Chapter 3
At two in the morning, Andrew pulled the covers off me.
The harsh light made me instinctively shield my eyes.
"Carrie's got cramps. Go make her some hot chocolate. That's your specialty, isn't it?" he said.
He stood by the bed, his phone screen still lit up with a cutesy emoji Carrie had just sent him.
The pain from my surgery cut flared up as I tried to get up, so I had to steady myself against the wall, forcing myself toward the kitchen.
Every step felt like I was walking on shards of glass.
The cold air from the fridge made me shiver.
When the hot chocolate was ready, I handed it to him with a sticky note attached.
"I wrote down the recipe. Let May make it next time," I said flatly.
Andrew grabbed my wrist, his grip tightening over the bandages. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"My schoolmate invited me to Lakeview for a break. I might be gone for a few days," I replied, my voice cool.
"Didn't she just have her second baby last week?" he asked.
He narrowed his eyes, trying to read me, searching for any cracks in my story.
Suddenly, the sound of glass shattering came from the guest room.
"Andy, what did she make? It's so hot that it's burning my throat," Carrie said.
Her dramatic whine was followed by an exaggerated cough.
Andrew immediately turned and hurried to attend to her.
As soon as he left, my phone started ringing.
I answered to hear an anxious voice.
"Hey, Allie, you haven't replied to my messages. I was getting worried," the voice said.
"Sorry, I'm just not feeling great right now," I replied softly.
"What? You're not feeling well? I'm coming over right now..." the voice blurted out, panicked.
I cut the voice off, keeping my tone gentle.
"Seriously, I'm okay. Give me a few days, and I'll come find you," I said, trying to sound reassuring.
As soon as I hung up, Andrew suddenly appeared behind me.
"Alison, who are you planning to meet?" he asked, his voice sharp.
I met his gaze calmly. "Yeah, my schoolmate."
"Your schoolmate?" Andrew repeated, his tone full of doubt.
"You really need to sneak around and call her in the middle of the night?" he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Andrew's brows knitted, his expression turning stormy.
He knew I was lying.
But in a flash, his icy look melted into a cocky smirk.
Back then, whenever I lied to him, it was just to pull off some surprise for him, going out of my way to please him.
He probably thought this was just like old times.
His voice finally softened a little. "Alison, thanks for putting up with everything tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take you out to your favorite restaurant."
We were at my favorite restaurant, and before our cream of mushroom soup even arrived, Andrew got a call and excused himself.
He said softly into the phone, "Wait for me. I'll be right out."
I put down my fork and followed him.
Stepping outside, I spotted Carrie sitting on the edge of a flowerbed, swinging her legs.
Her legs were so smooth that they almost dazzled in the sunlight.
"Andy, carry me," she cooed, her voice sweet and playful.
As she jumped onto his back, her skirt caught on a rosevine.
They both tumbled into the rose bushes, and Carrie playfully nipped at his ear with a laugh.
A bright red mark showed up right away behind his ear.
Then she locked eyes with me, looking like she'd just scored a win over me.
Andrew followed her gaze and turned around. The moment he saw me, he looked totally caught off guard.
He scrambled to his feet, quickly straightening his clothes.
But Carrie, as if on purpose to get under my skin, took her sweet time getting up.
She even made a show of brushing the rose petals off Andrew's clothes, then clung to his arm, putting on a lovey-dovey show.
I took a deep breath, trying to keep it together as I walked slowly toward them.