Anew

6

The next morning Scarlet awoke to the shrill sound of Heather’s far-too-cheery voice—which was better than waking up alone in a forest, but not by much.

“Rise and shiiiiiine, sleepyhead!”

Even before opening her eyes, Scarlet could tell Heather was smiling.

“Go away,” she mumbled.

“No can do, Sleeping Beauty. We’ve got things to do today. Get up, up, up!”

Scarlet cracked an eye open. “Are you seriously waking me up on a Sunday morning? In the summer?”

“It’s for your own good.”

Scarlet rolled over and closed her eyes again. “I no longer acknowledge our friendship. You’re dead to me.”

Heather scooted to the other side of Scarlet’s queen-sized bed and sat on the edge. “Dead in a good way? Like a hot girl zombie?”

Ignoring Heather’s joke, Scarlet turned into her pillow. “Who even let you in my house?”

“Laura.”

Traitor. “You’re still dead to me.”

Heather wiggled closer to Scarlet. “But I brought coffee from The Millhouse.”

Best coffee in Georgia.

Heather’s bright voice carried on, “Would a zombie bring you coffee? Probably not. Because zombies aren’t very thoughtful. They’re always trying to eat your brains out and everything.”

Scarlet opened an eye, looked at the Millhouse to-go cup in Heather’s hand, and inhaled. “You’re pure evil.” She slowly pulled herself up and took the coffee into her own hands.

“That’s what I’ve been saying. Hot Evil Girl Zombie. I think I just figured out my Halloween costume.” Heather wagged her eyebrows.

Scarlet took a sip of the café mocha, made a Mmmm noise and looked at Heather. “So, why are you here at this ungodly hour?”

Heather looked at the clock beside Scarlet’s bed. “It’s 11:00 a.m., Scarlet.”

“It’s ungodly a.m., that’s what it is. And it’s summer. You’d better have a good reason for disturbing my slumber.”

“I do. Today, you and I are going shopping.”

“Why? It’s not payday.”

“Why?” Heather looked incredulous. “Because we need something fabulous for you to wear on your date with Gabriel tonight.”

Scarlet took another drink. “It’s not a date.”

“It’s so a date.”

Scarlet shook her head. “We’re just, you know, hanging out.”

“Yeah, you’re just hanging out. The two of you. Alone. Going to the movies. Having dinner. Hanging at The Kissing Festival. Yeah, nothing about that sounds romantic or date-like at all.”

Scarlet raised her eyebrows but didn’t respond.

It was a date. Scarlet knew it.

Two days ago, she didn’t want to date anybody. But something about Gabriel had completely changed her mind.

Maybe it was the way he looked at her.

Maybe it was his familiar voice….

Why did his voice seem so familiar, but nothing else about him triggered any memories?

Heather continued, “And even though I think Gabriel’s full of secrets, I still support you dating him. Mostly because you need to get kissed. Like, bad.”

“Gabriel’s not full of secrets.” Even as she said it, a warning bell went off in Scarlet’s head. A bell Scarlet smothered with memories of Gabriel’s adorable dimples and deep brown eyes.

“Uh, yeah he is. He was all hesitant and careful last night, giving vague answers about his life. He’s definitely hiding something.”

“Just because he doesn’t want to share his life story with us doesn’t mean he’s hiding something.” Scarlet took a sip of coffee.

Heather thought about it for a moment and shook her head. “No. No, it’s more than that. I can feel it. Something’s…hidden. I just don’t know what.”

The bell blared in Scarlet’s head again.

Shut up, bell.

Scarlet purposely rolled her eyes. “Can’t you be supportive like a normal best friend and just be like ‘oh, Gabriel’s so hunky and you should totally marry him and have little Greek god babies with him’?”

“Oh, you totally should. You two would for sure have Greek god babies together,” Heather said. “And I am being supportive. I’m taking you shopping.”

“At the crack of dawn.”

“You mean the crack of noon? Yep, that’s me. Waking you up before the sun sets. What can I say? I’m an evil zombie.”

Scarlet yawned. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Yes. I am. Now,” Heather stood from the bed and straightened her sundress, “we are going shopping in ten minutes. Get dressed. And when I say ‘get dressed’, I mean, ‘let me pick out your clothes’.”

Heather disappeared into Scarlet’s closet as Scarlet set her coffee cup down and crawled back under the sheets.