Page 20 of I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life

“That’s not the point. I love that she reads, but… she’s spent years in this tiny little bubble. Only friends with me and Peri, who still hates you, by the way. I don’t think it’s possible to win her over.” I wasn’t surprised by that fact at all; I’d given up even attempting to talk to Peri whenever I was in the library. “But back to Nalini. She’d insist on never leaving town. Afraid of being recognized if she ever left. I’ve been telling her for years nobody is going to immediately recognize her anymore unless she brings up the RaineFall connection, but you come along, and suddenly she’s in NYC! Hating it, but she tried something new! You’re good for her!”

“Well, she’s my friend,” I shrugged, but I was surprised by how hollow the words sounded. She was my friend, my best friend, and to some degree I’d put myself in a similar box Nalini had. One I was trying to get myself out of. But even that explanation didn’t quite feel right.

And I wasn’t sure why.

I knew what life was like without Nalini, and I knew I didn’t want to experience it again. I hated she and Julia never got the chance to meet, that the two of them absolutely would've ganged up on me. I hated she hadn’t heard my music, that it was a source of pain instead of a source of joy. But most of all, I wanted to make sure she knew how important she was to me. And I had no idea how to convey it.

And somehow it still felt like I wasn’t giving her enough credit.

“A friend who gets her boring butt out of the house every once in a while,” Misty said, smirking at me like it was some sort of inside joke I had absolutely no idea what she could be referring to. Not when I'd just met her. “Just keep being a good influence on my girl, okay? Nalini needs to stop being afraid to spread her wings. The world deserves to see she’s amazing, instead of letting your brother decide she’s not.”

I wasn’t sure what to say, not without repeating everything I'd said to Nalini. And while it was clear Misty probably knew already, there was still the underlying tension that came with it.

“Anyway, enjoy your walk; it’s nice to see The Ghost of Briar Hill out and about,” Misty said, locking the door to the studio.

“The what?” I asked, before she shrugged.

“The Ghost of Briar Hill, it’s what everyone calls you,” she explained, “Because you’re never out on the town. Seriously, you should start to do things. Town things. I mean, there’s the Trunk or Treat event, the New Year’s Eve Festival; you could go to a PTO meeting. How are people supposed to believe you’re here to stay if you don’t act like it?”

I blinked as the woman seemed to disappear, and I hadn’t realized it was that easy to get involved. I’d assumed nobody wanted me at those events, that I had to prove I wasn’t going to throw Briar Hill into the spotlight a second time. But maybe I accidentally overcorrected instead. Maybe they did want to see me, and that was the best way to show I’m not here to threaten their way of life. It was at least something to think about, and maybe a way to actually show I was here to stay

Chapter fifteen

Nalini

While Fall Break was relaxing, everything that came after was anything but. Between Homecoming and the accompanying spirit weeks, the Halloween Trunk or Treat I’d somehow been voluntold to run, the Diwali Festival I put on at the library every year, and attempting to convince my students they did, in fact, want to pass the semester — I’d been going nonstop for a month and was desperate for a break. But there were still volunteer meetings for the New Year’s Eve Festival to attend, finals to finalize, students to lecture, and somewhere in there I had to sleep.

I wished the holiday season and accompanying break meant I could rest, but being single meant I was volunteered for everything, because they assumed I had no other plans.

I hated their assumptions were correct.

Thankfully, Thanksgiving wasn’t a big deal in Briar Hill, so I planned to make my entire long weekend about me. I was going to watch terrible made-for-TV movies and eat an entire pie. That was it, that was the plan.

So, the fact my phone was ringing before I'd had my first slice of breakfast pie was not how I wanted to start my holiday weekend.

“Kameron…?” I answered the phone, having absolutely no idea why he'd call me today.

“Nalini, you need to come over right now!” Cassidy’s frantic voice said on the other line, “It’s an emergency!”

“What happened? What’s wrong?” I frantically asked, “Are you safe?”

“A food emergency,” she amended, which was just enough to stop me from running out the door, “Dad made enough Thanksgiving food for a million people, and there’s only two of us!” I laughed; it sounded like Kameron, though the adrenaline spike the girl gave me woke me up faster than any cup of coffee ever had.

“Does your Dad know you’re inviting me to Thanksgiving?” I asked, not wanting to show up to a family holiday unannounced.

“Yes!” I heard him call from what I assumed was the kitchen, “Unless you have other plans!”

“I don’t… I’ll be there in about an hour,” I said, hanging up and panicking while dialing Misty.

“There better be a good reason you’re calling me this early in the morning,” she grumbled.

“It’s almost noon!” I scoffed, like I hadn’t been in bed myself thirty minutes earlier, “I just wanted to know what you’re supposed to wear when you’re invited to someone’s Thanksgiving?”

“Stretchy pants? Something… wait a second, Thanksgiving is normally a date between you and pie. Whose Thanksgiving are you going to? Who got between you and your pie?” Misty demanded, “I know you wouldn’t be asking these questions if you were going with Peri to help at the food bank.”

“Reminder, if you hadn’t gone to your parents, you could’ve been eating a whole pie too,” I teased. “I got a last-minute invite to Kameron’s. Cassidy called, and apparently he made too much food and…”

“Hold up, you’re going to Kameron Raine’s for Thanksgiving?” Misty squealed, full of energy like the idea was caffeine injected straight into her veins, “Girl, that adorable sweater dress, leggings, and make sure you look cute. Like you need to actually do your hair cute.”