Filed To Story: Secret Shifters Next Door Series PDF Free
She came in not long after. We chatted for a bit and then ordered. She got a Rueben and a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup. I got a club sandwich and cream of potato soup. It sounded great and everything I saw coming out of the kitchen looked delicious, but my appetite was almost non-existent.
I finally decided it was time to tell Felicity I wasn’t coming for dinner. “Hey, um, can I ask you something?”
She took a sip of her water, and nodded. “What’s up?”
“Well…uh…okay so, I know you asked me to come over for Thanksgiving, right?”
“Yeah, is something wrong?”
“No. Yes.” I shook my head and felt the familiar heat of a blush creeping up my chest. “I mean, Miles invited me for Thanksgiving. He’s getting together with his friends, and he sounded so excited to have me join them. I don’t want to disappoint him. Would you be super pissed if I went there instead of coming with you to the city?”
Before she could answer, the server brought out our food and put it in front of us. Felicity took a small nibble from her sandwich, then shook her head and waved me off. “Celina, seriously, it’s fine. Not a big deal. I mean, I doubt you’d have had a good time anyway. The house would be packed with people, and my family are big time talkers.”
I grinned and sighed a breath of relief. “Oh good. I thought you were going to be mad.”
“Mad? No. That’s silly.”
Feeling like the weight of the world was off my shoulders, I picked up my own sandwich. I had it halfway to my lips when I stopped. Something tickled my mind. The memory of the conversation we’d had when Felicity first invited me over. I put the food down and frowned, trying to pull the discussion out of my head. So much had happened in such a short time, it was hard to get it. Had I heard her right the other day?
“Felicity?”
She finished a bit of her soup and glanced up at me. “Yeah?”
“Um, sorry, it’s not important. I’m only confused.”
“About?”
“Well, when you asked me to come over for Thanksgiving, you said your family was out of town, and no one would be at the house in the city. But you just said the house would be packed. I’m confused.”
Felicity stared at me for several long seconds. Long enough for it to grow uncomfortable. Finally, she frowned and looked toward the ceiling. “Oh shit. You’re right,” she said, shaking her head. “I did say that. I was wrong. They’re going out of town for Christmas, not Thanksgiving. My bad.”
Felicity chuckled quietly to herself as she picked up her sandwich. She was acting the way I did when I’d said or done something dumb. It looked like I wasn’t the only one who messed up. It wasn’t a big deal, but I did notice that Felicity seemed more tense and on edge as we ate. Probably worried she’d say something else that was silly. That’s what I’d have thought anyway.
“So…” Felicity said, “…what does Miles have planned for this big shindig?”
“Just a get-together with his friends and their families. Two of his friends have new wives. I think it’ll be fun.”
Felicity rolled her eyes, and not in a funny way. It was almost spiteful. My body tensed. I didn’t like the way she’d done that. It was like she thought the whole thing was dumb.
“You know, you should be more mindful of the company you keep, Celina.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, shocked at the way Felicity was acting.
“What I mean is that Miles and his friends are a bunch of degenerates. You need to stay away from them if you want to remain safe. Safe and uncorrupted.”
I crossed my arms, trying to subconsciously protect myself. I had no idea where this was coming from. Was she being hurtful because I said I wasn’t coming over for Thanksgiving? That seemed ridiculously childish.
“Their own families don’t even want them,” she went on. “What kind of people are so terrible even their own kind don’t want them around? And don’t get me started on their wives.” She made air quotes around the word wives. “They’re just as sad and pitiful as the men.”
My anger rose. I almost never got angry. Shy, embarrassed, uncomfortable? Yes. Angry? Not usually, but it was rearing its head listening to her talk about Miles and his friends.
“Felicity, my parents didn’t want me either. They got rid of me, so what does that mean? Do you think the same way about me?”
“Celina, you know that’s different. You’re a…” She stopped, almost like she was about to say something, but held off.
“I’m a what?” I asked, my voice rising. Suddenly, I wanted to be anywhere else, around anyone but Felicity. “You know what, I don’t care. I suddenly don’t feel very good. I think I’m going to go home.”
Felicity’s face changed then. She looked almost panicked. “Wait, Celina, no. Please, I’m sorry. I haven’t had a good day. I didn’t mean to?—“
“Enough, Felicity. Goodbye.”
I stood and walked out, too emotionally exhausted to stay and try to let her apologize. I was drained and upset. How could she say those things? What had gotten into her? As I walked to my car, I wondered if I’d made a mistake trying to be friends with her. Maybe Miles had been right about her after all.
There wasn’t anywhere in town I wanted to go, so I went straight back home. Once I was in my apartment, I collapsed into the couch and stared into space. I really wanted to talk to someone, but the only person I knew well enough was Miles, and he was probably at work or something. As upset as I was, I still didn’t want to bug him. Instead of calling, I sent him a text. Then he could see it and respond on his own time, and not feel hurried.
He called me back almost immediately. “Celina? What’s wrong?” He sounded worried. I’d never had anyone care about my wellbeing the way he seemed to.
“I didn’t have a great day,” I said, my voice tiny and sad. I felt awful for it. Even in my own ears, I sounded pathetic.