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“Do you need a ride?”
She stops, watching me arrive, smiling.
“You’re done with class?” she asks.
“I just got out of practice. Your brother and Leo are in class, and I was going to Harriet’s.”
Her gaze fades for a second and I frown, looking concerned. She pulls herself together, not giving me time to ask her if something is bothering her, and adds with joy, “I’d like to, but I wouldn’t want you to take a detour.”
“It’s okay, Scar, for you I can even drive through Boston.”
She bites her lip and tucks a strand behind her ear, looking quickly behind my back before nodding. She follows me to the car, and I get in the front, finding Harriet who has her feet on the glove compartment. I hate when she does that. It’s not for lack of having repeated to her ten thousand times not to, though. I just sigh and turn my head as the back door opens to let Scarlett climb into the seat behind my girlfriend.
“I’m going to drop Scar off at our apartment,” I simply say. “Harriet, this is Scarlett, Ed’s little sister. Scar, this is Harriet.”
“His girlfriend,” Harriet says, glancing over her shoulder. “I think we passed each other quickly once.”
Scarlett grimaces and I smile at the mention.
“That’s right. Nice to meet you in better…conditions,” Scarlett says.
I turn on the ignition, stifling a laugh, and leave the parking lot. Harriet lives about ten miles from the apartment, and even if it makes me take a little detour, I’d rather know that Scarlett is coming home safely rather than taking public transport. Especially if it can allow her to meet my girlfriend. Although, I don’t need her approval, I still want to be sure they get along.
“Scarlett spent a year in France,” I say, trying to start the conversation.
Harriet smiles at me, putting a hand on my thigh as if she understands what I’m trying to do. She has never met Scarlett but has heard a lot about her, from Edgar first, then Leo and me. She knows that she’s important to me, because we have known each other for a long time, and I consider her my little sister.
“You told me. How was it?”
She shifts in her seat so that she can fully see Scarlett behind her. I take a quick look in the rearview mirror, finding Scarlett’s brown eyes.
“Great,” she admits with a sincere smile. “I was in Paris with my best friend, so the change of scenery was less brutal. We visited a lot of cities on the weekends. With our student cards, we had prizes and…”
I focus on the road, giggling quietly as I listen to Scarlett talk,talk, talkabout her time in Paris. Harriet remains attentive, making a few relevant remarks while taking a full interest in what Edgar’s sister is telling her. I observe my girlfriend, placing my hand on the one she has placed on my thigh, happy theintroductions are made.
11
Scarlett
I go down the stairs that creak under my weight and find my mother in the lounge in the garden. A cup of coffee in her hands, she’s sitting with my father and they’re talking while they lounge in the sun.
“Honey, up already?”
“It’s eight o’clock,” I laugh.
“It’s a sleep-in day for you!” my father laughs. “There’s coffee in the kitchen.”
“Thank you!”
I turn around and go get myself a cup. The weekend just flew by as quickly as the previous week. I slept pleasantly in my childhood bed, as if my two years of college had never happened and I had always been here. I sigh as I take a sip, then grimace.
Ew!
It’s too strong.
I come out after putting in sugar and join my parents.
“Anya and Nolan are coming home for lunch this afternoon,” my mother announces.
