Page 62 of Forever & Always You
“Gabby! What’s up?”
I stormed out of the bar the last time I saw her, thanks to Austin being mean, so I hope she doesn’t think I’ve turned a little bit crazy over the years. “You’re probably fully booked, butI don’t suppose you could squeeze me in today? My nails need some major TLC.”
“Can you make it down here within the next fifteen minutes?”
“I’ll leave right now. See you soon!”
I double-check the salon address before hopping in my car and heading downtown. At the worst possible time for distraction as I’m hopelessly attempting to parallel park (not my forte), my mom calls. I haven’t seen her since the shelter’s adoption event, but Ihaveattempted to text her even though our messages are just a thread of agonizing small talk.
I answer the call on speaker. “Hi, Mom. Is everything okay?”
“Zachary came by this morning,” she says, and instantly my stomach drops. “His eye is black and blue. Is there anything you’d like to tell me, Gabrielle?”
I put my car in park and squeeze my phone in my hand. My mind races, unaware of just how much Zach has shared with Mom about what went down at the beach yesterday. I’m certainly not going to fall into the trap of telling her myself, so I simply say, “No, I don’t think so.”
My mother tuts, as she so often does. “You know I’m not fond of that Austin Pierce, and this is exactly why. Fighting with your bother in public .?.?. That’s disgraceful! He seems like a terrible influence and that’s not what you need when you’re trying to get back on your feet.”
“Zach threw the first punch, Mom,” I point out, but a trickle of relief works its way through me. If Zach had told Mom the truth about the secret trust Dad left behind for Austin, that would absolutely be the focus of this conversation, and it’s not, which means that secret is still safe for now.
“Are you sure, Gabrielle?”
“I witnessed it with my very own eyeballs, so yes, I’m sure.”
“Now why would he have done that?” she questions.
“There was a little misunderstanding,” I lie. “Austin’s allowedto defend himself. Definitely not a bad influence. But look, I’ve got to go. I’m catching up with an old friend from high school. Don’t stress too much, Mom. Bye!”
I cut off the call before she has a chance to respond and head across the street toward the salon. It’s in a nice area of downtown, must cost an absolute bomb in commercial rent, and has an Instagram-worthy aesthetic of baby pinks and silvers. Sasha must be doing pretty well for herself, and I feel a twitch of jealousy that, once again, it’s clear I’ve fallen so many steps behind in life compared to my peers.
A bell tinkles as I push open the door.
“Perfect timing!” Sasha says chirpily, bouncing over to greet me. The scent of the most gorgeous perfume follows her. “How are you? Come sit down.”
She leads me over to the nail station and I nervously sit down opposite her. We exchange the usual pleasantries as she gets to work on buffing my nails in preparation for a French manicure, and then I take a breath and say, “I’m sorry.”
Sasha glances up at me, her soft features frowning with confusion. “For what?”
“I’m sorry for ignoring your attempts to keep in touch after we graduated,” I apologize. I drop my gaze to my hands on the table, one held by Sasha as she works. “I was in a Duke bubble and it wasn’t right of me to treat the people I grew up with like you were all disposable. We had a lot of fun together back in the day, and I just wanted you to know that you didn’t do anything wrong—it was just me being a bitch. That was kind of my thing, I guess. Didn’t graduate with a sparkling reputation, did I?”
Sasha’s hands pause over mine and I lift my eyes to meet hers. “I appreciate that, Gabby, but honestly? I wasn’t much better. God, I lie awake at nights sometimes and cringe when I think of some of the things I said and did.”
“If we look back now and regret it, does that mean we’vechanged?”
Sasha nods with a small, sympathetic smile. “I’d like to think so. Self-reflection and all that, right? These days when I run into people we went to high school with, I make the effort to be friendly. Everyone is pretty cool, you know.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Like Austin Pierce?”
“Yeah. Like Austin,” Sasha agrees, and I swear she bites back a sheepish smile as she returns to working on my nails. “What was all that about in the bar last month?”
“Austin and I were best friends in high school,” I say, and that now feels like a smug brag rather than the confession it would have been once upon a time.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, notinschool,” I clarify. “Outside, in private, where no one would know. I thought I’d suffer the same fate as him if I dared defend him .?.?. so I didn’t. He never spoke to me again after senior prom, but can you really blame him after the things I said and did that night? But we’re back in touch now, because in case it wasn’t obvious, I’m trying to apologize for the old Gabrielle’s mistakes.”
“If that scene in the bar is anything to go by, it doesn’t seem like he’s buying your apologies .?.?.”
I manage a laugh. “It was definitely rough at first, but now we’re .?.?.” My words trail off, because I’m not sure just how honest I should be here. Austin had a previous fling with Sasha, and as much as the old Gabby would fly off the handle into a jealous cat fight, the more mature and improving Gabby knows their history is none of my business. “It’s going really well now. This time around, it’s more than just a friendship.”
