“How was your session yesterday?” she asked. A soft smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, her short brown hair neatly tucked behind her ears.
I gave her a wry look. She knew I hated them.
“Fine,” I said. “She gave me the all clear.”
Susan shot me a dubious look. “Really?”
I shrugged, mustering a pretense of innocence.
Susan raised an eyebrow.
“Seriously, I’m fine,” I said.
I wasn’t going to convince her tonight, but I’d try anyway. She was the last human on the planet I wanted worrying for another second. Susan had been the only stability in my life since everything happened. I owed her a little white lie.
Noticing a photo on the island, I glanced at it. It was a much younger Susan, my mom, and another woman who looked a lot like Susan.
“What’s that?” I asked, surprised to see a photo of my mom. She rarely let anyone take pictures of her.
Susan glanced at it, “Oh, I was going through some old albums. I thought you might want it.”
I picked it up, shocked to see my mom in a photo with Susan.
“You knew my mom back then?” I asked.
Susan nodded.
“That’s my sister, Annabelle,” Susan said.
A bang sounded at the front door, followed by a thud that was no doubt the door hitting the wall violently. Susan slipped the photo into her pocket and gave me a look that said,we’ll talk later. My mom was very private, but I guess it made sense that she knew some people. That must’ve been why she was okay with Katie hanging out with us back then.
Katie was one of my best friends. She stood in the doorway, juggling an armful of books and a backpack slung over one shoulder that had to weigh more than she did.
She was a tall, thin, athletic type, with sandy blonde hair that hung down her back. She sauntered into the kitchen, dropped her backpack on the floor, and groaned.
“Do I have to go to college? Because it sucks. Like, it really sucks. It’s like a prison, and I don’t want to go back.”
I rolled my eyes, laughing at her antics.
“It’s only your first year, Katie,” Susan mused, her eyebrows raised in amusement.
“Ughh,” Katie growled. “Don’t remind me.”
I sniggered, and she shot me a glare. “What? Just wait until you start classes. We’ll see who’s laughing then.”
“I’ll be taking online classes, so none of this,” I said, waving my hand at her mess of books.
Susan shook her head in amusement. “Are you girls still going camping tonight?”
“Oh yeah, let me make sure Hunter got the campground,” Katie said, texting on her phone.
She scowled as she looked at the screen, texted again, this time with more force. Susan and I watched her, waiting for the bad news.
“Uggghh,” she said, slapping her phone on the counter.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I told Hunter to get the campground by the trails, but he waited too long. They were all booked, so he booked the one by the lake,” she said.
