The Wrong Path

EPILOGUE





“Would you hurry up? You’re going to make us late.”

“I can’t find my book.”

“What? You had it ten minutes ago!”

“Well now I can’t find it.”

Annabelle Priestly slowly let out a deep breath, trying to control her temper. She pursed her lips, ran her hands through her long brown hair, straightened her t-shirt and jeans, and shifted in her sneakers. Then she exploded.

“Will Scarlett, if you don’t get moving in five seconds, I’m going to leave without you on your first day of college,” she threatened.

He paused in rummaging through the dorm-issued desk, then looked across the room at his brother. “Did you hear that?” he asked Trevor, who paused in combing his hair and looked up, distracted.

“What?” Trevor asked, frowning.

“Belle just threatened to leave me here. After she promised to show me around on my first day.”

Trevor arched an eyebrow, then flashed a grin. “You know she’s not going to leave you,” he countered, ever the optimist. “Just get going. You’re going to be late.”

Annabelle fidgeted. “I might leave him,” she declared warningly, glaring at Will, who still couldn’t seem to locate the missing book.

Will crossed the few feet between them, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. “No you won’t,” he assured her.

She looked up at him through her lashes. “Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven,” she counted, even as Will quickly pulled away and continued ransacking the room.

“Is this it?”

They both turned to look at Trevor, who calmly picked a book up from his desk on the other side of the room. Will slowly set the couch cushion in his hand down, frowning at him. “How did it get there?” he asked, walking over and taking the book from his brother, who held it out to him.

Trevor eyed him. “Don’t know. Wonder what else I’ll discover in my stuff that you’ve mistaken for your own.”

Will bounced on his toes and looked around the small dorm room in irritation. “It’s these tiny rooms. You can’t even breathe your own air!”

“Then let’s get out of it and get to class,” Annabelle insisted, grabbing his arm. “Bye, Trevor. See you later!” she called, as she tugged Will from the room.

“Bye!” she heard him call back from inside.

Will wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked, hugging her close. The sun was warm on their shoulders as they crossed the campus to their classes, and she couldn’t resist smiling happily at how everything had worked out. She hadn’t been sure about Will and Trevor sharing a room, despite their attempts to mend their relationship over the last few years, but it seemed to be working—at least for now. Trevor, who was a dorm manager as an upperclassman, loved helping the incoming students and showing them around, and for his part, Will seemed to appreciate getting at least a slightly larger room than the others, which was one of the benefits of rooming with the dorm manager.

It had been Will who had caved in to Trevor’s constant cheerfulness and obliviousness to other people’s feelings, though through the years he had gotten better. Will had never admitted it, but Annabelle believed it was Trevor giving them his blessing years before that had initiated Will’s change of heart. She didn’t think they would ever be best friends, but at least they were friendly with one another. The hostility from so long ago was a thing of the past.

She’d chosen a college close to home, not deliberately picking the same one Trevor had gone to, but just the one that would allow her to drive back to see her family and Will on the weekends. Everyone else she knew had gone away to larger, more prestigious schools, but that had been fine with her. It had been nice to start anew.

She paused outside of Will’s class. “Here you go,” she said, grinning up at him. “I’ll meet you back at your room when my classes are over.”

He leaned down and kissed her, then hugged her tightly. “Love you,” he said, grinning back.

“Love you, too. Now go.” She flashed a smile up at him, gave him another quick kiss, and hurried away to her own class with a smile, the future looking brighter than ever.