The Wrong Path - By Vivian Marie Aubin du Paris Page 0,66

her shake. Ebony blared the heat as she pulled out of the parking spot, both girls soaked from the rain.

“You know,” Ebony began slowly, after several minutes of silence, “Will was really surprised when you showed up on the steps that day.”

Annabelle looked over at her, startled out of her musing. “What?” she asked. She thought back to that day, which seemed so long ago, and remembered her fear as she stepped through the back door. She had been astonished at her own courage, so to hear that Will had been surprised wasn’t a big shock. It was just strange to hear Ebony suddenly bring it up out of nowhere.

Ebony deliberately kept her eyes fastened on the road. “I had a feeling you would show up, so I sat on his lap and waited for you.” She laughed. “Will was so annoyed. He kept trying to push me off. But as soon as you showed up and I saw your face, I knew.” She looked over at Annabelle. “He’s been in love with you for years, you know.”

Annabelle stared at her, floored. “What?” she asked again, sure she had heard Ebony incorrectly.

Ebony smiled slightly and turned back to the road. “I think he figured you were in two different worlds, so he just kind of watched from afar.” Ebony shook her head. “But then you showed up on those steps. You crossed that invisible barrier.”

She didn’t know what to say, so she said nothing, merely gaping at Ebony in disbelief. Ebony glanced at her and laughed.

“You know I’ve never been to Will’s spots?” Ebony asked. Annabelle wordlessly shook her head. Ebony nodded. “We’ve been friends for nearly ten years and I’ve never been to any of them.” She cast a look over at Annabelle. “But you have, haven’t you?”

She nodded guiltily.

Ebony laughed, pulling the car up to Annabelle’s house and putting it into park. “Do you know why I’m telling you all this, Annabelle?”

“No,” Annabelle admitted, her voice hoarse.

“Because I just watched you tell off Trevor on Will’s behalf, and I know that means something big to you. Probably bigger than I can understand. And I want you to think about that and everything I just told you when you find Will.” Ebony nodded at Annabelle’s house. “Good luck.”

Annabelle stared at her for another second, until she remembered that Will was still missing. Then she nodded and jumped out of the car, hurrying up to her house. She ran inside and scrawled a quick note to her parents, letting them know she was borrowing the car. Then she swiped the keys from the key rack and ran out to the garage.

The red sports car convertible was her mother’s fiftieth birthday present to her father, and he almost never took it out of the garage. He only drove it once or twice per year, and it was generally just for a leisurely drive on a perfectly clear, sunny day. He would be furious when he came home and discovered that not only had she taken the car, but she had taken it out on a rainy day.

She hopped into the convertible and gunned the engine.

She tried to remain calm as she drove, staying as close to the speed limit as she could, but her anxiety and unfamiliarity with driving made it difficult. Her mind kept going over Ebony’s words in her head, repeating endlessly. Could it be true? Could Will really have been in love with her for years?

She thought of their first real interaction together—of the nickname he had given her with a familiarity that had surprised her. At the time it had seemed just like Will to be casual and flippant, but now that she knew him better, it seemed so much more than that. Will had been telling her, in his own way, that he knew her. And she hadn’t seen it.

The windshield wipers worked rapidly across the windshield, clearing water off of the glass. She could still barely see, leaning forward against the wheel, clutching it fiercely.

She almost cried with relief when she finally spied the barn, then felt her heart sink in despair when she saw the deserted lot. Will wasn’t there. He wasn’t at the barn.

But this had to be it. This had to be where he would come.

She climbed out of the car, the rain battering down on her with an almost bruising force. She dashed for the barn, relieved to see the lock was not closed. She lifted it out of the latch