Page 34 of Something New

Grady was the questioner, and Brigid was the answerer. Judging by how pale she had gotten, she was genuinely terrified. Anna had spent little time with Brigid, between wedding stuff and Brigid working on her case, and Anna worried about her. Brigid had always seemed so confident, in control, throughout school and ever since, on the rare occasions Anna saw her. Now, Brigid seemed as brittle as Anna felt, as if she could break with one stiff wind or a sharp rebuke. Anna resolved to find time to talk with her, privately, although what could she offer? Her life was going down the toilet and showed no signs of stopping.

Grady took his time with his question, then asked it, hitting Brigid right where it hurt, confirming Anna’s fears about the other woman.

“Do you love your job?”

“That’s a bullshit question,” Anna protested. “Her boss is sitting right there!”

Matthew, who was a recently promoted partner at the same law firm as Brigid, shrugged and said, “Vegas rules. Nothing goes further from this fire pit. To anyone.”

His eyes stayed on Anna’s longer than necessary, as if imparting a message, but she ignored him.

Brigid looked devastated, but she finally answered, “No.” Everyone appeared shocked, except Grady, who went up a few points in Anna’s book when he didn’t crow about it, or harp on it. Only nodded and let it go.

Then it was Anna’s turn. She was the questioner and Delaney was the answerer. She never thought it would work out that way and neither did Caroline, judging by the faintly terrified look on her face. Anna could take the easy way out, but damn it, Delaney had blown them all up five years before when she threw them over for her father’s court case. She had started the schism in the group and Anna wanted to know why. Friends were rare in Anna’s life and she didn’t take them lightly and she needed to know why Delaney had walked away as if they didn’t matter.

Anna stood, swaying a bit. "My turn. My turn. Okay, I'm going with the elephant in the room. Delaney. Truth. Why did you walk away from all of your friends?"

She fell back into her chair, grabbed by Wyatt, and settled. All eyes turned to Delaney, silently waiting for the answer they all had been waiting for all week. Anna wondered if Delaney would back off, not accept the challenge, or if she would step up and talk to her friends for real. She hoped it was the latter so they could move on and heal.

Delaney slowly rose to her feet, like the society princess she had once been. Ethan also stood with her, his arms supporting her, but he shot a nasty glare at Anna, which had an underlying hint of fear, as if afraid of the answers.

Delaney faced the group and began to speak, and her words shocked them all. "I left to protect all of you. Let me explain."

She looked at Anna, who met her gaze evenly. "You hated me, or were jealous of me or whatever, from the day we became roommates. But we overcame that and were friends. I had enough hatred from people who professed to be my friend. I couldn't stand to see you change, too. Maybe it was cowardly. But there it is."

She looked at Brigid. "You wanted to be a lawyer. Being the friend of an infamous con artist wouldn't help you at UT Law or in getting a job."

She finally faced Caroline. "Your father lost a lot of money in the scheme. He was a senior partner in a law firm. Associating with known criminals and family members is not a good idea. I'm sure your father told you this, Caroline."

Caroline nodded, her hands fisting in her lap. "I would have ignored him."

Delaney patted her shoulder. "I know you would have. I was dealing with a lot of shit. My mother was attacked verbally and physically, so much so, she had a breakdown. Then my father died. All because of me."

So there it was. The real reason Delaney left. Anna could understand that, but it wasn’t true. Why couldn’t Delaney see that?

"You really think a lot of yourself, don't you, Delaney? The complete collapse of a man and several families. It's all about you, isn't it?"

Delaney shrugged. "It's very simple. My lifestyle was extravagant. You pointed it out to me often enough. My father didn't have the money to support us in that manner. I should have known, should not have demanded, should have been less spoiled, as you called it, Anna."

Ethan grabbed her arm and turned her around. "You think you were to blame? This was all a punishment, a way to redeem yourself? You know you're not to blame for his actions. He could have said no at any time. He lived beyond his means, too."

She was shaking her head before his words finished. "My father tried to say no, many times. But I always pushed, expected, demanded. I was a Winters and deserved the trip to Europe, shopping in Paris, a weekend in Vail. Once he died, someone had to step in and deal with the fallout."

She turned to the group. "I was a coward. I couldn't bear to see you all hate me."

Anna stood and walked over, wavering a little on her feet. "So, you pushed us away before we could push you away? I get that. But it was still stupid. We would never have repudiated you. We loved you. Even me, while I was totally jealous of you and kind of secretly glad when you lost everything."

"Bitch." Delaney said with no real heat.

The two girls laughed, wiping tears from their eyes. Anna hugged her tightly, feeling the small wound on her heart heal finally. She hadn’t even realized how much her past had hurt, how much losing her friends had damaged her, until they were lost. She felt like she had finally come home, finally felt better about everything.

* * *

Everyone refreshed their drinks and settled back in their seats, the emotional catharsis over. Anna was drowsy, the wine kicking in, and she wanted to curl up in her chair with a blanket and just sleep. But, with the emotional wound from the past healed, or at least bandaged, no one seemed in a hurry to leave. Yet, despite her exhaustion, a nervous tension made her twitch. Being a glass half-empty kind of girl, she waited for the next shoe to drop, and with her luck, it wouldn’t be a Manolo Blahnik. She didn’t have long to wait.

Wyatt cleared his throat and held up his hand with the questioner card. Damn. The game was still on. Figured that Wyatt wouldn’t forget, being as Anna was the last one to answer a question. Anna slowly straightened. She had a choice. Answer her question, or renege and give Delaney the win. And while Delaney deserved it, her friends had been brave enough to step up and do their part. Anna owed them the same. She only worried that she didn’t have the same courage.

She brushed her hair out of her face and lifted her chin. “Go for it, Wyatt.”

---