Drawing Blood

Chapter Eleven

"So, it's settled then," Annie said, her voice clear in my ear. "If you pick me up at ten in the morning, we'll meet Adam and then head off into the next town together."

I struggled to hold the phone firmly between my shoulder and jaw, my mind too focused on preparing dinner to be anxious with this news. "He didn't agree to us going by ourselves then, I take it?"

"No," she responded, "He said he didn't want to chance it. The next town's over six miles away, and it would take too long for him to reach us if anything happened."

"Well, we could always stay in town?" I asked hopefully, not wanting to stray too far from Will.

"No, there's not much here," she griped. "Besides, I want to spend the day with the pair of you. And, I haven't seen him properly since we got back. I want to spend as much quality time with him as I can, before anything happens."

My heart sank at her words. I pursed my lips, taking some peppers out of the fridge. As much as I didn't want to think about it, I needed to remember that she had been affected by this situation as much as I had. She was Adam's sister after all, and she did love him. It was understandable that she wanted to cram in as much time with him before the inevitable. I felt the same way about Will. "Adam can't come in my car, Annie," I explained to her carefully, "If anyone sees us together, it would get back to Will."

"He's taking his own car," she assured me quickly. "And Mitch is covering his shift at the store, so no-one will suspect a thing."

"What if someone asks why you're both going to be missing on that same day, at the same time?"

"I'll tell everyone that Adam's looking into a cheaper supplier, so no-one will batter an eyelid."

"All this lying, Annie..." I shook my head. "I don't like it."

"Would you prefer if I told them the truth?"

"No, of course not..."

"Then relax. It'll be fine, I promise."

I exhaled a long breath and put my concerns to one side, deciding to trust her. "So, what are we going to do once we're in town?"

"I need to collect my holiday photos, and then we're going for a coffee..... Then, you can both buy my birthday presents!"

She almost sang that last part with delight.

"You're not supposed to be there when we buy them," I announced, laughing. Grabbing the salt-shaker, I threw some salt into the saucepan full of boiling water, still trying to get my head around the fact that I was going to be spending the day with Adam. Apart from us revising our situation over the new year, as agreed, and deciding to stay a little longer, the last time I had been in his company was when I had tried to escape. "Besides, your birthday isn't for another four weeks..."

"Three weeks and six days, actually," she corrected me matter-of-factly; her crisp tone reminding very much me of a strict headmistress. "And I shall be expecting at least ten years' worth of birthday cards too, so don't go forgetting."

I laughed at her again, and at her futile attempts at making me feel guilty. I had to hand it to her, though; she had a knack of twisting people around her little finger. "I'll give you ten years' worth of cards, when you give me the ten years' worth of presents, Annie Goldman."

"Ah, I suppose it was worth a try," she giggled. "I'll just have to drag you around the shops to buy Mitch some new shirts until you beg me for mercy."

"Remind me why we're doing that again?"

She let out a groan, and I got the impression she did it to be overheard. "We're doing it because my wonderful boyfriend went out and bought a dog on Tuesday," she said out loud, "and so far, it's managed to chew everything in sight." I heard a muffled response in the background, and then a mini conversation between her an Mitch took place. "I only just managed to save my shoes from the little mutt," she added, returning to me; her voice normal again.