A collective gasp, silence, then screaming.
I couldn’t keep the smile that brightened my face, seeing three of them in the same frame. I searched the nook of my brain for anything appropriate to say, but nothing was clicking. “Hey guys.”
Laura slammed her fist down on a surface. “Hey guys? Girl, where in the fucking world have you been?”
“Yeah, we tried getting to you, asked a lot of people. Why did you cut us off like that?” Jade screamed, a pink lipstick in her hand.
Questions after questions poured from them, not sparing me a second to explain myself. What would I even say? That I deleted them on purpose? Judging from the way they kept repeating how much they missed me, it’d be cruel to say I didn’t want to speak to them, that I didn’t love and care for them asmuch as they cared for me. Laura, Jade and Katy—my closest and oldest friends.
“I’m so glad to see you three still sticking together,” I interjected, my voice low.
“What are you saying? You sound like my mom. It would have been the four of us if you didn’t disappear so suddenly. We all thought something bad happened to you, baby girl.” Katy pouted.
“No, we all thought you were dead. Look at this.” Laura took the phone from Katy, walking around the room. She stopped next to a vase and lifted it. Inside it was a purple forget me not flower, and on it was a writing that read:
Dedicated to Ainsley, our one true friend.
Moist gathered on my lids as I choked back my tears.
“You liked this flower in high school, and we decided to make it plastic two years ago so it doesn’t die like we thought you did. I suggested ‘In Memory Of Our Loving Friend’ instead of dedication, but Jade objected and insisted you weren’t dead. I’m glad she’s right.”
I laughed with a roll of my eyes, and she smiled, giving the phone to Jade. “We each have this in our room. I’m happy to see you’re doing well.”
“Thanks, guys. I’m sorry—”
“Uh uh, no. Save it,” Katy chirped in from where she was forcing in her shoes. “You’ll apologise properly when we see. Give us your number.”
“No, she’s coming to the get-together, right? We’ll see tomorrow, won’t we, Ainsley?”
Shit...this was the asshole’s plan—to have my friends convince me. He knew I wouldn’t be able to say no to them, seeing them was tugging on my heart strings, longing and desire eating up my wall.
This wasn’t right...
“Ainsley, will you be there? Tell us you will. We have somewhere to be right now and we’re so late. We’ll talk better tomorrow, okay?”
I swallowed, smiled and nodded.I can do this. I can. I just have to avoid any questions related to my personal life and job.“I will see you all tomorrow.”
“Yay. Okay now, we’ve gotta go. Bye, Love you.” Katy blew me a kiss.
“Thanks, Blake. You’re awesome!” Jade screamed right before the line went dead.
I took a deep breath, shook my head and picked my grocery bag. “You’re so lucky. You got what you wanted,” I told him dryly and walked.
“I had to make you present by all means.” He didn’t follow.
I could feel myself getting angry, but I was happy at the same time to see my friends. But I was angry nonetheless. “That was an asshole move.”
I stepped into Vin’s house, the familiar scent of his place calming me for a second, until I noticed a white letter on the couch. No name. No address. Just sitting there, out of place. At first, I thought about ignoring it. Maybe it wasn’t meant for me, but then I paused. The door had been locked when I arrived, and Vin wasn’t here. My pulse quickened. The only person who could’ve gotten in and left something...was Theon.
Frustration and dread curled inside me. Breaking into my friend’s house now? Really? I hesitated, glaring at the envelope before snatching it up and ripping it open.
I glowered at the scrawny handwriting, then at the message.
I can’t wait to finish what we started that night. To take back what you owe me.
What the heck? What was he getting at now? What was this supposed to mean? I turned the letter, suddenly confused. Why would he send this? Was he talking about that night?
I could feel the buzz from the gate, a low hum of music and voices vibrating through the air, seeping out from Blake’s dad’s mansion. The extravagance of it hit me hard, almost stopping me in my tracks as I hesitated at the gate. It was overwhelming—everything from the grand pillars to the sprawling lawn that seemed to stretch forever. This wasn’t just a house; it was a damn estate.
