Page 28 of Pictures in Blue
“Avery!” she exclaims in a tone I don’t hear often when it’s associated with my name. “I was wondering where you ran off to this morning.”
“I went for a run,” I answer.
“Ah, I used to do that when I was your age. Can’t do that anymore with these knees and my bitch of a back.”
It’s not often I hear older people use words like that, but it suits her. I laugh and nod my head toward the camouflaged flag. “Hasn’t found it, huh?”
She waves her hand. “Oh, I doubt he will even come here to look,” she says, giving me a glance that has something hidden behind it.
“Mmm,” I answer.
Her eyes glance down at my sweat covered clothes before wandering back up to my face, strands of hair stuck to my neck and cheeks. “Did you need something?”
“Uh, yeah. I was wondering if you had Sky’s number. She said she gave me hers, but it turned out to be Hudson’s, and she invited me out to the town thing at the bar tonight and told me to text her if I decided to come but I don’t have her real number,” I ramble in one breath.
She lets out a soft laugh. “Nowthatsounds like Sky.”
Shuffling through the dining room, I follow her to the front desk where she takes out a pen and a pad of post-its. She writes down a number and hands it to me. “Here.”
“Now this isactuallySky’s number, right? Not another guy in town who you might be trying to set me up with?”
“I promise you, that is Sky’s number,” she says, pointing to the paper.
“Thank you,” I nod.
“She means well.”
“Mmhmm,” I hum sarcastically before leaving the room to head upstairs. Once I shower, I have more than half the day left until the gathering at the bar. I open my phone and send Sky a quick text letting her know I want to come tonight.
I settle into the now familiar bed and dive back into my book, the hours passing quickly as the story unfolds in my head, scene by scene, until I forget I’m laying on a bed and not beside the characters, listening to them fight.
The sound of my phone ringing pulls me out of the story and I answer the call, Charlotte’s face once again smiling from the screen.
“Is this going to be a daily thing?” I ask.
“Is that a problem?”
“Of course not. I’m glad you miss me.”
“I am dying over here and need to know every detail. I’m stuck at work while you are blissfully tucked away in a little mountain town and I am jealous, okay?”
I laugh at her dramatics and almost tell her to come join me, but remember I am supposed to be focusing on me. So instead, I fill her in on every little detail right down to how many pinecones I passed on my run this morning, even explaining to her the plot to the book I am currently reading and the view from my window.
“So, you’ve gone on a run, taken a shower, and you’ve just been reading all day?”
“Yes,” I answer confidently even though I know she’s about to scold me for not doing more, but in a loving way.
“You’re not supposed to stay in your room all day!” she exclaims.
A text from Sky appears at the top of my screen partially obscuring Charlotte’s face.
Sky
I’ll meet you in the lobby in an hour. We can walk over together and meet Jacob and Soph.
I swipe the text away and focus on Charlotte.
“I’m not.” She doesn’t hear me and continues on her rant.
