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She rolls her eyes. “Let me get dressed and I’ll drive you over there.”
“Oh, no. You don’t have to—”
“Mom left an hour ago for an all-day shoot. Unless you want to call a limo or something, I’m your best option.”
I ignore the rich-girl dig because, for the most part, she’s being nice. “Okay. Thanks.”
Annabel heads back upstairs. I move my suitcase into the living room and open it, sorting through the clothes I brought. Options for cold weather wear are as limited as I was worried they’d be. I shrug off my jacket and pull on the one fleece I packed. Then I head into the downstairs bathroom with my Dopp kit to wash my face and brush my teeth. Unfortunately, I look like I flew all night. There are dark circles under my eyes.
When I leave the bathroom, Annabel is already waiting by the front door. She’s changed into jeans, a thick sweater, and a heavy jacket. She also brushed her hair, but she didn’t straighten it or put on any makeup.
“Sorry,” I say as I put my toiletries away and grab my jacket. “I’m ready.”
She eyes my outerwear. “You’re going to be freezing.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Annabel sighs, then walks toward the hall closet and pulls out a down coat. “Here.” She hands it to me. “You can wear this.”
“You’re being nice to me.”
“Yep.”
“Why?” Aside from coming to the museum in Calgary last summer, Annabel hasn’t shown any signs of thawing toward me until now.
She grabs a pair of keys from the hook by the door but doesn’t answer. I debate whether I should push, but then she finally does respond.
“Look, you were right. Everything you said that night at Josh’s was right. I should have acted differently when you arrived, but I didn’t, and once I started acting that way, I was too stubborn to stop—not to mention most of us don’t effortlessly fly to the top of Canmore’s food chain tucked under Elliot Reid’s wing. That didn’t earn you any favors with my friends. You were only here for a week or two, but I had to deal with everyone else the full year. I was jealous and insecure and blah blah blah. Can we fast-forward through the rest of this?”
“Yeah. Sure.” I smile, offering an olive branch in facial expression form. I had a good idea of what fed Annabel’s treatment of me and that it probably had very little to do withme, but still, it’s nice to hear confirmation of it.
“Great. Let’s go.”
Annabel stops in front of what is apparently Elliot’s house ten minutes later. I’ve never been here before—we always hung out at Josh’s. I’d be a little worried she was messing with me if not for the fact that I see Josie, Izzie, and Mia walking out the front door and down the front path.
I climb out of the car and jog over. All three of them stop when they see me.
“Hi, Josie,” I huff, slightly out of breath. I need to do more cardio. “I—uh—is Elliot home?”
She smiles. “No. He’s at the lake, skating, I believe.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“I’m sorry, we’re running late on getting to school or else I’d drive you there myself.”
“Oh, no, it’s fine. I have a ride.” I hope. Annabel’s generosity could run out at any moment. If it didn’t feel like I was stuck inside a giant freezer, I’d just walk.
“Great. Good to see you, Auden. I didn’t realize you were in town.”
I smile. “Yeah, good to see you too.” I wave at Izzie and Mia, then head back to where Annabel is thankfully still waiting.
“He’s not home?” she asks when I climb back inside the car.
“No, he’s at the lake. It’s fine, we can head back to your place. I’ll just text him.”
“He’s at the lake?”
“Yeah…”
