Page 58 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

Scarlett: GTG

She put the phone down. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to double-check about sailing to Newport next weekend.”

Shit. She’d forgotten about their trip. “I promised Avery I’d help her with something next Saturday. Can you go without me?” She hoped she sounded convincing.

His brow creased. “We’ve had this planned for a month. What does she need help with?”

Scarlett thought fast. “It’s a fundraiser project for school. We’re making T-shirts and selling them at the fair the following weekend. It’s important. I get credit for it too.”

“Let me talk to your mom about it. I’ll have to see if Gram and Grandad can come stay with you. I don’t want you to be home alone overnight.”

That’s the last thing she needed. “I can spend the night at Avery’s.”

“Okay. I guess. I’m disappointed though. What if we went Sunday instead?”

She thought about it. Scarlett didn’t know how long Ben was going to be in town, and she hated the idea of not being able to see him both days if he was still going to be here. “You’re treating me like a baby. Like Mom does. Just go, and I’ll go next time.”

He stood up and pursed his lips. “You’re growing up too fast. Dinner in half an hour.”

As soon as he left the room, she called Avery.

“Hey, I need a favor.”

Annabelle

It was after ten by the time Annabelle got home, and all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Their flight from Los Angeles was supposed to have left at eight a.m. but was delayed for four hours due to some mechanical issue. When she got home, James was watching a documentary in their bedroom, and the girls were in their own rooms. He looked up as she came in.

“You must be exhausted,” he said, then got up and gave her a kiss. “Missed you.”

“It’s good to be home,” she answered. “I’m going to go say hi to the girls.”

She went to Olivia’s room first, but when she opened the door, she saw that she was asleep, a book open on her chest. Annabelle smiled. She closed the book and pulled the covers up to her daughter’s chin, then kissed her forehead and turned off the light. She rapped lightly on Scarlett’s door and opened it after Scarlett’s “Come in.”

Scarlett’s phone was in her hand. She put it facedown on the bed and looked up at Annabelle.

“Hi. How was your trip?”

“Good. How was skiing? I’m happy to see you home and in one piece.”

Scarlett rolled her eyes. “I told you I’d be fine. It was awesome. They said we could go again soon.”

Annabelle nodded. “I’m sorry I was heavy-handed about it. I’ve been a little stressed lately, and I shouldn’t have put that on you.”

Scarlett smiled at her. “It’s okay. All’s well that ends well.”

Annabelle laughed. “Quoting Shakespeare now.”

“Hey, listen. Did Dad tell you about next weekend? Newport?”

“No, we haven’t caught up yet. I came right up to see you girls.”

“Well, I volunteered to work on a charity project with Avery, so I’m not gonna go. I’ll spend the night at Avery’s.”

“Oh. Well, we can postpone—”

Scarlett shook her head. “No, you’ve been looking forward to it. I’ll be fine. Besides, Olivia’s excited to go, and she’s bringing Sophie. I’ll go next time.”