Page 3 of Be With Me
And what about Nina and Zo? Fabi had to have told them about this. So why haven’t they said anything to me?
The four of us didn’t have secrets from each other.
At least, that’s what I’d thought.
Twenty minutes later we were pulling into a neighborhood. This was a wealthy area, full of sprawling estates and huge homes—exactly the kind of place I’d expect Fabi’s family to live.
I didn’t know much about them, but Valais Academy, the Swiss boarding school where Fabi, Nina, Zo, and I met, had cost a hundred grand a year. Unless you were a genius like Zo, who got a full-ride scholarship, your family had to be rich to afford that kind of education.
We turned onto the driveway that ended in front ofa grand Colonial-style mansion with imposing white columns flanking the double front doors.
The gate was open, the security booth empty. The taxi driver paused for a moment as if giving someone a chance to stop us, but when no one appeared, he drove through the gate.
I pulled my phone out of my purse and shot off a text.
Hey, we need to talk.
Fabi’s response was immediate.
100%.Next Monday?
Actually, I’m outside.
What????
Where??
I sent her a photo of the facade. Thanking the taxi driver, I slipped out of the car and started toward the front door. Music and laughter drifted from the backyard—it sounded like the party was in full-swing.
I braced myself.
This was going to awkward, but it needed to happen. I wasn’t trying to ruin her party. I just couldn’t let our friendship fall apart over some misunderstanding.
Fabi and I weren’t teenagers anymore. We didn’t text every hour or get together for weekly sleepovers in our dorm like we’d used to back at school. But for two twenty-five-year-olds who up until three weeks ago had spent years living on different continents, we were still close. Really close.
You sure about that? Maybe you mean a lot less to her than you think.
My chest squeezed. No, I wasn’t going to go there. If I dipped my toe into the vast pool of my insecurities, it would only make the situation worse.
All I planned to do was apologize for being skeptical about her boyfriend—I mean,fiancé—and explain that I was only trying to watch out for her. If they were head over heels and wanted to move fast—fine. As long as she was happy.
If after hearing me out she still didn’t want me here, I’d leave.
I was halfway up the walkway when?—
“Mia! What the HELL!?” Fabi sprinted along a path to the side of the house, her heels clicking against the pavement, her thick curls bouncing wildly, her cocktail dress hitched in her fists.
Hurt sliced through me. Was she really this upset that I’d shown up? I opened my mouth to explain?—
“Miss Messero,” a voice called out. “Everything okay?”
Fabi froze a few feet from me, her face losing its color. She gulped and glanced over her shoulder at a man in a suit with a walkie-talkieclipped to his belt. He stood at the end of the path where Fabi had just come down.
“Yes! Just greeting an old friend! I’ll be right back.”
Miss…Messero?
That wasn’t Fabi’s last name.
