The next morning, I was to give Kylie and Clay a ride from their hotel to the airport. This time around, they'd completely rejected Laura's offer to stay at the mansion and spend one night at a hotel for Gracelynn's wedding.
Clay was thankfully a morning person, because when I knocked on the door of their room, he was the one that answered, bright-eyed and dressed and all sorts of crazy things.
"Morning, Jackie, come in," he said, opening the door. I looked at the bed, where Kylie was still dead asleep.
"So...are we going to wake her up?" I asked.
"Well, she was awake about an hour ago," he admitted. "Showered, dressed, ate breakfast. Then she passed out again."
"Sounds about right," I sighed. Kylie was scary at sleepovers; she'll stay up until four in the morning laughing and talking with you, then be out until lunchtime. "You guys know your flight is in two hours, right?"
"Yeah, better get her up," Clay said, walking over to where Kylie was facing the window. I decided to make myself useful and pack up some of her things while he worked on getting her conscious.
Shockingly, Clay appeared to be the neat one in the relationship. His duffel bag was zipped and stuffed, sitting on the chair in the corner. Kylie was messier, which of course I already knew. Her black dress from the wedding was crumpled on the floor, and the bathroom counter was full of her makeup and hair products.
Grabbing her toiletries bag, I started packing up her makeup, knowing she never flew wearing it. This is why you have best friends, girls. Boyfriends will love you and know everything about you, but girlfriends are the ones who know you so well they're practically your stalker.
Zipping up the bag, I checked that the bathroom was empty, since Kylie once left her diamond earrings on a hotel bathroom counter and left them in London. It was bad. A bright patch of color in the wastebasket caught my eye, so I felt obligated to check.
I should not have checked. I covered my mouth, queasy at the sight of a pair of ripped, lacy underwear and a wrapper that was the size of a tea bag and not meant for tea or candy. I shouldn't have been grossed out, especially since obviously Clay and Kylie are together, but still...ewww.
"Okay, are we ready to go to the airport?" I said loudly, getting out of that bathroom as fast as I could.
"Jackie, as much as I love you, it's like, six am," Kylie groaned, now sitting up but only half-awake.
"Love, it's eleven," Clay said, clearly holding back a laugh.
She groaned harder. "That's still too early."
"Come on, Kylie, you're going back to Montreal with Clay," I said encouragingly.
"Yeah," she yawned.
He came over from the kitchenette and handed her a mug, saying softly, "How about some coffee?"
"Okay. Thank you," she mumbled, taking a sip. Or draining it in one gulp. That works too.
It took another half hour of sluggish movement and packing, but between Clay and me we finally got Kylie in the car. I kept checking on her in the rearview mirror, noticing how droopy she was.
"She's not normally this tired," I said, going into overprotective mom-friend mode.
Clay shifted in his seat. "I mean, we did fly across the continent yesterday and attended a wedding. That's a lot."
"True," I said, forgetting about the abrupt time change they'd experienced. "Just keep an eye on her for me?"
"Yeah, of course," he said, glancing in the backseat again. I wasn't too worried about Kylie, at worst she was probably coming down with a cold. But it has been a while since I've had the opportunity to be the friend that is responsible and takes care of the other friends in the group. That's probably just it.
At the airport, I parked and walked in with them, figuring I didn't have anything else to do except go home to Laura's House of Insanity. Kylie asked Clay to watch their bags while she went to the bathroom with me. He obliged, although I noticed that his attention immediately went to a bird flying around the ceiling. I hope their bags are still there when we come back.
"Okay, Jackie, I know we each have gossip to share and I'm dying for you to say yours," Kylie said, much more awake as we washed our hands.
I was slightly alarmed. "I have gossip?" What gossip? Who's going to tell me my own gossip?
"Uh, yes," she said pointedly. When I still didn't get it, she added, "Yesterday? At the wedding?"
My face was still blank. "Going to need some more clues..." I said, struggling.
She sighed dreamily. "You and Grayson! You guys are clearly in love for realzies and you're both excited for the wedding and the divorce is called off!"
Ah. Of course. "We're not in love, and the divorce is still on," I said calmly.
She shot me a look. "No way. Come on, you guys are smitten. The way he looks at you, the way you danced together, all of it. The way you want a romantic first dance."
"That's just because it's the only wedding I'm going to get," I argued, blushing. "It's not like I'll get remarried and dance with someone I actually love."
"Well if you go through with the divorce, you'll have to remarry Grayson and have a second wedding," Kylie said, dead serious.
"I'm not remarrying him!"
"How do you not see it?" She was practically begging with me now. "He's so...I don't know. Contently happy? Sparkly on the inside? I can't even describe it, that's how badly he loves you."
I shook my head. "Grayson Answell has not, does not, and never will love me. I'm just his fake bride."
Kylie let out a wretched groan. "You are so blind, Jackie."
"Can we stop talking about this? It's not going to happen, Kylie," I told her.
"Fine. I get to share my gossip then," she said, still not very happy.
I sighed. "And what is your gossip?"
"Clay and I had the absolute best night together last night," she said airily.
I clamped my hands over my ears. "Ew, Kylie!" Why were all my conversation options pure torture?
"I'm serious," she said, unfortunately being serious. "We've only really cuddled before, and this was so good. I mean–"
"LALALALALALALA I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" I shouted, not caring that I was acting like a toddler in an airport.
"You're no fun," she grumbled. "First you won't admit to loving your soulmate, now you won't let me talk about my night."
"Both options are awful!"
"That's not my fault! It's just how our worlds are working right now!" she complained.
I exhaled slowly. "Congratulations on last night, Kylie. And Grayson and I married for strictly business purposes. There. We have nothing more to discuss."
Shockingly, Clay had guarded the luggage well, even in his distraction. I gave them both goodbye hugs (Kylie's was more of a slight strangle) and they headed off. Shaking my head, I headed back out to the parking lot, preparing to go home. However, once I got in the car, I felt...limp. And sad. Picking up my phone, I called Grayson, knowing what my problem was.
"Grayson?" I said after he'd answered.
"Yes, Jacks?" he said.
"I don't want to get married in that awful house," I said flatly.
He paused. "Well, neither do I, but mother would never let us switch this late. Besides, it's the family estate."
"I know," I mumbled. "You're sure there isn't anything else she'd agree to?"
He hesitated, giving me a droplet of hope. "Well...there's the greenhouse."
"Not mine. There's one in the city, they do really spectacular weddings. But I think they're probably booked for at least a year out," he explained.
"Right." Ugh. Why hadn't I realized how much I really, really didn't want to get married at the mansion earlier?
Grayson must've sensed my disappointment because he said, "I'll call and just check. If they have it, we'll book it and ask mother if she's willing to switch."
My throat closed up. "I hate this."
"Hate what?"
"I hate her being there, breathing down our necks," I said thickly.
"I know, Jackie. I'm so sorry." The way his tone dipped only reminded me that he'd been doing this for years, unable to escape from Laura's control.
"It's okay. Thank you for trying the greenhouse," I said, truly appreciative.
"Of course. See you in a bit."
As I hung up and started driving back, all I could do was wish that I was Kylie and Clay. Living the dream, madly in love, and away from Laura and her cruelty. They were flying to Montreal right now, probably holding hands and asking each other what they wanted for Christmas.
I don't think I've ever been so jealous in my life.