I break off a piece of vanilla lemon muffin and chew on it.
“She played me for a fucking fool senior year. It was believable at first because she really hated you, Astrid.”
“I know.”
She shakes her head and leans forward, lowering her voice. “I don’t think you fully do. She was so jealous of you, and her hatred spanned years. She used to go on these wild rants, talking about things from when you were children. She was concealing a lot of hatred. I believed her when she said she wanted to take you down. She hid her obsession with Callan from me, letting me believe she just wanted to get back at you, and me stealing him from you would be a great place to start. By the time I realized she was using me as the scapegoat, it was far too late.”
“Gwen damaged my car and set you up to take the fall.”
“Correct. She planted all that stuff in my locker, and I swear to you, Astrid, on my children’s lives, I did not take a single one of those photos. Those were all her.”
“I believe you.”
“I spoke to Joe before he died,” she says.
Renee was the one to inform me of his passing a few years ago. Apparently, he’d picked up an infection and was admitted to hospital where he contracted pneumonia and died.
“He told me she messed with his brakes,” Ana continues. “I know he told you that, too, and I one hundred percent agree. That girl was not right in the head. She also cheated on Scott pretty much the entire time they were dating, and she really fucked him up.” She leans in closer again. “I think she pushed Mara down the stairs too.”
“I had considered that.” Every interaction with Gwen came under a microscope after London, as I tried to determine how far back her betrayal went. Hindsight is a cruel bitch, letting you see so many things in a different light. Like how she always turned the attention on herself, and I wondered if she pushed her gran down the stairs to garner sympathy.
“She never shut up bitching and whining about her nan, and the way she acted after she died was weird. I never saw her shed a single tear or mourn in any way. She really didn’t care.”
“I feel sick thinking about it. Mara was the sweetest.”
“I never met her, so I can’t say, but what she did to you and Callan was awful. I feel terrible that I didn’t warn you about her. I did think about it after I got out of the hospital, but I didn’t think you’d believe me, and you’d also taken out a restraining order.”
“I was a blind fool. Convinced you were out to get me when it was that bitch all along. I’m pretty sure if you’d tried to talk to me, I would not have listened.”
Her eyes drop to my engagement ring. “Heard you’re engaged to that big shot CEO who owns the resort now.”
“I am.”
“I always thought you’d end up with Callan. I might have been delusional back then, but everyone could see how crazy in love you were. He harbors so much guilt over how everything went down. He’s never gotten over you, Astrid.”
“You’re friends with Callan?”
“Not me so much as my husband. Myles did his ink, and they’ve been friends ever since.”
“Callan has tattoos?” I don’t recall seeing any.
She nods. “Just the one. You should get him to show it to you. I think you’d appreciate it.”
“Yeah, that’s never happening.”
“You should talk to him.”
I rub at the tightness spreading across my chest as I watch her eyes well up.
“What she did to him.” She shakes her head, her expression pained.
“He talked to you about it?”
She leans back in her chair, coffee and cake forgotten. “We had a party to celebrate us buying the shop, and we all got a little drunk. Callan and I ended up in a corner talking about that bitch. He told me some stuff. Stuff only his family and close friends know.” She eyeballs me. “I know it’s too late for you guys, but if you ever cared for him, you should let him tell you. It’s eating him alive. I have tried setting him up on a few dates because I know he’s so fucking lonely, but he refuses every time. He can’t get past you. I don’t know if he ever will.”
63
ASTRID
