The Wrong Path - By Vivian Marie Aubin du Paris Page 0,35

and tossing it on the ground. “Yup,” he agreed, stepping toward her. She groaned and flushed with embarrassment when his fingers pulled bits of grass from her hair, but couldn’t help laughing when she spotted some in his hair, pulling it out of the silky strands.

And even though she was a complete mess no one would ever be envious at the sight of, as she and Will stood there laughing and pulling bits of grass and leaves from each other’s hair, Annabelle had never been happier.

***

“Ebony’s not fake,” Will said suddenly, as he pulled up to the street in front of their houses. Startled, Annabelle looked over at him, even as he put the car into park. He met her eyes with a deep, thoughtful look. “She wouldn’t have been nice to you if she didn’t want to be. So what your friends and everyone else is saying… I’d just ignore it if I were you.”

She unbuckled her seat belt as she leaned over and threw her arms around his neck, relief flooding her eyes with tears. “Thank you,” she whispered, feeling his gentle, warm hands rest lightly on her back. She leaned back to look him in the eyes and felt herself smile despite the tears in her eyes, gratitude for him almost overwhelming her to the point of sobs. His expression was calm, his dark eyes on hers strong. She squeezed his shoulders to emphasize her appreciation, and then sat back in her seat, pulling on the door handle to let herself out of the car.

He emerged from the car with her backpack, which he handed to her on the sidewalk between their houses. She was surprised at the desire she had to ask him to come in, but they were both dirty and needed showers, and besides that, Trevor would be home any minute and she needed to get cleaned up before he came over.

She set her backpack on her floor by her desk, pausing as she realized she still had something in her hand. She looked down at the piece of fabric in her fist, laughing as she realized she had once again made off with one of Will’s shirts.

She tossed it on the bed, shaking her head at herself. He was going to have to come to school shirtless pretty soon if he kept giving her his shirts and she kept not returning them.

The thought amused her all the way to the bathroom, and as she showered the dirt from herself, she couldn’t help but smile. The day had seemed so good, then beyond terrible, and then Will had somehow managed to turn it all around again. He was really a good friend.

As she brushed out her wet hair in her room, she paused thoughtfully. When had she and Will become friends, anyway? Up until recently, their only contact had been the occasional greeting when they saw each other around their houses or at school. But other than that, she and Will had never spent any time together. And now she looked forward to each time she saw him.

It was funny how friendships formed, Annabelle mused, reapplying her makeup as she stared at herself in her vanity. Who would have thought having the cops called on Ebony and her friends because someone had… accidentally… laced her drink would have led to her and Ebony being able to start a conversation in the hallway? And now Annabelle was going to loan Ebony her skirt.

She smiled at herself in the mirror, happy with the reflection that looked back at her.

She gathered up her clothes and Will’s shirt and tossed them into the washer, walking out of the laundry room just in time to hear the knock on the front door.

Trevor.

Pleased, Annabelle hurried to the door, pulling it open to reveal her boyfriend. He was freshly showered and handsome in a white button-down, jeans, and sneakers.

“Hi,” she greeted happily.

He grinned broadly. “Hi yourself. Your nap must have rejuvenated you. You look much happier than you did earlier today.”

Oh… Right. She had told him that she was going to go home and take a nap. She’d forgotten all about it.

She sucked in a deep breath, accepting his kiss on the cheek as she prepared herself to tell him about her afternoon with Will. “I had a good afternoon,” she started. She knew that talking about Will always put him in a bad mood, but maybe if she told him about Will’s good points, he would start to understand his