‘Oh,’ Alice said, squeezing her eyes closed again as she sat up. ‘Sorry… I thought you’d want the bigger bed.’
‘This was always my bed,’ Briar said, in a tone that made Alice feel stupid.
‘Oh,’ she said. ‘Right. The other one’s Susan’s?’ Alice knew that Briar had spent a considerable amount of time at camp in the years since she’d left. Susan had mentioned it in her emails to Alice, always praising Briar’s work ethic. Briar didn’t respond, just stared down at her until she stood and moved away from the bed. It was then that Alice noticed the waning light outside. ‘What time is it?’
‘Eight,’ Briar said. ‘I just came in to grab my flashlight. I’m gonna go make sure Freddie and Sierra have everything they need before the counselors get here tomorrow.’ She left before Alice could respond.
Weeks of not talking to anyone other than the well-meaning but completely oblivious Freddie, her absent-minded mother and her ex-best friend whose personal mission was to torture her was taking its toll. Alice needed to talk to someone who knew about Briar, and for that, there was only one person.
She rubbed her eyes as she made her way to the phone, dialing Tess’s number into the landline.
‘Hi,’ Tess greeted her through a yawn. ‘Have you come to your senses and booked a flight home?’
‘Not yet.’
‘Then what are you calling me at one in the morning for?’ Tess demanded.
‘Oh, just wanted to hear your sanguine tones,’ Alice deadpanned. ‘How I’ve missed them.’
‘Fine, flatter me, just don’t call me from a random number at this time of night again. Nearly gave me a heart attack.’ She paused. ‘Are you at camp, then?’
‘Yes.’
‘And?’
Alice sighed. ‘I already want to leave. And I want to stay forever. It’s complicated.’
‘Youlovecomplicated,’ Tess said, encouraging. ‘Youthriveon complicated. Those mushrooms don’t classify themselves.’
‘Right,’ Alice said, twirling the phone wire around her finger. ‘But I’ve avoided this particular…brandof complicated for a long time.’
Tess snorted. ‘And how’s that been? There’s no denying that this drama is still holding you back, even if you’re not crying about it every time you get drunk anymore.’
‘That was one time!’ Alice protested. ‘And I was eighteen!’
‘Well, since it’s the only time I’ve seen you cry, you can’t expect me to forget it.’ Tess paused, clearing her throat meaningfully. ‘But speaking of it holding you back, I mean, when was the last time you went on a date?’
Alice suspected Tess knew the answer to that question better than she did. ‘I don’t exactly see how that’s related.’
‘Oh,’ Tess said, sounding disappointed. ‘You don’t? You’ll get there, I suppose. You remember why we broke up, yeah?’
‘Because you’re so bloody annoying?’ Alice tried.
‘No,’ Tess said, drawing the word out. ‘It was because you were in love with someone else, you slag.’
‘I wasn’t—’ Alice stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She didn’t like revisiting her first semester, those early weeks of not talking to Briar. She’d been a mess. It had taken her longer than she would have liked to regain control over her emotions, and dating Tess had been integral to the process. Tess had given her an outlet to channel those messy feelings into, until she’d found out exactly what Alice was avoiding back in the States and had sympathetically dumped her. ‘Honestly, I was just a dramatic teenager with no idea what I was talking about. You should forget whatever I said back then. I certainly have.’
The door creaked open behind her and she nearly jumped, not sure why the phone call suddenly felt clandestine. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Briar standing there, her flashlight temporarily blinding Alice.
‘Those two are impossible,’ she announced, and then seemed to notice the phone in Alice’s hand. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.’ She turned into the bedroom.
‘Was that Briar? Don’t let me keep you.’ Tess yawned again. ‘It’s late.’
‘I’ll ring off and let you sleep,’ Alice said, knowing there was nothing else productive that could come from the conversation. ‘Thanks for answering the phone past a reasonable hour.’
‘I didn’t know it was you,’ Tess reminded her. ‘Love you, good night.’
When Alice went back into the bedroom, Briar was laying her pajamas out. Alice dragged her duffel over to the larger bed, unzipping it and staring at the meticulously organized but random contents within.
