Mrs. Walker insisted I take some extra cookies with me. As we left, it seemed like she wanted to say something else, but she didn't want to say it in front of Ethan. She also didn't say anything about coming over again, or inviting my mother. Was she worried something (Wyatt-related) would happen while we were over?
"Okay," said Ethan once we were in his truck, "be honest: was my mom annoying?"
I laughed. "Of course not! She was really sweet. You need to relax."
"And she didn't say anything while I wasn't around?"
"Like what? Embarrassing stories about you?"
He didn't expect that. "Did she?"
"Maybe you don't want to know," I said, glancing out the window. If Mrs. Walker didn't want Ethan to know, then it wasn't my place to tell him. She was looking out for me.
The truck was going at a leisurely pace. I wasn't in a hurry, and Ethan didn't seem to be either. From the corner of my eye, he looked uncomfortable, suddenly moving his hands around like he didn't know what to do with him.
"Do you want to say something?" I asked.
He looked more uncomfortable. "I know now… what's going on, and I plan to help. And Charlie knows, and I'm sure she's helping you too…."
I nodded. "Go on."
"You're going to tell Charlie I know?"
"I planned to—is there a problem? Your uncomfortableness is making me uncomfortable."
He frowned. "What'd you plan for us to do?"
"I never really planned to do anything. Beatrice is the one dropping all of this on me. Charlie was mostly helping me with research, and I brought you in because you have a very important part of all this. Those pages could probably have the murderer and why they killed Charlotte."
"As serious as that all sounds, I wasn't asking about that."
"Then what?"
"Is…. Are we all supposed to… like, hang out… together? The three of us—? What?"
I'd started laughing so loud it'd made him jump. "You're… you're worrying… about hanging… out with… your ex-… ex-girlfriend?"
Ethan looked a little pink. "It's a legitimate worry, Bella. It's not funny!"
I forced myself to calm down some. "I'm—sorry…." I cleared my throat. "Sorry. Aren't you guys cool?"
"We haven't talked for about a year. Is that cool?"
"Don't think that Charlie and I gossip about you or anything, but from what little we've talked about your guys' history… she has nothing bad against you. She seems okay with the idea of us hanging out. Now it just depends on you."
He sighed. "It'll just be weird…. Maybe not for her, but definitely for me."
"Well, I'm not gonna force you two to hang out, if it makes you that uncomfortable. It was just an idea…."
YOU ARE READING
Cheshire Girl
Paranormal"There were three things about which I was absolutely certain. First, I didn't have my cell phone. Second, my hands hurt from gripping the trunk lid closed. They would probably be useless to put up a fight. ...
