Page 49 of The Charmed Friends of Trove Isle
I also considered going to get you after you moved to Charlotte. But you were eighteen, and I was hurting too. I guess I needed someone to pull me out of my own tree stand in the woods. We all did. Liz’s family was there for me and her. They tried at least. Your Great-aunt Jo tried to help us in her own way too. She always said you’d come home. She never lost faith, Mel. Never.
Anyway, it’s almost time for me to return to the isle. I don’t feel like my bad choices are badges of honor anymore. Now I wish I could hide them. The thing about hometowns is that everyone knows your past. Part of me wants to run away for real when I get out. But I’ve never been that person. I know it won’t be easy, and I wish that Jo was still around to offer her support and Jo-isms. I’m glad I have you, whether it’s face-to-face or by email. It doesn’t really matter. As long as I know where to find you when I need you.
B
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
LIZ
Liz stumbled slightly as she followed Melody into the kitchen.
“Okay, where is it?” Melody asked.
“Where’s what?” Liz felt Rose at her heels. She was a little surprised that Rose was even sticking around instead of retreating to whatever she was doing before Liz had called for a ride. Devin had apparently left early to hang out with some boy. Otherwise, maybe Rose wouldn’t have agreed to come pick Liz and Melody up anyway.
Melody whirled. “Girls’ night is going to fall flat if we don’t get more drinks in our systems.”
Liz frowned. “Alcohol was never required at our girls’ nights when we were younger.”
“That’s because we were too young to get our hands on it.” Melody offered a sheepish look. “Except for that one time we accidentally found Jo’s stash.” She swept her gaze toward Rose. “But we shouldn’t corrupt your sister’s young ears.”
“I’m sixteen,” Rose argued, putting her hands on her hips. “And you dragged me out to come get you two, so you’re not getting rid of me now.”
“Well, all I have is wine,” Liz told Melody. Liz was always stocked in wine because a glass during a hot bath at night was sometimes just the thing she needed to de-stress after a long day. And here lately, the days had seemed a whole lot longer.
“Wine is perfect.” Melody grinned wide and turned back toward the kitchen. “Where are your glasses?”
Liz followed her to the cabinets and pointed. “That one. Second shelf.”
“You’re getting three wine glasses, right?” Rose asked from behind them.
When Liz turned to look at her, Rose’s arms were tightly crossed at her chest.
“Oh, come on. I just want one glass,” her sister said.
“No.” Liz immediately shook her head. “The legal age is twenty-one.”
“That’s in public. No one cares what I do in the privacy of my own home. All I want is one drink.” Rose tilted her head, flashing puppy dog eyes at Liz. “Would you rather I drink my first sip of alcohol somewhere else with people I barely know? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. I mean, who knows what kind of lightweight I am. Look at you.” Rose gestured at Liz as if Liz was a slobbering drunk right now. She wasn’t.
Somehow Liz seriously doubted this would be Rose’s first sip of alcohol. She glanced over at Melody. “It’s illegal to give a glass of wine to someone underage, right?”
Melody seemed to laugh under her breath and grabbed a third wine glass from the shelf. “It’s just wine, Liz. Not hard liquor. It’ll be fine. Your sister is joining us for our girls’ night.” Her wide smile flickered for a moment and Liz thought she understood why. Melody’s sister had joined their girls’ night once. And then twice. And then Alyssa had become a part of their little group of friends.
“This is a one-time invasion of your girls’ night, okay?” Rose said. “It’s not like I want to be pals with you two or anything. I have my own friends. I’m just here for the wine.” She pointed at Liz. “And you owe me because I picked you up at the tavern. You’d have been walking home if I hadn’t come to get you. Something could’ve happened to you out there. You could’ve been picked up by some creep and married in Vegas.”
Liz rolled her eyes. Maybe she was rubbing off on Rose a little bit with all her safety-mindedness. “Fine. One glass for you.” And maybe just one more for her. Rose wasn’t wrong. Liz was a lightweight. Who knew what she’d do if she drank too much?
* * *
The next morning, Liz cracked her eyes open against the bright morning sun. The world was blurry and her brain was throbbing. One glance at the clock on her nightstand told her that it was just after 6:00 a.m.Oh, crap!She needed to get to The Bitery and start preparing muffins and pastries for the morning customers. Otherwise, she’d be serving stale leftovers from yesterday. She couldn’t charge for that. Her mom typically gave those out for free.
The aroma of coffee wafting in the air stopped Liz’s panic in its tracks. Rose had been living here for weeks now and had never made coffee in the morning so, either Liz had died in her sleep or Melody had done the honors. Liz glanced on the other side of the bed where Melody had climbed in beside her, still wearing her clothes from their girls’ night. Melody was gone and the bedding was neatly pulled up.
“Good morning,” Melody said cheerily from the doorway.
Liz looked in her direction. “When did you get up?”
“A little while ago.” Melody answered, looking wide-awake.
