Ex-Factor (Diamond Girls) Read Online Free PDF

when the good doctor upped my dosage after my dad passed. Nor was it a shock when she insisted my aunt dole out the medicine to ensure I actually took it. Even with the meds, my heart still felt heavy.
    My sour mood followed me into my art class, and I’d all but ignored Ms. Wharton’s titillating discussion on the proper technique when shading. I’d chosen art for my second elective because it was low stress and I couldn’t stomach a third year of Spanish. ¿Dónde está la biblioteca? ¡Olé!
    I paced back and forth across the worn carpet decorating Livvie’s bedroom floor for a good thirty minutes after arriving home. My stomach clenched and my chest ached. Home. Home was hundreds of miles away in Lincoln Township, Nevada. I’d be forever grateful that my aunt Trish had opened her home up to me after my Grammy admitted she couldn’t care for me. But her house, Livvie’s pink room, well, it all seemed foreign to me.
    Uneasy, I stared at the wall of pretty shadow boxes in front of me and sighed. My cousin Livvie loved cheerleading, and it showed in the double row of shiny uniforms gracing her pink wall. Bright, beautiful, and outgoing, she’d practically grown up in her cheer gym, and it was as much a part of her daily life as eating and sleeping. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to embrace her peppy lifestyle the way she, my aunt, and my therapist hoped.
    I reached up and brushed a finger across an enormous red, sparkly bow hanging just above one of the boxes. The fabric was thick and stiff and reminded me instantly of something you’d see on the Disney Channel.
    Livvie breezed into the room with a giant green apple in her hand. Juice shot out from her mouth a good foot and a half as she chomped down into the succulent fruit. “Quit stressing over tonight,” she said with her mouth full. “You’re gonna do great. I’m sure of it.”
    I dropped my arm, sidled over to my bed, and plopped down with a heavy sigh, my legs and back sinking into the plush down comforter. Livvie’s room wasn’t especially large, so how my aunt had managed to squeeze another bed into it, I’d never know. Regardless, I was thankful for my own little space, especially since I’d been allowed to pick out my own bedding. I pulled the edge of my white comforter over myself and groaned. The makeshift cocoon felt warm and safe, and I didn’t want to move, let alone get up, change clothes, and bounce around in front of a set of coaches.
    Cool air bit into my skin seconds after my fabric shield was ripped away. Livvie stood over me, a fat frown scrawled across her pretty face. She snatched a fuzzy black throw pillow and knocked me upside the head with it, then pointed at me, the remnants of her apple still in hand. “Man up, Nev. You can do this.” Her dark blond brows knit together, creating a small wrinkle between her eyes. She chucked what was left of her fruit in the wastebasket alongside the nearby desk, then grabbed my wrist and yanked.
    “Ow!” I struggled to free myself from her steely grip. Girlfriend packed a whole lot of muscle in her tiny little body. No doubt a direct result from the years of cheer conditioning. She herded me across the room, stopping just in front of her white, shabby chic dresser.
    She cast me an exasperated look. “Oh please. Quit acting like a pansy. I’ve seen you in action. I know what you’re made of.” Lips pursed, she yanked open the middle drawer and proceeded to toss clothes over her shoulder.
    A white T-shirt hit me in the face. “Livvie!” I barely had time to pull the offending piece of fabric from my head when I was assaulted with a black sports bra and a plain pair of black booty shorts.
    She eyed me with venom. “Quit your bellyaching and put those on.”
    I opened my mouth to protest, but quickly thought better of it. Livvie was a sweet girl, but if you crossed her, her claws came out. I wasn’t up for an argument with her so I bit my lip and trudged into the nearby bathroom.
    The