Sometimes, people can underestimate my ability to catch the little things. Like right now. I'm sitting in the front yard, reading a book, when Myrtle comes out. She's dressed for Charlie's party. I recognize the black dress to be Andrea's. She doesn't see me, but she's looking for someone. And then she smiles. It's unlike any smile I've ever seen her wear. Myrtle walks towards the street an I see what made her smile.

Maddox is leaning against his car, which is parked at the curb. He's wearing his usual dark jeans and leather jacket. And he's chewing on a toothpick, but he chucks it when Myrtle stops in front of him. His gaze becomes one of admiration and excitement. But the excitement is subtle.

"You look really nice," he says, and it's genuine. "New dress?"

"Just something I borrowed," Myrtle replies, shrugging. "I thought you'd already left."

"I wasn't about to let Charlie rub this in my face. Again. You don't want a jacket or something? It could get chilly tonight."

"I think I'll be okay. But there's that jean jacket in your trunk. I use that, if needed."

Maddox nods, looking Myrtle up and down once more. Something flashes in his eyes. And I am almost certain it's an emotion crossed between desire and gratitude.

Maddox likes Myrtle?

I'm frozen in my spot as Maddox opens the car door for Myrtle. She gets inside and for a brief second, Maddox leans in and whispers something in her ear. I can't see her reaction. But he's grinning as he shuts the door and goes around to the other side. It's only when they drive away that I am able to move again. What on earth is going on?

A few minutes later, after finally having the willpower to get off the ground, I enter the house. I enter the living room and find my twin with Andrea. They're watching a movie while eating a tub of ice cream.

"Hey," Stephie says, motioning for me to join them.

"Did you see Myrtle leave?" Andrea asks, handing me a spoon.

"Yeah," I reply, unsure of what to say. "She got a ride."

"Did you see who it was?" this coming from my sister.

"Not really," I lie. Why am I lying? Why am I covering what I just saw?

I shove a spoon of ice cream into my mouth to avoid having to say more. Stephie shrugs and does the same. But Andrea is eyeing me curiously. She smirks and turns back to the TV.

***

My curiosity gets the better of me after two hours of contemplation. I need to get to Charlie's party and see what Maddox and Myrtle are doing. Somehow, I've managed to get Andrea to come with me.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" I ask when we are walking up to Charlie's front door. "I don't want to get in trouble for pushing you too hard."

"I'll be fine . . . I really want to see if Mateo is here."

I'm surprised at this, but I don't say anything because the door is opening and Charlie is grinning at us.

"Hey!" he says motioning for us to enter. "I'm glad you could make it!"

"We're just looking for Myrtle," I say, linking my arm with Andrea's as we walk inside.

"You might find her out back," he replies, pointing to the door in the living room. "Not many people came tonight. I'm surprised."

I tug Andrea towards the back door. Charlie's right. There isn't many people here. His parties are usually hopping. This is extremely chill. There are some people in the pool, playing with a beach ball. Andrea points out Myrtle on a lawn chair. She has a bottle of water in her hand. She's alone, but she's obviously waiting for someone.

"Hey," she says when she notices us. "You came!"

She jumps to her feet and hugs both of us.

"We were just coming to check on you," I say, squeezing her upper arm for a moment. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just waiting for Maddox to come back with some snacks."

She's acting different. It's like the months - no, the years - of Maddox teasing never existed. Right when I am about to ask about her mood change, the boy appears with two packages of BBQ chips in his hands.

"Here," he says, eyeing me with caution. "Um . . . Turtle?"

"Baby steps," Myrtle tells him, accepting one of the chip bags and holding onto his arm. "We were just talking about this, right? Don't shut me out again. It was going well."

I watch as Maddox takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opens them, it's like night and day. There's someone entirely different standing in front of us. He slips and arm around Myrtle's shoulder and gives her a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks," he says to her, nodding. "Baby steps. I got this."

"Baby steps to what?" I ask slowly, my gaze jumping between him and Myrtle.

"I need all my friends to get along," Myrtle explains, hugging Maddox's waist. "And that includes Maddox. We were friends before you and your sisters came to the home. Everything pretty much fell apart and I'm trying to put it all back together. Maddox and I had a bit of a heart to heart on the way over here, and he's going to do his part."

"That's great," Andrea says, pulling away from me to extend a hand to Maddox.

He looks at it for a second, but shuffles his chip bag to his hand that is still around Myrtle's shoulders, and shakes her hand.

"What about you?" he asks, looking at me. "You gonna make it hell for me?"

He extends his hand to me. And for some reason, I find myself shaking it.

"No," I reply, shaking my head. "I've learned to trust Myrtle in the time I've known her. I think I can handle not trying to kill you. It's Honey you might have to worry about."

"Yeah," Maddox, sighs, closing his eyes and pulling his arm away from Myrtle. I can see he's rather reluctant to do it. And Myrtle seems disappointed that he did.

"If we can all try to get along," she says, keeping her arm around his waist. "Honey will come around. There's a lot of crap that took place in all our lives. The best we can do is try to work around the bumps in the road. Which means I have to talk to all of you about what I've been going through."

The admission seems to make Maddox change his mind, and he wraps Myrtle under his arm again. He knows something I don't. I can see that. Oddly, I don't feel terrible or betrayed. I feel remorseful. Because while my sisters and I might have our problems, we haven't stopped to think about Maddox and what he might be going through.

"I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot," I say, looking directly into Maddox's eyes. "If you're willing to work around this, I am too."

Myrtle smiles at me, and it reflects in Maddox. He offers a grateful smile, and I notice how he holds onto Myrtle a little tighter. Charlie joins us and starts apologizing for the party being a bit lame. But it's not lame at all. It's actually really refreshing.