink, like a spilled yolk across the sky. I heard Lily ask tentatively, "So… will Ethan be there, too?" "He's home for the summer," Mom said, starting the car. "My, he's grown into such a handsome young man."

Ethan was two years older than us. He was the undisputed king of the neighborhood kids when we were little. Lily, with her bubbly personality and sweet-talking ways, was everyone's favorite. Relatives would fawn over her, and she'd flash her cute little smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. I usually just stood there, awkwardly. After they'd praised Lily, they’d look at me and, after a long pause, manage a "She's… q...