Page 22 of Framed

Itwasagirl.She stood wordlessly in my door frame buried in her phone. Her blonde hair covered her face like blinds. I guessed that answered the question of how I didn’t hear her approach. I didn’t even know how she got into the apartment. Did Winter not lock it?

“Hello?” She didn’t budge. I was two seconds from pushing her out of my bedroom when she finally looked up. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t seem to care in the least bit about intruding on my privacy. She just gave me a quick once-over. Her nose scrunched up at my appearance before she returned her attention back to her phone, as if I wasn’t worth a second of her time. That other shoe? It just dropped.

Thisis how I expected the people here to act. Entitled, spoiled, and rich.

Do you know much of an asshole you have to be for your personality trait to be rich?

She didn’t bother waiting on my response. “Are you ready to go? I’m on like a pretty tight schedule today.” Her voice was annoying. The cadence reminded me of one of those valley girls whose vocabulary only contained the words “like” and “oh my gosh.”

Guess this was the student council member Dr. Masters had assigned to show me around the campus.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I said, “Yep, ready.”

I tried to slyly place my backpack in the closet and closed it, hoping she didn’t think it was strange for me to do so. She didn’t even look my way as she turned and exited. I followed her, making another mental note to look for a doorknob with a key lock as I shut my room.

I spotted Winter sitting on the leather couch in our living room reading a book. Apparently she liked to read in the living room instead of her room. She was readingThe House at Rivertonby Kate Morton. It was a story retold in flashbacks by a woman who witnessed a mysterious death in a house full of secrets.

I had stumbled across it at the Woman’s Center library but could never bring myself to read it. Felt too close to home.

“Winter, oh my gosh!” The girl stopped mid-stride when she too spotted Winter sitting on the couch. The place was already furnished with posh furniture and art pieces. Winter had good taste; the overall apartment was aesthetically pleasing. “I didn’t know you were back.”

Winter seemed uncomfortable by the girl’s presence as her gaze rose from the book and shifted between us. “Got back a few days ago.”

I watched the exchange in confusion, remembering her words from only moments ago about how strict the school was with deadlines. How would she have only gotten here a few days ago if we were in the middle of the semester?

And didn’t she call Dr. Masters by her first name? I suspected there was more under the surface about the redhead.

“How are you feeling?”

Winter tensed and her eyes shot to mine like she wanted to see my reaction, but I kept my face stoic, unsure about what was going on. Why would she react like that?

“I said a prayer for you at church on Sunday,” the girl went on.

I mulled over her words as I scrutinized Winter. Had she been hurt? Sick? She didn’t have any bruises or obvious signs of injury but I could see the hint of bags under her green eyes that I didn’t catch before. Her makeup pretty much concealed it, but it was there if you looked hard enough.

“Good old Grandpa Christ.” Winter’s smile was tight. She sat as stiff as a board and I was sure the girl didn’t notice how uneasy the conversation was making Winter. If she did, she apparently didn’t care. This was a far cry from the confident girl I met only moments ago. “I’m fine, Gwen. Thank you for the prayer.”

“We’re all praying for you. If you need anything at all, please let me know. I serve at the pleasure of our savior Jesus Christ. It would be unchristian-like for me not to offer my hand in your time of need.”

I was sure Jesus Christ would frown upon sticking your nose up at someone else, but I refrained from saying that.

A vacant expression stole over Winter’s face for a moment. But she wiped it away as quickly as it had appeared and replaced it with another tight smile.

“Gwen was just about to show me around campus,” I interjected, feeling the shift in the atmosphere. I didn’t know why I felt the need to throw Winter a bone. Maybe I knew how it felt to bethatgirl. The one that everyone walked on eggs shells around and pointed at as they whispered pointless gossip.

Perhaps I was thinking too hard about this and projecting my problems onto Winter.

“That’s right, we should go. I have a meeting in an hour.” Gwen shook her head like she just remembered that she was supposed to be doing something else. “It was nice seeing you, Winter.”

“You too, Gwen.” I could tell she didn’t mean it but Gwen didn’t seem to notice the obvious sarcasm.

Seeming proud of herself, Gwen turned with a nod and left the apartment.

I spared Winter one last glance, noting her body visibly relaxed in the absence of Gwen.

“Thank you,” Winter said after a second of silence.

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