I paused, confused. “I lost my scarf—I thought I told you. Plus, I couldn’t find my wellies this morning. I had to wear old black duck boots until I got to school.” I swallowed, suddenly feeling strange. “Are you sure it was my umbrella?”
Emmy’s brow furrowed in concentration. “I thought so, but maybe it was only similar. It’s just yours was so distinctive with the irises on it. But I could have been mistaken, I guess. I saw the coat and hair, the wellies and scarf that looked like yours, and I thought the umbrella was the same.”
“Lots of girls have brown hair and wear those wellies,” I stated, needing her to agree with me. The conversation was starting to upset me and made me feel unsettled.
“That’s true. They are popular. I’ve seen lots of girls wear black raincoats with pretty scarves. I was probably mistaken.” She winked. “And it makes sense why they didn’t respond to your name being called.”
Relief filled me. “Yes.” I paused, worrying my lip. “Emmy, can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“What you do you know about manic-depressive disorder?”
“Nothing, really. Why?”
I traced my finger over the table. “My mom suffered with it.”
“I know.”
“It often hits women in their twenties.” I hesitated, worrying my lip.
“And?”
I rubbed my face. “I seem to be losing things and forgetting things a lot. My mom did that.” I met her eyes. “The disease can be genetic.”
Her eyes grew round in understanding. “Cami—is that what is bothering you? You think you’re like your mom?”
“I’m worried, yes.”
“Have you spoken to Dee?”
“A little—she’s stressed over this case and leaving. I didn’t want to get into it too much with her. She tells me I’m not like my mom. But I can’t stop thinking about it.”
She leaned forward, rubbing my arm. “I think you’ve had a lot to handle lately. I know how my kidnapping upset you. You’re dealing with school, work, being hurt, and Dee gone so much.” She drew in a long breath. “Plus Aiden.”
Aiden.
Just hearing his name made my chest ache.
“Everyone goes through bad times, Cami. I think you’re overthinking this, and you’re making too much about a few lost items. But if you’re that worried, then I’ll go to the doctor with you and help you make sure everything is okay.”
“You would?”
“Of course. You’re my best friend.” She squeezed my hand. “Anything.”
I sighed in relief. “You’re probably right. I have a lot on my mind. I’m sure it’ll get better. But I may take you up on that offer if it doesn’t.”
“Okay. You can talk to me too, you know. Even about Aiden. I’m here for you.”
I hugged her, glanced at my phone, and stood. “Okay, I have to get going. Meet you at Aiden’s later?”
“Okay. What time?”
“I’ll be there by eight. I’m going to meet with my group after school, then head over. You can start and I’ll catch up later.”
“Okay.”
“No, Cami, pay attention. Like this.”
Aiden was patient. His movements were slow and deliberate as he showed me the correct stance. He had even touched me, adjusting my arms and shoulders. But his touch had been all wrong, and his voice was cool, as if addressing a stranger.
Everything felt wrong, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do another lesson.
From the moment I arrived, I had wanted to cry. He wasn’t Aiden. He was remote, removed, and only spoke when necessary. His smile was polite, even friendly, but his eyes were blank. He’d totally shut himself off from me. He inquired about my shoulder and knee, nodding when I assured him I was fine.
“Don’t strain yourself,” he cautioned, turning back to Emmy to finish what I had interrupted when I arrived. It was the only thing he said that indicated he cared about me at all.
I tried not to react. I did as he asked, going through the motions. I asked questions, listened to his instructions, and smiled to try to ease the tension. I cracked a couple of jokes and teased Bentley. Emmy and I sparred, letting Aiden instruct us as we moved and jabbed.
Finally, it was over. I could tell Bentley bought my act. I was sure I had fooled Emmy too. They both looked relieved there had been no emotional outburst or visible tension. Aiden and I acted as though nothing was different.
We were good at keeping our real emotions hidden.
As I was packing up, Bentley spoke.
“Emmy and I will drive you home, Cami. It’s late, and I know Dee is away. I don’t want you on the subway.”
I waited, a small part of me hoping Aiden would find an excuse for me to stay. Or insist on driving me himself. However, he remained silent, his back turned away from me as he picked up the mats we’d been using.
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
“Are you hungry?” Emmy asked. “We could get something to eat on the way home. I mean usually, we…” Her voice trailed off and she grimaced, realizing what she was about to say.
Aiden’s shoulders stiffened. I waved my hand. “No, I’m good. We ordered pizza earlier while we were working on the project.” I hadn’t eaten, and Louisa had been a no-show, but it had been a productive session.
“You sure?”
“Yes. I’m not hungry. But if you guys want to stop somewhere, I’m okay with that.”
“I think we’ll have something at home, right, Emmy?” Bentley spoke, smoothing over the moment. “It’s a bit late for fast food.”
“Yes, you’re right.”
We left immediately, me following Bentley and Emmy. I grabbed my bag and knapsack and called thanks to Aiden, hurrying out the door before he finished piling up the mats. I couldn’t bear to see his indifference as he said goodbye. In the car, I chatted as if nothing was wrong. Emmy and I made plans for the rest of the week, and I waved to them as I slipped through the main door of the apartment building.
Once in my apartment, I shut the door and let myself go. I slid down the back of the hard door, exhausted, and emotionally drained. It had taken everything in me to appear unaffected tonight. To prove to my friends I was okay and Aiden and I were nothing different from what we had ever been.
Finally, I stood and flicked on the light. The living room was organized, and when I went into the kitchen for a drink of water, I saw Dee had straightened it up as well. I peeked in her room, to see it was neat and tidy, but I was shocked when I walked into my room.
It was spotless. I looked around, flabbergasted. I wasn’t sure it had ever been this clean. The bottles on my dresser were lined up with almost military precision, and everything was in its place. Books piled according to size. My jewelry arranged. The clothes I had draped across the back of the chair gone and hung in my closet or put away in drawers.
She’d made up my bed so meticulously, it was like a magazine picture. Pillows plumped, the duvet smooth. I didn’t want to mess it up by using it.
I was puzzled, wondering why Dee had spent so much time in my room. We didn’t touch each other’s bedrooms even when cleaning since that was our personal space. She must have sensed my mood earlier and wanted to do something nice for me. I would have to make sure the rest of the apartment looked as good when she came home.
The only thing out of place was a coffee cup on my nightstand. I picked up it and carried it to the kitchen. As I placed it in the sink, I noticed the lipstick stain on it. It was bright pink, a color I had never seen Dee wear. She usually wore a soft berry color. Obviously, something else new I had missed.
I picked up my coat and opened the closet to hang it up. Right at the front sat my purple wellies. Either I had missed them this morning, or Dee had found them in my room and placed them where I would see them.
Now, if only I could find my umbrella.
With a sigh, I dug out my laptop and sat on the sofa, determined to work for a while then head to bed. I only
hoped I could sleep.
In the morning, I woke, cramped and stiff. I had finally fallen asleep on the sofa about three. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes, checking the time. It was after eight, so I jumped into the shower and rushed to get ready. It was raining again, and I grabbed the umbrella I had bought to replace mine. It was plain black and matched my mood. On the walk to school, I saw I missed a text from Dee telling me she had arrived, was already overwhelmed with work, and she hoped I was okay. Her last line made me grin.
Hope you liked your surprise! *wink*
I chuckled, knowing she would know how shocked I had been by the clean room. I let her know I was fine, then added:
My room is so clean, I almost didn’t recognize it.
A few moments later my phone buzzed, and I saw she had responded.
LOL
I was about to reply when it happened. A car went by, far too fast for this weather and too close to the side of the road, speeding through the puddle and drenching me. I stood stock-still, gasping as the icy water soaked through my clothes. The wind caught my umbrella, tearing it from my hands, and it flew away, over a construction fence, tumbling far out of my reach. I looked down at my clothes. I was soaked through, my phone wet, and with the rain pouring down, I knew I looked like a drowned rat. Thankfully, my wellies kept my feet dry and my knapsack was waterproof. I trudged to school, leaving a trail of water behind me in the hall. At my locker, it took me three tries to open the lock. I had given up on the other one, convinced it was malfunctioning since I often found it open, and bought a new one. I changed the combination and kept forgetting it. Finally, the door swung open, and I heaved a long exhale of air.
“You’re dripping.”
I turned to Louisa, not in the mood for her this morning. “Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn’t noticed.”
She glowered at me. “Why didn’t you bring an umbrella?”
“I did. It blew away, and a car drove past and splashed me.”
“Oh.” She scratched her chin. “Want to go for coffee?”
“No,” I stated crossly.
“I thought it would warm you up, that’s all.”
“I don’t have time,” I snapped, slamming my locker door shut. “Damn it.”
“What?”
“I thought I had a pair of sneakers in there. I must have taken them home. I’ll have to traipse around in my wellies all day, making squeaky noises on the floor. Just great.” I huffed.
“You could borrow mine. You’re a seven and a half, right?”
“Um, yes.”
“I have a pair of sweat pants in my locker too. Not very fashionable, but at least you’d be warm and dry.”
Instantly, I felt bad for snapping at her. Dry pants and sneakers sounded better than rubber boots and damp clothes. “That’s nice of you. Thank you.” I met her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m having a bad morning.”
She shook her head. “No, I get it. Stay here, and I’ll be right back. Class was canceled, so we can do coffee. It’ll be great!”
She hurried away, and I looked at my phone. Sure enough, there was a text saying just that. It must have come during my puddle shower. Now, I had no excuse for not having coffee with Louisa.
Except, even though she was being kind, I really didn’t want to.
“We should hang out this weekend. Your sister is away for a while, right?”
I was perplexed. “How did you know that?”
“You said something last week.”
“Oh. Yeah, she is.”
“What about Saturday? We could watch some movies and have dinner?”
“It’s inventory time, so I work on Saturday morning. I have plans after, sorry.”
“Well, Sunday is good too. I could come spend the day, and we can study and everything.”
I passed a hand over my head, too tired to deal with her right now. “Not this weekend, Louisa.”
Her expression darkened. “Why not?”
“I have things to do.”
“Like what?”
“Stuff. Errands, groceries, some designs I have to work on.”
“I’ll go with you. It’ll be fun.”
I drew in a deep breath and counted to ten.
“Louisa, I appreciate the offer, but not this weekend.”
Her lips thinned, and her brow furrowed. She curled her fists on the table and glared at me.
“I suppose your plans on Saturday include Emmy.”
“Yes.”
“Why her? Why not me?”
“Emmy is my best friend,” I said, trying to hold in my temper. “I already had plans with her, and I’m not breaking them.”
“She wasn’t around to help you this morning. I know she gets a ride every day in some fancy car. If she’s such a great friend, why doesn’t she give you a lift?”
Before I could respond, she kept going.
“She’s too busy with her rich boyfriend for you these days. Since Aiden isn’t your boyfriend, she’s ignoring you now. You need to move on. Find a real friend.”
I saw red.
“Emmy is a real friend. My best friend. You know nothing about her, our relationship, or my relationship with Aiden. For your information, she offers me a ride anytime I want one, but I like to walk. If she knew I needed her this morning, she’d have been there in a second, so don’t sit there and judge her based on some silly idea in your head.”
“I’m just saying—”
I interrupted her. “I know exactly what you were saying. Stop bad-mouthing Emmy. If you think that it will make you look like a better person in my eyes, you’re wrong.”
“I’m a much better friend. We have so much more in common than you two do. You and I are so similar, and we’ve become so close. You buy me gifts and everything!”
I gaped at her. I was so done with the conversation. I leaned forward, trying to keep my voice level.
“We are schoolmates. That is it, Louisa. Not best friends. We’re barely even acquaintances. You know nothing about me, and I know nothing about you.” I stood. “Frankly, that’s exactly how I want it to be. I bought you notebooks to say thanks and replace the one you felt I ruined. That was all it was. Not a gift. I’ll wash and return your clothes to you tomorrow.”
“Where are you going?” She grabbed my arm. “We’re having coffee!”
She looked frantic and angry. I shook off her tight grip. “No, we’re done. Leave me alone, Louisa. Just leave me alone.”
I turned and hurried away. But something told me I hadn’t heard the end of Louisa or the conversation.
Cami
I managed to avoid Louisa all day, but our argument kept filtering through my head. Aiden had been correct—she was weird. How could she have come up with the idea we were so close? I had tried to be nice, but aside from school and the project group we were both in, I had nothing to do with her outside of class.
I pulled on my damp jacket and reached for my wellies beside the lockers. They had racks where we could put our boots to dry on rainy and snowy days so our lockers didn’t get wet. I slid them on and shut the locker. I was walking across the campus when I saw the colors ahead of me. I stopped, focused on the person moving away, and the item that caught my attention.
My umbrella. There, across the grass common area, was the girl carrying my umbrella. Emmy had been right. Someone had found it and was using it. Like me, she wore a set of purple wellies, and her jacket was dark like mine, which was why Emmy had mistaken her for me the other day.
I rushed across the grass, yelling. “Hey! Miss! You, with the pretty umbrella!”
She ignored me, her footsteps speeding up.
“Wait! I just want to talk to you! Please!”
I raced through a large puddle and stopped in surprise as my feet became wet. Stepping out of the water quickly, I lifted one foot, then the other, unable to stop my gasp of disbelief when I realized both boots had a long tear along the seam. I must have caught them somewhere in my haste.
I looked up to s
ee my umbrella disappearing around the corner. Ignoring the water sloshing in my boots, I chased after the girl. Except, when I rounded the corner, she was gone. There were a few people milling around, most of them sharing an umbrella, but my pretty one was nowhere to be seen. I huffed a sigh, frustrated. Why hadn’t she stopped? I only wanted to talk to her. I’d even buy her a new umbrella.
I turned to retrace my steps when a flutter of color caught my eye. I bent down and picked up a sopping piece of material from a puddle alongside the building. Wet and dirty, I still recognized it.
My scarf.
In my apartment, I stared at the scarf I had lost, racking my brain, trying to figure out the mystery. The most logical explanation was I had used the scarf and umbrella the same day, lost them together, and the girl had found and kept them. Nothing else made sense.
I examined my boots, surprised to see how exact the tears were in both boots—right along the seam at the bottom. They weren’t old enough for the seams to have given out, and I was certain the punctures would be more like jagged tears if that were the case.
What had caused them then?
I rubbed my eyes, weary. What was going on with me? I wished Dee were here to talk to. I knew I could call Emmy and talk it through more, but I didn’t want to bother her. My eyes strayed to my phone. I wondered if I called Aiden if he would listen to me—or even pick up the phone if he saw my number. I knew he would help me sort it out. He would talk me through it, his queries intelligent and thoughtful, as he helped me recall when I had last seen my umbrella and scarf. Confirm I had been wearing my cuff last week. He could probably even explain the tears in my boots and the failed lock at school. I’d feel so much better.
But I couldn’t pick up the phone. If he didn’t answer or refused to help me, I wasn’t sure I could handle the rejection.
Instead, I stood and headed to the bathroom. A bubble bath, a glass of wine, and some soft music would help make the awful day better.
Vested Interest Box Set: Books 1-3 Page 36