‘When I’m back in London, I want to be able to picture your life in DC,’ Alice said.
Briar frowned. ‘Why would you want to do that?’
Alice felt embarrassed by the admission, but ploughed on anyway. ‘For years, I had an idea in my head of what your life here looked like. And it was true in a lot of ways, but also not. Understanding things better now, it’s… nice.’
Briar straightened, looking at her like she had grown a second head. Alice wasn’t sure if her reaction would have been better or worse if she’d shared the whole truth: not just that she wanted to know what Briar’s day-to-day looked like, but also that Briar was okay.
‘I can send you some Snapchats if it makes you feel better,’ Briar joked.
Alice didn’t smile back. She imagined herself poring over books late at night, her stomach rumbling and her body shaking with too much caffeine, getting a Snapchat from Briar and questioning every decision she’d ever made. It was certainly a distraction her research-addled mind wouldn’t be able to resist, which made it dangerous. Being miles away from Briar, studying her life through social media, had been one type of pain. She didn’t know if she could handle having a sliver of her and not the whole thing.
So she cleared her throat, steering the conversation in another direction. ‘What do you like about your coworkers?’
‘I dunno… they sort of remind me of the counselors. Just good kids who are eager to learn. I’ve been there the longest, so they always come to me when they have issues. It makes me feel capable.’ She snorted. ‘Capable as a bartender. I can add it to my resume.’
Alice raised her eyebrows. ‘From the bar to camp, you’re always surrounded by adoring fans. You inspire that in people.’
Briar shook her head. ‘Like I said, I’ve been at the bar a long time, so people trust me. And here people trust me just because I’m the daughter of the camp’s founder. Not exactly anything I accomplished myself.’
‘Oh, please,’ Alice said, frustrated by having to explain to Briar just how special she was, by the idea that people didn’t constantly remind her. ‘You must notice the way you captivate a room when you walk in. I don’t see any of your siblings having the same effect around here.’
‘No,’ Briar said, ‘but that’s because I encouraged them to pursue their own passions.’
Alice wanted to argue that Briar had other passions as well, that she had a life outside of her mother’s camp. But maybe that was the difference between the Briar she had known and the one in front of her. That Briar had been full of potential, and this one couldn’t see that she still was.
‘What about going back to college?’
Briar scrunched her nose. ‘I couldn’t.’
‘Why?’ Alice asked.
‘It’s embarrassing, isn’t it? I’m too old to be finishing my bachelor’s degree, let alone the master’s I would need to become a teacher. I mean, you almost have a terminal degree.’
‘And I didn’t have a dying parent at any point during that process,’ Alice said gently. ‘I couldn’t have gotten through school if I’d had a family to look after, or even a functioning social life.’
‘Self-deprecating isn’t a good look on you,’ was all Briar had to say to that. ‘You’re a genius. You would have gotten through school no matter what. We’re not the same.’
‘But—’
‘Look,’ Briar said, putting a hand on her hip, ‘I came in here to make out a little. Do you realize how absolutely annoying it is that you insist on trying to improve my already perfect life? Look around’ – she gestured to the dusty classroom sarcastically – ‘we’re inparadise.’
Alice giggled. ‘Is it sad that I honestly agree with that?’
Briar smiled again, drawing her closer. ‘You think this is paradise?’
‘Well,’ Alice said, ‘you’re here, aren’t you?’
‘That’s such a line,’ Briar scoffed, but pulled her in for a kiss anyway.
Chapter 21
Briar
Briar drifted into consciousness slowly, vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps. She took in light coming from the hallway, then glanced to her right, finding Alice’s side of the bed empty. The world outside was dark.
Briar quietly crept across the bedroom. The footsteps were coming from the office, and as Briar entered, she almost ran into Alice.
‘Ally?’ she grumbled, squinting against the onslaught of overhead light.
