Page 5 of Protected by the Fallen
Knowing I can’t ignore her calls forever, I hit the green button. “Hello?”
“Hello?Hello?” Annie screeches. “That’s all you have to say to me after you’ve ignored my calls. Hello?”
I cringe but try to play it cool. “Hey, Annie.”
“Don’t ‘Hey, Annie’ me,” my childhood best friend snaps, “Why have you been ignoring me?”
“I’m not,” I lie.
“Bull crap.”
“I’ve been busy sightseeing,” I am flying by the seat of my pants. Remembering Adrian’s most recent offer, I use it as inspiration. “I was touring Kensington Palace this morning and they don’t allow cell phones.” I hope she, at least, buys my excuse for ignoring her today. As for the other days, I can’t be sure.
“Sure,” Annie huffs. “My best friend abandons me, and I can barely get ahold of her to catch up.”
I try to guide us away from her suspicion and anger. “Well, now that you have me, let’s catch up! How have you been?”
“You mean, besides the fact my best friend ditched me for the summer? I’m peachy.”
I lean against one of the bookshelves. “I won’t be gone all summer.” At least, I hope not.
The Fallen haven’t been able to give me a timeline on how long this mess with the Dark Council will last. Adrian is adamant that the situation with The Darkness will be rectified soon, but Zeke’s somber expression says otherwise. Now that the Dark Council has their claws in the brothers, I don’t believe they will let them go easily. Even if the trouble with The Darkness is fixed, the council still wants them to join their ranks. And now that they know I exist, I don’t doubt they will continue to use me to get the guys to do what they want.
“But you and I had plans, Ronnie,” Annie’s lost her anger. Now, she sounds disappointed. “We were going to work all day and hang all night. You even started going to parties!”
It’s true. Throughout my life, I’d never been the girl invited to parties by my peers.
Well… that’s not entirely true. I’d been invited many times, but I never wanted to hang out with the kids I grew up with. Not all of them were bad. In fact, most of them were normal and down to earth, despite the fact many of their parents were wealthy beyond belief. That was the majority of the population in Valley Lake. Rich businessmen and intelligent women who either worked remotely or commuted to the nearest city for work every day. People enjoyed the quaint life of our lakeside town, and they especially enjoyed the enormous waterfront properties they could purchase.
My peers were nice enough, but I never felt comfortable around them. I always felt like a sore thumb. I wasn’t like them, and I struggled to blend in. Only Annie and Joey, my other best friend, really got to know me. They made me feel like I wasn’t different—that I was just like everyone else.
Oh, how wrong they were.
“You will be invited to parties without me.” In fact, I think one of the only reasons I was ever invited to parties was because of Annie.
“But I won’t have as much fun.” I can imagine Annie’s pout.
Despite what she says, Annie is a natural socialite. She is tall, slender, beautiful and intelligent. Growing up, she had no problem blending in with our peers. Everyone loves Annie. A fact which often made me wonder why she bothered to hang out with me. I definitely didn’t increase her social status. But that is one of the many things I love about my best friend: she doesn’t care what other people think.
“Isn’t Joey coming back soon?” I try to console her. The third wheel of our best friend tricycle had left to visit his older brother shortly after our high school graduation. He’d spend the last two weeks in California, and a lot has happened since he’s been gone. His family is pretty adamant about staying off technology during family vacations. Something about spending the maximum amount of time with one another. My only communication with my best guy friend was the occasional text message. Even then, we were always brief. I’ve never been a big texter.
I don’t know how Joey will react once he returns home and hears about everything from Annie. Maybe I should reach out and explain, even if it’s over text. That’s better than nothing.
“Joey’s already back,” Annie surprises me.
I stop leaning on the bookshelf, straightening. “What? When did he get back?”
“Two days ago.”
What?I can’t believe Joey returned to Valley Lake and I didn’t know. I expected him to reach out so we could all hang out. I’d even prepared my story for why I left on a spontaneous vacation. Gabe and Joseph offered to intercept Joey and convince him my absence wasn’t anything to be concerned about, but I declined. If I could spare Joey from having his mind messed with, I would. Besides, I hoped Annie would take some of the responsibility off of me and tell Joey about my trip.
I clear my throat. “Have you talked to him?”
“Barely,” Annie says.
“Really?”
“Really. All I got was a late-night text telling me he was back in town, but whenever I try to call, he doesn’t answer. It seems both of my best friends are determined to abandon me.”
