ambit. [hs au]

Chapter 31

*** A/N: THIS CHAPTER IS THE FIRST PART OF A DOUBLE UPDATE!***

***

"What the fuck are you doing here?!"

The question falls from my lips in a surprised yelp, so high-pitched I'm almost ultrasonic, and for a moment I actually consider scratching my eyes, just to make sure I'm seeing it right.

"Is that how you welcome your best friend you haven't seen in months?" Sadie puts her hands on her hips, sneering with a little grimace as she stops at the threshold of my bedroom, "I was expecting a little more enthusiasm, you know?"

"Well, I am overjoyed, I was just not expecting," I argue, finally snapping out of my astonished state, enough so I can jump from my bed and wrap my arms around her shoulders, pulling her to a tight hug.

"That's the whole surprise idea, at least I got that right." Sadie shrugs, pulling away from the hug to take a good look at me, giving me a slow once over that would put any guy to shame. "You're lost weight," she scrunches up her nose.

"Why, thanks!" I smile.

"It wasn't a compliment," she rolls her eyes, huffing. "I bet you lost weight because you're not eating properly over stupid men, instead of taking care of yourself as you should."

I chuckle, shaking my head. "You've been here for like, 2 minutes, and you're already scolding me. Fuck, I've missed you."

The deep scowl between Sadie's eyebrows disappears, and she smiles brightly. "I missed you too, dummy. Now come on, I want to see what this city is all about."

"There's not much, to be honest," I look behind her, frowning, "where are your bags?"

"Back at the hotel," she says with a frown. "I didn't want to crowd your folks' place. I already felt like I was abusing your father's good will by asking him to pick me up at the London airport and driving me all the way here."

"I'm sure he was happy to do it."

"He was, bless him. He spent the whole ride here trying to convince me to cancel my reservation at the hotel, but that was an argument I won." Sadie sits on the edge of my bed, looking around my room, "it was hard, though. Your dad is really stubborn."

"When did you talk to him? I had no idea you were coming." I ask, while searching for a change of clothes in my wardrobe.

It's Thursday morning and I've just woken up to the sight of Sadie standing in my bedroom. At first, I actually thought I was dreaming, but it's actually her. Which is crazy, considering we talked just yesterday and she said nothing about coming to visit me.

I mean, don't get me wrong - I love that she's here. She brings me a sense of peace and normalcy I haven't felt in weeks, something only Sadie can provide. Lately, we've been only talking through text and a couple of FaceTime calls per week, which is ridiculously little, compared to how close we used to be when I lived in L.A. And the worst part is, besides being my best friend, she's also my literary agent, so at least one of our FaceTime calls have been strictly to talk business.

"Actually, Dot was the one who helped me organize everything," she tells me, watching while I take off my old pajamas and put on a black t-shirt and some black leggings. "She texted me on Sunday, we talked a little, and ended up agreeing it might be good if I came."

"Really?" I raise my eyebrows, stopping mid-action from brushing my hair to squint my eyes at Sadie. "Why? What did she tell you?"

Sadie sighs, throwing herself onto my bed, "she's just worried about you."