SVH11-Too Good To Be True (12 page)

"Oh, Liz, you didn't have to get me a welcome-home present--but I'm so glad you did. You're the sweetest sister in the whole world! How did you know? It's exactly the blouse I wanted. And a scarf to match!"

Elizabeth sighed in defeat.
Hang on tight. Here we go again,
she thought.

Later on, after Jessica had finished trying on the blouse and admiring her reflection from a hundred different angles, she wanted Elizabeth to give her a complete update of everything that had happened while she was gone. Especially where-their brother was concerned.

"Steve hardly said a word on the way home from the airport," Jessica reported. "He acted like he was at a funeral. Honestly, you'd think

he would have been a little more excited to see his own sister."

"It's got nothing to do with you," Elizabeth reassured her. "He's just upset about Tricia."

"Is she still trying to dump him?"

"Come on, Jess, she's only broken a couple of dates. I honestly don't think that qualifies as dumping someone."

Jessica sniffed. "Call it what you like, but if you ask me, I think he'd be better off without her anyhow. It's positively humiliating having my own brother dating a girl from one of the worst families in town."

"I'm glad to see you're so concerned about it from Steven's point of view," Elizabeth commented dryly.,

"Well, if you cared just the teensy-weensiest bit about your own reputation, you'd be embarrassed, too!"

"I'm more worried about Steve than I am about either of our reputations. He's really been down over this thing. You should have seen his face when Tricia called this morning to cancel their latest date."

"Oh, he'll get over it," Jessica predicted blithely. "Come on, let's go talk to him. I'll bet we could cheer him up if we tried."

"Jess, I don't think--"

But Jessica had grabbed her hand and was

dragging her down the hallway to Steven's room. Elizabeth didn't even have a chance to finish her sentence.

They found Steven hunched at his desk, staring glumly out the window instead of at the textbook that lay open in front of him. Jessica flopped down on the bed.

"Hey, Steve, you want to hear a good joke? A girl sitting next to me on the plane told it to me." .

He glanced at her, then went back to staring out the window. "Not now, Jess. I'm not in the mood."

"Oh, come on, it can't be
that
bad. Forget about Tricia. If she won't go out with you, I can think of plenty of other girls who would. She's not the only girl in the world, you know."

"To me she is."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "How did I ever end up with such a softhearted brother?"

"Don't pay any attention to her, Steve," Elizabeth put in. "Tricia's lucky to have someone who feels the way you do about her."

"It doesn't matter," Steven said mournfully. "How I feel about Tricia isn't the problem. It's how she feels about me. Or
doesn't
feel, I should say. I thought maybe it was my imagination, the way she was acting. But this morning, when she called off our date, I--well, I just don't

know what to think anymore. I wish I knew what was wrong."

"Maybe someone else is what's wrong," Jessica suggested nastily.

Steven's expression grew stormy. "Tricia wouldn't do that! She wouldn't sneak around behind my back with another guy. I know her better than that."

"If you know her so well, how come you can't figure out why she's being so cold?" Jessica asked. "Honestly, you men can be so
naive
sometimes."

"Not every girl is like you, Jess," Elizabeth pointed out.

Jessica frowned. "And just what is
that
supposed to mean?"

"It means that just because
you
wouldn't think twice about sneaking around behind someone's back, it doesn't have to be the same with Tricia."

Jessica stood up haughtily. "Whatever you say. Of course, I should have known that Tricia could
never
do anything wrong. She probably broke your date so she could go to church."

"That isn't funny, Jess," Steven growled.

"Or maybe she's busy nursing her sick father back to health."

Steven grabbed a pillow, brandishing it threateningly in Jessica's direction. "I'm warning

"OK, I can take a hint." Jessica scooted out of the way, blowing her brother a kiss on her way out the door. "You know it's only because I care about you, Stevie. It would just break my heart to see my favorite brother get hurt."

"What favorite brother? I'm your
only
brother!" he called after her. When she was gone, he gave Elizabeth a look of despair. "Do you think she could be right? Do you think Tricia is seeing someone else?"

"Don't let Jessica get to you," Elizabeth advised. "She's just being her usual meddling self."

"Maybe ..." Steven nibbled on the end of his pen. Elizabeth could feel his anguish. "Oh, Liz, it would just kill me if she was seeing some other guy!"

Poor Steven! Elizabeth wished there was some way she could comfort him, but the truth was she felt just as uncertain about Tricia's feelings as Steven did at this moment. As much as Elizabeth liked Tricia, she couldn't help wondering if there was some truth in what Jessica was suggesting. Why else would Tricia be acting so secretive?

On the other hand, her recent experience with Suzanne had taught her that appearances could be deceiving. It was best not to form judgments based on superficial evidence.

"You can't be sure of anything until you talk to Tricia," Elizabeth said gently.

Steven was close to tears. "I've tried. But-- but she says nothing is wrong. Liz, I know she's hiding something. I can see it in her eyes. And it's driving me crazy!"

What terrible secret is Tricia keeping from Steven? Find out in Sweet Valley #12,
WHEN LOVE DIES.

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