Winter White (29 page)

She heard loud snoring and rolled over. Mira was asleep a few feet away, so many seat cushions and throw pillows stacked beneath her that she looked like she was auditioning for “The Princess and the Pea.” Her one arm was thrown across her eyes in a dramatic fashion befitting Mira even if the snoring
was not. Izzie thought about taking out her phone and capturing the image on video but decided against it. Mira had been through enough of her own drama the night before, too.

Izzie threw off the pool towels she had used as blankets and tossed the pillow that had substituted for Lambie onto the couch. She couldn’t figure out why this place was called a pool house when it was big enough to be someone’s house. It served as a shed for the outdoor furniture in the winter, but if the Monroes ever had guests, it could be a great guesthouse. There was a small kitchen, a changing area, a full bath, and a living room that had huge windows that overlooked the pool and the main house. Izzie could see movement through the den windows, but she wasn’t worried about anyone spotting her. Hayden had found the girls earlier that morning and brought out a tray of food Aunt Maureen had prepared, and both had told him they weren’t ready to talk to anyone yet, which was code for “Keep mom and dad away.” The pool house was eerily quiet. Maybe it was the exhaustion from the wave of fights they had both been through, but it was now almost one in the afternoon, and neither of them had gotten up yet.

There was a brief snort, followed by several more snorts, and then Mira shot up, seeming as confused about her whereabouts as Izzie had been. Her normally shiny, perfectly groomed hair was all frizz and flyaways, and she ran a hand across her mouth to stop the drool. But it was too late. Izzie had spotted it.

“Morning, sleeping beauty. Or should I say, good afternoon?”

Mira checked her watch, then fell back on the pillows, which made a squeaking noise—Izzie had forgotten Mira had a pool float under there, too. “Is it really one o’clock?” she moaned. “Why do I still feel so tired?”

“Mental exhaustion—at least that’s what Dr. Oz would say.” Izzie started stacking the cushions.

Mira sat up on her elbows. “You watch
Dr. Oz
?” She bit her lip to keep from laughing, which was a good thing, because Izzie glared at her.

“Maybe. When I lived with Grams. You can learn some good stuff on there.”

“I’m sure.” Mira glanced warily toward the windows. “If it’s day already, does this mean we have to go back inside?”

Izzie sat down, as if the weight of that thought was too much for her. “Maybe they’re so busy dealing with the campaign fallout, they’ve forgotten about us.”

“My mom would never forget about us,” Mira said wryly. “When I was little, my best friend, Joyce, lived three houses away, and we were always threatening to run away. We only made it as far as the bushes. By lunch, we were whining about food and sneaking in the house to use the bathroom. If I know my mom, she’s biding her time till dinner, when she knows we’ll cave.”

“I would never cave for food. You can always scrounge up
something to eat,” Izzie said, thinking back to her own runaway attempts. There was only one, right after her mom died. She spent a night in Kylie’s cramped apartment and Grams got her the next morning. They never spoke of it. It was almost as if Grams knew Izzie needed space to figure things out for herself. Maybe Aunt Maureen was the same way.

“So what should we do, then?” Mira asked, arching her back and then turning into a yoga pose. “Hide out in here all day?”

Izzie shook her head, staring out at the crisp, almost wintry day. Christmas decorations had started going up all over town. Not at the Monroes, though—everyone was so preoccupied, they hadn’t even bought a tree. Connor had been begging to get one.

Hayden stuck his head in the pool house door. “Everybody decent?”

“Don’t you know how to knock?” Mira asked.

“You do know you’re sleeping in our backyard, right? I don’t have to knock.”

Izzie could tell Hayden’s voice wasn’t its normally upbeat self. “What’s going on in there?” she asked.

Hayden’s face twisted slightly. “A big decision was made last night while you guys were out here. Dad is pulling out of the race.” Izzie felt as if the air had been knocked out of her. “Callista pulled together a press conference for five
PM
today to announce it. He didn’t want me to tell you guys—he wants
to tell you himself afterward—but I thought you’d want to know.”

Mira and Izzie looked at each other, and Izzie wondered if they were feeling the same thing: guilt. She didn’t know why she thought her dad’s failed campaign was her fault, but she did.

“I need to get out of here,” Izzie said to no one in particular.

“Me, too,” Mira agreed, smoothing her hair. “I need a latte.”

Izzie tilted her head. “I was thinking more like a jog or swimming a few laps.”

Mira frowned. “Where? It’s freezing out. And besides, you’re still wearing your EP uniform.”

Izzie groaned. She’d forgotten that. She turned to Hayden. “Could you…?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’ll be back in five minutes with clothes.” Mira opened her mouth. “For both of you. But I make no promises your outfits will match.”

Mira twisted one of her curls around her finger. “So you’re really thinking about going for a jog? I hate jogging.”

Izzie just looked at her. “You play field hockey!”

“But we don’t jog. We just kind of glide down the field,” Mira protested. “How about a walk through town instead? They had the tree-lighting ceremony last night, and I’m sure
Main Street looks festive. It will cheer us up!” she suggested. “And we can get hot cocoa instead of lattes. Please?”

Izzie sighed. Sometimes there was no fighting Mira. “Fine. We’ll walk.”

By the time Mira got moving—she didn’t want to leave the pool house without makeup, which required Hayden to make another trip—it was almost two thirty.

“Our last cotillion initiation starts in a half hour,” Mira realized sadly as they neared Main Street. Her cheeks were pink, and Izzie couldn’t tell if that was shame, blush and bronzer, or the cold air.

“I know.” Izzie put her hands in her peacoat pockets to keep them warm.

“That is
not
why I suggested we walk into town, of course. I know we’re not going.” Izzie watched Mira’s hands ball into fists. “We’re not dressed for it. It’s a shame, though,” she said, and dropped a dollar into a bucket in front of a Salvation Army worker who was ringing his bell. “I was looking forward to finding out who our cotillion captain was. I wanted to thank her for giving Savannah such a hard time.”

Izzie glanced at the sidewalk. Now did not seem like the right moment to admit she knew the answer to that question.
Izzie couldn’t explain her relationship with Dylan to Mira. She wasn’t sure Mira would understand. Izzie didn’t understand it, either. Dylan had used her to make her own mom more miserable.

“It doesn’t matter,” Mira said with a deep sigh. “We’re not finishing our initiation, because we’re not going to cotillion, and we can’t go to cotillion unless we do our initiation.” She side-eyed Izzie. “I didn’t really want to go, anyway.”

“Liar. You once said you thought about cotillion more than you’ve thought about your own wedding day,” Izzie accused her. “And you haven’t stopped talking about your Amsale dress, even though you haven’t let me see it.”

“My dress,” Mira said mournfully. “What am I going to do with it now?”

“Uh, save it for an actual wedding, which is what the dress was made for?”

Mira missed the point. “It won’t be in style by the time I get married.” She sighed. “Maybe I’ll just wear it around the house. Even if I wasn’t still mad at Dad, it’s not like I have an escort. I’m never talking to Kellen again.” She covered her eyes, and Izzie noticed her nails had tiny flowers painted on them. “When I think about the paper running that picture of my painting, I’m so embarrassed. If the girls wouldn’t talk to me before, imagine what they’re going to say now!” Mira frowned. “And I feel bad Dad saw it.”

“I can’t believe Kellen sold it. It doesn’t sound like him.”
Izzie went over the details all night when she was tossing and turning on those uncomfortable chair cushions. “But then again, I don’t get how the Ingrams knew the fake story about my lab results, either.” Izzie scowled. “I don’t know how you can stand that family.”

“They weren’t so bad,” Mira said thoughtfully. “When Savannah liked me, they adored me and our family. But now that we’re on the outs and you stole her boyfriend…”

“I did not steal,” Izzie corrected her. “And he isn’t mine anymore, either.”

“What happened last night?” Mira asked softly.

Izzie’s wavy hair whipped around her face like a mask. She could hear the wind howling against some of the windows of the stores they passed. “He didn’t want me.” She heard how hoarse her voice sounded. It had given out on her. She wasn’t surprised.

Mira was flabbergasted. “He said that?”

“No,” Izzie admitted. “But it’s obvious, isn’t it? If he wanted to be with me, he would have stood up for me with his mom and Dylan.” She shook her head. “He was too busy arguing with them to even realize I’d left. Brayden belongs with someone like Savannah.” She tried to convince herself of that by saying the words out loud. “He’s better off escorting her to cotillion.”

“He is
not
!” Mira hit her in the arm. “Please tell me that is not happening. Did he really let his mom pick his date?”

Izzie hesitated. The conversation came flooding back to her. “Well…” She hesitated. “Not exactly. Maybe at first, but last night he told his mom in front of the Ingrams and Savannah that he was taking me to cotillion instead.”

Mira stopped walking. “But then… wait. Why are you mad at him?”

“Because! This is about more than just cotillion,” Izzie said. “He had so many chances to stick up for me, and he didn’t do it till Dylan forced him to. And she only forced him to in order to make everyone in their house uncomfortable.” She exhaled, the cold air visibly coming out of her mouth. “I told him last night on the phone. It’s more obvious to me than ever that we don’t belong together. Our worlds are too different. His mom makes me realize every day that I don’t fit into his.”

“Why do you let her make you feel like that?” Mira asked quietly.

Izzie could still hear the soft jingle of the Salvation Army collector a block behind them. “I don’t know. I guess people like her intimidate me.” She looked at Mira wistfully. “Sometimes I wish I could be more like you.” Mira seemed surprised to hear that, but thankfully she didn’t gloat. “It doesn’t matter who you’re talking to—someone you like or someone who can’t stand you—you always manage to know the right thing to say. You always sound so together.”

“What’s so great about that?” Mira asked. “I wish I had
guts like you.” Now it was Izzie’s turn to be surprised. “You stand up for yourself no matter what the situation is. I could never tell someone off the way you do, and believe me, I wish I could. Savannah has deserved it so many times.”

Izzie laughed. “Be happy you don’t tell people off. That’s a good thing in EC!”

“I’m serious,” Mira said, staring at her with interest. “I think it’s cool you’re your own person.” She clutched the emerald pendant around her neck. “But you can still be your own person and be with Brayden.”

Izzie heard that and started to shut down, but this time Mira wouldn’t let her.

“You keep saying, ‘I don’t belong in his world,’ but don’t you see? You already
are
in his world, whether you like it or not,” Mira said. “You live here now, and that’s not going to change. Emerald Cove is as much your world as it is Brayden’s.”

Mira braced herself for Izzie’s reaction, but she didn’t need to worry.
Mira is… right
, Izzie realized. Why was she always so worried about Brayden’s family liking her? Look how screwed up they were! “I never thought of it that way before.”

Mira hesitated. “While we’re getting things off our chest, I have something to tell you. I’m not sure you’re going to like it.”

The last thing she needed was more lies. “What did you do?”

Mira wouldn’t look at her. “You’re going to find out anyway, but I promised Mrs. Fitz not to tell you till after cotillion.” She glanced nervously at Izzie out of the corner of her eye. “I stepped down as Butterflies cochair.” Izzie’s jaw dropped. “I don’t deserve the position,” she said. “I’m not doing right by the group, and neither is Savannah. I couldn’t get Mrs. Fitz to make Savannah step down, but I was able to get her to transfer my cochair title to you.”

“What?” Izzie screeched. She sounded sort of like Mira. “Why?”

“Because you’re the right person for the job,” she told her, sticking her hands in her pockets. “Mrs. Fitz agrees with me. You know how to get things done. I’ve seen you do it during initiation and in all the Butterflies meetings. Maybe some people don’t like you yet, but they respect you. Even Savannah. Whether she steps down or not, I know you’re going to get more done for the Butterflies than I ever could.”

Izzie wanted to be mad. She wanted to tell Mira she was insane. But the truth was, this was the best news she had heard in a long time. She knew she could whip the Butterflies into shape, even with Savannah breathing down her neck. Ever since Mrs. Fitz mentioned she would make a good club cochair, she hadn’t stopped thinking about it. She wanted this job more than she even realized. “Thanks,” she said shyly. “I won’t let you down.”