The Difference

Chapter 21

"I know you're busy, but can you spare 5 minutes to talk?" Troy says, sneaking up on me. I arrived at the mansion about 2 hours ago and Ava immediately gave me a clipboard with tasks to handle. I finished the majority of them within the first hour of being here, and now I'm just waiting for all of the tables and chairs to arrive so I can start getting everything set up. T-5 days until the ball. I'm angry at Troy for kicking me out of the funeral and I only realize I'm angry once I see him sitting around talking to Isabel, completely ignoring me as I walk in. I continue to make random marks on my clipboard as if I'm in the middle of an important task. Troy grabs the clipboard from my hands.

"Hey!" I protest.

"You can't ignore me forever," he says. I snatch my clipboard back and walk past him. 

"Says you," I fire back, pleased with myself. 

I nearly run into Mrs. Marigold and I mutter out a quick apology. She is too frazzled to say anything and takes Troy's arm, leading him upstairs. I roll my eyes and my phone buzzes. It's Troy. I look up at him as he watches me read his text.

"My room. 1 hour. It's important."

"Fine," I type back as the first table gets brought in. I immediately greet the workers and direct them toward the spot for the buffet. They set the long line of rectangular tables and then begin to bring in circular ones as well. Once the dozens of tables are set, the ballroom still looks huge. I instruct them to begin setting the chairs up as well. I notice Mrs. Marigold come down the staircase and give me a half smile and a nod of approval for the table and chairs being set up. Ava comes downstairs with Brad, hand and hand, and gives me a hug. I tell Brad I'm sorry for his loss and he thanks me, sadly. Ava says she has the table cloths in her car and asks Brad if he'll start bringing them in so she can start working on them.

"Brad says you're avoiding Troy now," Ava blurts out before he even takes three steps away from us. He continues to walk as if he didn't hear her.

"And how does he know that?"

"Because Troy told him," she says, crossing her arms.

"I'm about to go talk to him, so just relax," I say annoyed.

"Hurry!" she says, and I roll my eyes. 

This time, Troy's door is open upstairs. Past him, I see Isabel sitting in a chair off to the corner. He's sitting in his perfectly made bed, facing her. I'm not sure I want to interrupt, but I realize I need to give him a chance to talk to me. I do a once-over in the mirror. My long hair is curled at the end due to the rain shower this morning. I thankfully wore black today, without even planning to attend the funeral. I have on a simple dress that hugs my hips and my new pink Manolos, of course. I smile at myself in the mirror, and strut into the room cheerfully.

"Hi!" I say and startle both of them. 

"Isabel, this is Rosemary," Troy says, as they both stand up. She reaches out to shake my hand. She's even more beautiful up close. 

"It's so nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you," Isabel says.

"It's great to meet you, too," I say politely. 

"Well, I'm going to leave you two alone, then. Troy, I'll be with Grandma downstairs if you need anything," she says, and gives my arm a squeeze as she exits. "Nice Manolos," she jokes, as we have the same pair. I shake my head and Troy approaches me, wrapping an arm around my waist. He looks down at me and kisses my forehead.

"Are you still mad at me?" he questions.

"That depends, are you still avoiding me?" I say back.