Becoming Harper Read online

  Table of Contents

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  Becoming Harper

  (A Twisted Rose Novel)

  Marlowe Blue

  Becoming Harper

  (A Twisted Rose Mystery Novel)

  Marlowe Blue

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or, if real, are used factiously.

  Copyright © 2017 by Marlowe Blue (pen name for Tiffany Nicole Smith). All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be copied or reproduced in any matter whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Printed in the United States of America.

  Cover design by: Fantasia Book Cover Designs

  Becoming Harper

  Marlowe Blue

  Table of Contents

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  3

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  14

  1

  Quinn Spencer ran a brush through her long, coffee-colored locks. Her hair dazzled when the sun caught it in the right places. “Want to split a croissant with me?”

  I scrolled through my Instagram feed while keeping an eye on the sidewalk ahead of me. “No. You know how I feel about splitting food. If you want a croissant, eat a whole damn croissant. They’re not that big.”

  Quinn sighed, dropped her brush into her messenger bag, and finished buttoning her red Hawthorn’s Pets work shirt. The yellow kitty embroidered on the pocket grinned stupidly at me. Quinn had a bad habit of getting dressed on the way to work. Whenever I knocked on her door, she’d open it wearing a tank top, juggling her Converse sneakers in one hand and buttoning her black slacks with the other. Her work shirt would be slung over her shoulder. Quinn got to the last button on her shirt just in time because our destination was only a block away. Stopping by Coffee and Blooms for breakfast was our Saturday morning ritual before we put in seven hours at the pet shop.

  As we rounded the corner, Gunner Nichols, my other partner-in-crime, stood in front of Coffee and Blooms with his nosed pressed against the glass window. I was low-key annoyed. If he had gotten there ahead of us, he should have been getting us a table. Coffee and Blooms was always busy, but the weekends were extremely popular times to go. We only had an hour before the start of our 11 AM shifts.

  I patted him on the back. “Did you forget how the door works?”

  He shook his head of dark, floppy curls. “We need to make alternative plans. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

  “What?” Quinn asked as she stepped beside me.

  “That what the sign taped to the door says. Sorry for the inconvenience. Queen Harper is having a tea party for her birthday. The most important ladies in the kingdom have been invited and that does not include you two.”

  It was Quinn’s turn to press her face against the glass. “You have got to be kidding me. How many birthday events is this chick going to have? Last night was her slumber party, now this. Tonight she’s having a dinner party at some swanky place downtown and then she has some kind of lunch planned on Sunday. Her real birthday isn’t even for two weeks when she has her big party-party at the mansion. It’s called a birth-day. Like, how the hell do you just claim an entire month?”

  When Quinn laid it out like that, it seemed a bit much, but being Harper Granger was definitely something to celebrate so I couldn’t blame her.

  Disappointed, I peered into the coffee shop. The tables were filled with the most popular girls from our school dressed in pastel, flowery dresses, hats, and white gloves. Each table held a beautiful centerpiece overflowing with a cascading rainbow of flowers. Before each girl was a plate of pastries and assorted sweets. They talked while taking dainty sips from their tea cups.

  Quinn scoffed. “God, Abby. Doesn’t this look like us when at our tea parties when we were six and we used to pretend to be refined ladies.” It did remind me of that, but still, I wanted to be at one of those tables.

  Coffee and Blooms was decorated with pink and white striped wall paper and antique furniture. Immaculate floral arrangements were strategically placed around the shop. It was all very fancy and made me feel like I was back in another time. That’s why it was one of my favorite places.

  My gaze landed on Queen Harper and no, Gunner wasn’t exaggerating. If our school were a kingdom, Harper would be its queen, hands down. She stood over a table talking excitedly with her perfectly-manicured hands like she always did. Long, inky tresses fell over one of her shoulders in perfect waves. Her creamy peach skin was perfection and her green eyes gleamed even from where I stood. Harper’s statuesque form was even more evident in the outfit she’d chosen. She wore a midriff pink top with big buttons and a rounded white collar, a flirty little floral skirt, and white heels. Her outfits were always right on the verge of being too sexy without going there. Whatever she chose to wear, she couldn’t go wrong with a banging body like hers. The girl was almost too perfect to be human.

  Harper’s perfection was suddenly clouded by my reflection in the glass. My long, stringy white blond hair and dull blue eyes were invisible next to a beauty like Harper. The three of us must have looked like paupers who wanted to participate in the feast of the royal court.

  Gunner whistled as two employees came from the back of the shop carrying a tall cake. “Cake is my favorite food group, but isn’t it a little too early in the morning for that?”

  Quinn narrowed her eyes. “No, look at it. The whole thing is made of fruit. Strawberries and raspberries and shit.”

  She was right. I also spotted cantaloupe, grapes, and kiwi. “I wonder what it costs to shut Coffee and Blooms down to have a party like this.”

  Quinn shook her head. “Too much. Think about it. Saturday mornings is one of their busiest times so the Grangers would have to be paying a whole lot to make up for that.”

  Even though I hated the feeling, jealousy gnawed at my insides. I thought back to my last birthday party a few months back. Mom had ordered pizza, bought soda and a chocolate chip cookie cake. Quinn, Gunner, and two more friends from our school had come over to eat and veg out watching movies in our tiny apartment. Even that had been a great sacrifice for Mom and I felt guilty comparing it to Harper’s party. Even if we had the money the Grangers had, I didn’t have nearly enough friends to fill up a coffee shop, especially not friends who would get up so early to come to a tea party for my honor. And this was only Harper’s short list. I imagined these girls had gotten up at the crack of dawn to give themselves that perfect tea-party look.

  Gunner pulled himself away from the window. “Well, let’s go. We don’t have a lot of time.”

  With limited options within walking distance, we were forced to go to the Donut Den, a chain, that served stale donuts and bland coffee. Gunner and Quinn talked the whole way there, but I was lost in my thoughts of Harper.

  The Grangers had moved to Everson just a year before during our junior year. The whole town found them mysterious. They mo
ved into this humongous estate in the center of town. It stood out because there was no other house like it. I’d only seen Harper’s parents once and they left no question to how Harper had turned out to be so beautiful.

  No one knew what the Grangers really did for a living. Someone said they were in stocks. Some said they had invented something and made a lot of money. Some said they had won the lottery while others thought they were just lucky enough to come from old money.

  On Harper’s first day at our school, she had everyone mesmerized. Her beauty, fashion sense, and personality was all everyone could talk about. Even on her first day she wasn’t nervous. She walked down the halls of our school like she owned them. Harper didn’t seem to be worried about making friends or people liking her. It was like she knew everyone would be eating out of her palms by the end of the day. No one was shocked when she snagged Tucker Finley, our resident baseball star, before the first week was over. Although I wasn’t surprised, it stung my heart just a little. I’d had a killer crush on Tucker since middle school, even before he transformed into a smoldering, blonde baseball-playing adonis. I’d liked him even when he’s gone through his awkward stage and none of the other girls would give him a second look. Even though I knew I’d never had a real chance with him, it still hurt to see him with someone else.

  At the Donut Den I ordered a mocha frap and a chocolate donut with sprinkles. Mom would have killed me if she could see what I was eating but I was sort of bummed so I deserved chocolate. I wanted to be a part of Harper’s elite tea party, not on my way to my crappy job at the pet shop. Why couldn’t I be like the girls who didn’t have to work or the ones who only worked because they were saving for a $500 pair of shoes? I had to work to help Mom pay the bills.

  Gunner waved his hand across my eyeline. “Uh, Earth to Abs.”

  I hadn’t realized I’d been staring through the window. “What?”

  “What are you wearing to the carnival tonight?”

  Yes, the carnival! That put me back in a good mood. Tonight was the last night of our school carnival and the night when all the seniors went.

  “Oh, you’re going to love it. I found this vintage denim jacket at the back of my mom’s closet. It has all these cool badges sewed on it. I’m going to wear a black tank top underneath, ripped jeans, and my black boots. What about you?”

  Gunner stirred his coffee and watched it swirl. “I have to coordinate with Felix, but probably my new plaid shirt and skinny jeans.”

  Quinn raised an eyebrow. “You’re going with Felix?”

  “Sure. We’ll meet you guys at the entrance.”

  Quinn and I exchanged looks and then focused on our unhealthy breakfasts. The last we heard, Gunner and Felix had broken up with a huge public fight in the boys locker room. Felix had even shoved Gunner into a locker which was so not okay. This was nothing knew though. The two of them broke up and got back together every week.

  “Well,” Quinn said, “I’m wearing a mini-skirt and a bomber jacket. Maybe with my leopard-print Steve Maddens.” I loved those shoes and I was waiting for the day she’d let me borrow them.

  Quinn had legs for days and shouldn’t have been caught wearing anything but skirts to show them off but I didn’t think that was the best thing to wear to a carnival. “A mini skirt? What about when we go on the swings or the giant slide?”

  Quinn shrugged. “Anyone who wants to look can enjoy what they see.”

  I sighed. “Since when did my best friend become an exhibitionist?”

  Gunner leaned back in his seat and got this faraway look in his eye. It was the same look he always got when he was about to be nostalgic. “We really have to enjoy this night guys. It’ll be our last time going to the carnival together.”

  I hadn’t thought about that because it was heart-breaking, but he was right. For the past three years we had gone to the carnival together and this year would be the last. The following year the three of us would be God-only-knew-where, but we certainly weren’t going to be together. Gunner was headed to design school, Quinn was determined to go to school out west for pre-med. I knew I wanted to major in Psychology, but I had no idea where I’d be going.

  I needed to change the subject. “Do you think Mr. Hawthorne will let us off early?”

  Quinn nodded. “Maybe if he’s in a good mood and if we ask really nicely and if it’s slow, and if Martinez is working.”

  That was a lot of “ifs”. Usually we worked from 11-7, but we wanted to get to the carnival by 7. Getting off a six would give us enough time to go home, change, and get to the carnival.

  I pushed the remaining half of my donut away. I’d had enough. “Guys, let’s work extra hard today. No goofing off. That’ll increase our chances of getting off earlier.” I looked at Gunner pointedly.

  He threw his hands up. “Hey, why are you looking at me?”

  Gunner was easily the worst employee at Hawthorn’s Pets. While he loved the animals, he spent a good deal of time texting Felix, especially when they were fighting or watching YouTube videos on his phone when he was supposed to be working. He also made a big deal about cleaning up poop which is kind of a big part of being in the pet care industry.

  Quinn smirked. “I don’t know, Gunner. Maybe because last weekend you let two parakeets loose in the store.”

  I grinned at the memory. The birds were named Pete and Sue and the situation was pretty funny.

  Gunner frowned. “That wasn’t my fault. I told Felix not to visit me at work. He totally distracted me.”

  Quinn rolled her eyes. “Right. It took forever to catch those little assholes and Mr. Hawthorn was pissed. What if a customer had walked in and the birds had escaped? What then?”

  “Hey, I said back then I was sorry, okay? Anyway, I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  I checked the time on my phone. We had to go. “Let’s not fight guys. All we have to do is knock out this workday and then tonight we’re going to have the time of our lives.”

  Gunner stood and gathered his trash. “That’s right, Abby. And who knows, you might even get Tucker Finley to ride the Triple Loop with you.”

  I shot a look across the table. “Quinn!”

  She shrugged helplessly. “Sorry.” It had been my dream for the past three years that the two of us would ride the scariest ride together. The line for the Triple Loop was always the longest—at least an hour wait. We would hold hands and I would lean my head against his chest and tell him how scared I was. When we neared the platform to board the ride he would take my hands, squeeze it tight, and tell me that everything was going to be all right. During the ride I would lean into him as much as possible and scream his name every time there was a dip or we went upside down. Then when it was all over, he would hug me and tell me how brave I had been. I wanted that moment so bad it had even appeared in my real dreams, in bright, vibrant color. I hadn’t told anyone about the dream but Quinn.

  Gunner put his arm around my shoulders as we headed for the door. “Come on. Don’t be mad at Quinn. It’s not like I don’t already know that you’re desperately in love with the guy.”

  That was the truth. A tiny spark in me had told me that I had a chance, even though I wasn’t one of the pretty, perfect girls who flocked around him. I imagined that one day, he would say my inner beauty was so much more important than a bikini-model body and a superstar face. He’d remember that I liked him way back when before he became hot and popular. Then he would sweep me into his arms and kiss me. Once Harper showed up on the scene, that hope burst like a bubble. There was no way Tucker would see me or anyone else when he was dating Harper Granger, the prettiest girl in town.

  2

  Saturdays at Hawthorn’s Pets were the worst. The afternoons were filled with screaming children who dragged their parents into the shop so they can fawn over the puppies and kitties. We had to be nice and answer all their questions, knowing full well they had no intentions on buying anything. Parents were full of, “Maybe for Christmas. Keep your grades up and
we’ll see,” but they had no intentions of being bothered with caring for a pet. I rolled my eyes just thinking about the upcoming hours. There were only so many times I could say, “Please don’t tap the glass.” Or “No, you can’t feed the bunnies your ice cream.”

  Hawthorn’s Pets was a mom-and-pop shop owned by Mr. Hawthorn and his late wife. The place was his pride and joy and he took everything about it very seriously. My friends and I had started working there the summer before when we all needed extra cash and something to do. Although Mr. Hawthorn claimed kids like us were the reason he’d remained childless, I knew he liked us and he was going to miss ordering us around once we went away to college.

  Although my mother had never asked me to get a job, I knew she needed me to. Every week she was thirty or forty dollars short on whatever bill was due or she needed me to pick up some things from the grocery store. I didn’t mind though. It was just me, Mom, and my twelve-year-old sister Brooke. Mom worked her ass off for us day and night so the least I could do was help her out. My father had taken off five years before to live the single life and he stopped paying child support three years ago. Mom worked as a cashier at a drug store during the day and cleaned office buildings at night. She was always exhausted from working so hard and I hoped one day soon by some miracle, she’d be able to take it a little easier.

  I was banking on earning several scholarships or else I would have to take out student loans. Not going to college wasn’t an option. “You’re going to take that brilliant mind of yours to college and become something amazing,” Mom would say. “I won’t have you struggling like me, Abby.” I had to admit, watching my work so hard and still not have enough for the necessities was a big motivator for me.

  Mom and Dad had been high-school sweethearts and Mom had me as soon as they’d graduated high school. Ever since then she had been a stay-at-home mom until Dad left and we had to fend for ourselves. She was always warning me and Brooke not to make the same mistake she did. Mom thought Dad would take care of her forever. “Make your own money, girls. Never depend on another person for your livelihood.”