AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Scarlett’s body trembled as she fought to catch her breath. Everything she’d wanted to have happen had failed. Her plans had slipped through her fingers and there was no salvaging them.
“I don’t want you to leave,” Annabel said. “But I understand.”
“I’m so sorry,” Scarlett whispered. “For everything.”
Annabel pulled back sharply and stared at her hard. “Whatever for? You don’t need to apologize to me. You didn’t do anything.”
Scarlett wiped at her already puffy eyes. “You don’t have to pretend that I didn’t contribute to… a lot of stuff.”
Annabel narrowed her eyes. “What did he say?”
This wasn’t what Scarlett had wanted to get into. She had hoped they’d just have a good couple of days while she packed up again and said her goodbyes. “I don’t want to talk about Elijah. Let’s just say that he opened my eyes to a lot.”
“Scarlett, you can’t just say something like that and expect me to drop it. Whatever he said, I need to know.”
“No, you don’t,” Scarlett assured her. If what she said ended up causing a rift between Annabel and her brother, then she’d only blame herself. She forced a smile. “Can we just—”
“No, we can’t just anything. What did Elijah say to you?”
She looked away, her face flushing. “He said that you were susceptible to being a follower and I was a leader. Essentially, anything bad that you went through was because I’d convinced you to take a path that wasn’t the best thing for you.” Scarlett peeked at her friend. “Like the alcohol thing. I took you out drinking for the first time. And the whole not getting married and having a family. I insisted how important it was to find ourselves before we fell in love.”
“What?” Annabel glanced toward a nearby window as if she expected to see Elijah outside and within view. “You can’t be serious,” she growled. “Elijah is such a jerk! I’m going to give him a piece of—”
Reaching out, Scarlett grabbed onto Annabel’s forearm. “You’re not going to do anything. He was just telling me what he witnessed you going through any time I came into your life. And maybe he has a point…” Her voice trailed off. As much as she appreciated Annabel’s determination to come to her defense, she didn’t want anyone making excuses for her. Not anymore.
“You’re wrong,” Annabel muttered. “And he’s wrong.” She shook her head and let out a frustrated growl. “You want to know something? Being in AA has taught me a great deal about myself and the choicesImake.” She placed her hands on Scarlett’s shoulders and set her with a firm stare. “You are not responsible formychoices.”
Scarlett’s heart hammered. The crushing weight she’d been dealing with for the last little while lifted somewhat.
“Did I follow you around and let you make most of the decisions when it came to what we did on the weekends or the people we spent our time with? Sure. But you were the outgoing one. You were the one who could make anyone like you. I could see that. I understood it. And I wanted to be part of it.” Another tear slid down her cheek.
Scarlett wanted nothing more than to pull her friend into another hug and just hold her. They were both unveiling all their baggage—stuff they’d kept hidden from themselves. Then again, Annabel seemed to have figured a few things out. She was taking control of her life, including the consequences that came with her poor decisions.
“I love you, Scar. No. Matter. What.”
“I love you too, Annabel. You were always the sister I never had.”
They shared the next few moments, letting the weight of their heavy conversation settle. Then Scarlett brought up the one thing that started nagging at her. “I’m sorry about the mimosas.” She avoided looking directly at her friend and opted instead to grab a couple glasses so they could get some water.
Annabel rolled her eyes. “Thatwasn’tyour fault either.
“But if I had known—”
“How could you? It was my secret to tell.” Annabel accepted the glass Scarlett offered and took a sip. “I should have told you about it or said something when we were at the restaurant. In fact, I could have told you six years ago when I started the program. But I didn’t.” She shrugged. “We could have both done a lot of things differently. How about we focus on the future instead, okay?”
Elijah’s argument last night must have had a lingering effect because Scarlett was having a real hard time letting go. “But if I—”
“Scarlett.” Annabel sighed. “What’s in the past is in the past. I just need to go to a meeting and get started again. It happens. I’ll get further next time.” She smiled softly. “Don’t worry.”
“You can’t tell me that. We don’t have that kind of friendship anymore.” Scarlett took a sip of her water, having never felt more validated in her life. There was a reason she’d gravitated toward Annabel, and this was one of them. It just felt good to be with her, to talk to her, and know that everything would turn out alright.
“Okay, fine.” Annabel laughed. It was the first actual joyful moment they’d shared since she’d come in with the documents she’d found in her father’s office. She motioned toward the table and then took a seat.
Scarlett followed suit. “You know, maybe one of our problems is that we’re not seeing enough of each other.”
“I could tell you that,” Annabel drawled. “You never visit nearly enough.”
“Well, what about you? You’ve never visited mein Germany.” Scarlett gave her a pointed look.
