Chapter 5

Four hours later, I’m parked on the side of the road, staring at a “Come Join Us On Saturday for Our Famous 80s-Themed Custard Pie Making Contest” banner on the side of the road. In fine print at the bottom, it reads, “Don’t miss the party of the year! With live entertainment by Fairville’s very own the Skip and Flips.” And at the very, very bottom of the banner is a series of drawings: a smiley face, a slice of pie, a dog, a party hat, a polka-dot dress, and what looks like a large, hairy man eating a fork and giving a thumbs up.

I grip the steering wheel, trying to mentally talk my foot into pushing the gas pedal so I can get this over with. A half a mile and I’ll officially be back in my hometown. Only a half a mile and I’ll be back to the place where every memory—good and bad—ever happened … and where every single person remembers each one.

Five more minutes drift by before someone drives past me, honking their horn.

“If you get to the fairgrounds soon, you’ll be able to catch the last part of the contest, Lexi!” a woman hollers out her window at me. “Welcome home!”

Great. My car’s already been recognized.

Blowing out a stressed breath, I send my mom a message that I’m just pulling into town then drive down the road. I have no plans of going to the pie-baking contest. I’m heading straight to my parents’ house so I can unpack and start looking for jobs.

The plan is to find one, preferably one that doesn’t involve socializing with the public, and begin saving up. I’ll continue applying for jobs in the city, commuting for interviews when I have to. Hopefully, within a month or two, I’ll have a stash of cash saved, a job lined up, and be on my way back to Denver.

Ten minutes later, I’m parked in the driveway of the two-story home I grew up in. It still looks exactly the same: blue shutters match the door, a wraparound porch, and flowers line the walkway. But my mom’s gnome collection is gone.

“That’s weird.” I hop out of the car.

My mom loves those gnomes as much as she loves me. I’m not kidding. She used to spend at least an hour every day out in the garden, rearranging them to keep them out of the sunlight and sprinklers as much as possible. A few times, I even caught her talking to them, although to this day she denies it.

“Mom, did Dad finally make you get rid of the gnomes?” I call out as I enter the house through the back door. I instantly notice confetti and yarn all over the floor, and I hear a loud bang from the kitchen. “Or did you just finally decide they were creepy, little things—oh, my God!” I shriek at the sight of a man and a woman going at it on a counter covered in confetti.

The man has on a party hat along with an apron, and the woman is naked and holding a large, wooden spoon. When they spot me, they both scramble away from each other in a panic.

“Who the hell are you?” the man shouts as he frantically ducks behind the counter.

“Lexi!” I slap my hand over my eyes, spin around, and run for the door, but I end up crashing into the wall and bashing my forehead hard. “Dammit! That’s going to leave a mark!”

“Lexi Ashford, is that you?” the woman says, and I recognize the voice as Mrs. Timpler, one of my mom’s unicorn cult friends.

I nod, keeping my hand over my eyes. “Hey, Mrs. Timpler … Um, where are my parents?”

“Probably at the fairgrounds for the contest,” she says. “Your mom’s competing this year.”

“That’s cool.” I feel awkward as hell. “But why are you … Well … um … having sex in her kitchen?”

“Her kitchen?” Puzzlement rings in her voice. “Oh, she must not have told you.”

I keep my hand firmly over my eyes. “Told me what?”

“They sold the house to us a couple of months ago,” she explains.

What! “Why didn’t they tell me?”

She hesitates. “They must have been worried it’d upset you.”

I’m not sure what to say. While I’m not a fan of Fairville, it makes me sad that the house that holds most of my memories from when I was younger isn’t part of my family anymore.

“Why’d they sell it?” I ask quietly.

“Oh, I don’t know.” She touches my shoulders. I think she’s going to give me a hug. My heart just about shits a brick, because, hello, she’s butt-ass naked. But instead, she pushes me in the direction of the back door. “You should probably go to the fairgrounds and ask them yourself. I’m sure they can explain it better than I can.” Then she opens the door and shoves me outside. “It was so nice seeing you again, Lexi. Make sure to stop by so we can talk more. Just make sure to knock next time. Doug and I like to spend our afternoons trying out new role-playing if you get what I mean. And right now is birthday fantasy week.”

Unsure how to respond, I just stand there with my eyes covered.

“It’s so great you’re home.” Her voice is upbeat, friendly, like I didn’t just walk in on her and her husband going at it.

Only when she shuts the door do I dare remove my hand from my eyes. Feeling a little dazed and in desperate need of a shower, I text my mom again. When she doesn’t respond, I give my dad ring, but he doesn’t answer, either.

Since I have no idea where they’re living, I have only one option.

I sigh. “Looks like I’m going straight into the fire pit of hell.”

Chapter 6

I didn’t prepare myself enough for this. Being a city girl and all, I thought I’d be able to stick up my nose and hold my head high. But, as I stand in the middle of the crowd, which is decked out in leg warmers, neon colors, fluffed hair, bright makeup, and not to mention spandex—spandex everywhere—all I want to do is go old school, Lexi-style, and tug the hood of my jacket over my head and hunker down.

I keep my head low as I search around for my dad. The Doo-Wop’s version of “Ordinary World” by Duran Duran hits my ears as the lovely scent of pie engulfs my nostrils.

“Lexi Ashford? Oh, my word, is that you?” Carrie Lynn, an extremely peppy girl I went to school with, blindsides me. “My word. Little Lexi T-rexi grew up.” She pinches the bottom of my hoodie as she eyes my holey jeans and unlaced boots. “Is the grunge look a city thing? I always remembered you being more … well, clueless in the fashion department.” She laughs at herself. “Remember those big glasses you used to wear that made your eyes look three times their size? And that ratty shirt you had with the horse on it that you wouldn’t get rid of, even when we purposely ripped it? Oh, my God, that thing was so hideous.”

This, coming from the girl standing in front of me, rocking poufy, blonde hair; baby blue eyes shadow; and alarmingly pink blush.

“Thank God we finally stole it from your gym locker and cut it up so no one had to look at it anymore.” She says it like she did me a favor.

“Yeah, I remember. I had to wear my sweaty gym clothes for the rest of the day.” My lip twitches. “And it wasn’t a horse. It was a kangaroo. And it wasn’t that bad of a shirt. It was just different.”

She makes a pft sound, waving me off. “Kangaroo, horse. What’s the difference?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about the fact that one has four legs, a mane, and hooves, while the other has a pouch?” Before she can reply, I wave at her and start to walk away. “It was great talking to you, Carrie Lynn. Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“Wait. How long are you going to be here?” she shouts after me. “Lexi? Did you hear me? Did you move back? I’m having a bachelorette party tomorrow! You should come!”

Ignoring her, I push my way deeper into the crowd, getting stopped every other second by someone who knew Lexi T-rexi. By the time I get to the stage area where the contest is taking place, I’m socially exhausted and ready to get as far away from this tent as I possibly can.

Once I make it to the front of the mob, I spot my dad on stage, wearing a leather vest and ridiculously tight pants, cheering on my mom.