Page 67 of Not Mine To Love

She smiled. “You would be the first person I would tell. I wouldn’t tell Mom. She would freak out. I would probably tell Carter. He’s the more rational one of the two.”

I held back my laughter, but she was right. I knew Dana would flip out if she knew Meredith was even talking about boys. She barely tolerated Meredith’s best friend, Danny. Speaking of which, I wondered if Danny might know what was going on with his great aunt and her daughter. I was trying to think of a subtle way to ask Meredith when someone tapped on my shoulder.

I turned around, half expecting Julius to be standing there, but no, even worse. It was Ana.

“Hi,” I said, giving her a tight smile. I hadn’t seen her since the picture incident at her mother’s house. I still wanted to hide my face in shame at the thought of them.

She smiled back and said, “I was just taking a walk and saw you two hanging out and thought to say hello. Is this your niece?”

“No, this is Meredith. My stepdaughter.”

“Stepdaughter, best friend, partner in crime, I fulfill all those roles plus more,” Meredith said ,extending her hand for Ana to shake.

“What a precocious young lady you are,” Ana said with a smile. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Meredith.”

“You too.” Meredith then looked from me to Ana. “How do you guys know each other?”

“I was the photographer for her engagement party,” I said, shooting Meredith a meaningful look. Meredith sort of knew the whole story, or at least g-rated bits and pieces. Meredith’s mouth formed a perfect O, but she smiled politely and said, “Oh, cool.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Sometimes Meredith volunteered a little too much information. I was glad this wasn’t one of those times.

“Can I talk to you for a second? In private?” Ana asked, and I desperately wanted to shout, “No!”

Where had all my bravery gone? Now I was behaving like a coward. Courage wasn’t my strong point.

We walked to a spot under a tree, where I could still see Meredith, but we were out of earshot, so she couldn’t eavesdrop. Ana started, “Julius told me that he—"

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. I didn’t want to talk about Julius. I felt like my head was about to explode.

“…told you about Sam.”

I frowned. Sam? This conversation was about Sam?

I nodded. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

She looked down at her hands. “Sam was one of my best friends. And when he died, it was almost as if part of me died with him. I know how trite that must sound, but it’s true.”

I didn’t interrupt. I wanted to hear what she had to say.

“Julius was there for me through it all. And I knew he was hurting too, but he was strong for both of us.” She looked up from her hands, but still didn’t meet my eyes.

“What I’m trying to say is that Julius has always been there when I needed him the most. But I can’t say I did the same in return.”

She hung her head in shame, and I couldn’t help but feel for her.

I tried to make her feel better saying, “I know he values you as a friend.”

She looked up and shook her head. “I’ve been a terrible friend. Always taking and never giving. Always making things about me.” She gave a bitter laugh. “I’ve turned into my mom.”

“You’re definitely not your mother,” I said fiercely.

Ana laughed and then shrugged. “In some ways, I am. But now I’m seeing that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

She continued, “Anyway, Mom and I will figure things out; we always do. I’m just more worried about you and Julius.”

“We’re not… I don’t…”

“He’s in love with you.”