Chapter Twenty-Three
I hobbled my way down the stairs the next morning after waking at the crack of dawn. I’d had a fretful night sleep and couldn't confine myself to my room any longer. I tiptoed into the first-floor living room to check on Anthony. He was still sprawled across the couch where I had last seen him. He looked a bit better in the soft light of the morning, no longer having that green tint to his skin that he did the night before, though his eyes had dark circles under them.
I shook my head, an amused smile on my lips before beginning to turn out of the room. I paused, my eyes catching on the back of the second couch in front of me. I couldn’t see who was in it from this angle, but I could see a lock of black hair falling over the arm of the couch. I walked around to see who else was in here to find Jane, with just a blanket thrown haphazardly over her. She had her mouth wide open as she slept, her makeup all over her face.
I backed out of the room quietly, heading for the kitchen. Jane must have gotten home last night and just passed out on the couch. The girl was reckless and crazy. I wasn’t surprised to find her half-clothed in my living room.
As I got closer to the kitchen, I could hear tinkering. I peeked my head around the corner and saw Chef Dante's back as he prepared breakfast. I didn't feel like enduring his small talk this morning so I retreated back upstairs to the second-floor living room. I settled down, pulling my phone out of my pocket and staring at it for a moment, willing it to ring.
I felt like I should feel guilty for calling Ethan last night. Grant it, he didn’t even answer, but reaching out first made me feel lesser than him for it. It felt like I was apologizing almost. Which was an insane thought because I didn’t even need to apologize for anything. He was the one who said hurtful things to me and then never called. I can admit, even if it’s just to myself, that I can be a little immature sometimes, but he was entirely out of line when he said that I only cared about myself. It still hurt me deeply that somebody so close to me could say such hurtful things to me.
I sat my phone on the coffee table in front of me at just the right angle that if it rang, I’d be able to see who it was. I spent the rest of the morning watching cheesy Christmas movies on Netflix again. When my movie was almost finished, Michelle poked her head into the room, her long brown hair falling in soft curls around her face. She had on a slight amount of makeup, but not as much as last night. Still, she really didn't need any make-up at all. Michelle had a natural beauty.
“Hey, Miss Elena,” she said flopping lazily on the couch next to me. She lifted an accent pillow up from the corner and flopped it down into my lap before crashing her head on top of it. “You cut out early last night,” she said looking up at me. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “I haven’t really told anyone, but Ethan isn’t talking to me.”
“What?!” Michelle exclaimed, sitting up suddenly, spinning to look me in the eye. “Why? You two are practically inseparable! It’s actually nauseating how cute you are with each other.”
“Yeah, I know,” I turned toward the TV, afraid if I kept looking her in the eye she would really see how upset I was by the whole thing. “And to make things better, his psycho ex was at the bar last night.”
“No way,” Michelle said, her eyes wide. “What are the odds of her being in the same town as you?”
“I know,” I said again. “She’s legit crazy, by the way. I’m not just being petty when I say she’s psycho.”
“What do you mean?”
"Well, apparently when she and Ethan broke up a few years ago, she threatened to hurt me," I explained watching Michelle's jaw drop open. "Yeah, and no one thought I should know about it either.”
“What the… Who knew about it?” Michelle asked.
“Ethan. Colton. Mason,” I listed off. “Hell, I don’t know, probably my whole freaking team.” The annoyance and anger I felt last night was starting to roll back over me.
“Why did they hide it from you?” Michelle seemed genuinely concerned for me and that was one of the reasons I loved her. We didn’t hang out very much, but when we did it was like nothing changed. That’s when you know you’ve got a good friend.
“They said they were protecting me,” I mumbled.
"Yeah, well, a lot of good that did you, since Psycho stalked her way into your vacation," Michelle grumbled, laying her head back down on the pillow in my lap. "You know she's totally here to spy on you."
“I don’t know that,” I said. “I really have no idea. I just wish – ” I cut off sharply as my phone rang on the table, Ethan’s contact photo appearing on screen. Without even thinking about Michelle lying on my lap, I jumped up, knocking her head and the pillow around.
“Dude!” she cried out, but I was already grabbing my phone and hobbling down the hall to my room.
“Hello,” I said uncertainly into my phone.
“Elena,” Ethan’s deep voice rumbled into the phone. My heart jackhammered in my chest and my mouth went dry. I noticed he called me Elena instead of Elle and my stomach twisted.
I swallowed hard and said, “Thanks for calling me back…”
“I suppose it’s time we talked,” Ethan said. I didn’t really know what that meant. I tried to control my breathing, physically anxious about this conversation.
“Yeah,” I agreed before jumping straight to the point. “Why didn’t you ever tell me about Cate?”
I heard Ethan sigh on the other side of the phone. “Why are you asking about this now?”
I noticed he avoided my question, but I answered him anyway. The insults he handed me in our last conversation about being too immature made me want to go out of my way and act more mature than I usually would have. I wanted to stomp my feet and demand that he answer my question first, but decided it would be much easier to play by his rules this time. “Because I saw her. Last night. At a bar in Aspen near where I’m staying.”
“You’re in Aspen?” Ethan asked.
“Yes, for a couple weeks.”
“Well, I’m off for a few days.” He was a quiet a moment before continuing. “How about we meet up in Aspen and talk in person?” I gulped and my breathing hitched slightly more. He wanted to meet and see me again just like that?
“Just like that?” I asked. “What – are you done being mad at me now? Now, you want to see me again?”
“Elena,” Ethan said sternly. I felt like my mother was scolding me, the way he said my name. “I don’t really want to have this conversation on the phone. We can talk in person. I think we can both agree that we have a lot to talk about.”
“Fine,” I said, trying to control my temper. I really, really did not want to be immature about this. "I’ll text you the address. Just text me when you get to town so I can expect you.”
“Okay,” Ethan said. “I’ll catch a flight today. I’ll talk to you later. And Elle?”
“Yes?” I asked, a weird emotion filling my chest causing me to hold my breath.
“Just keep your distance from Cate,” he said. I deflated. I had hoped he would say something like how he missed me or he couldn’t wait to see me or he was sorry. It was dumb.
"Right," I mumbled. "See ya, Ethan." I hung up, staring at the phone again where his contact photo was still on the screen. As my screen faded to black, I slipped my phone into my pocket and limped back to the second-floor living room. It was empty, so I made my way downstairs following the smell of bacon. I heard voices coming from the kitchen, so I headed in that direction.
Stepping into the kitchen, I paused at the sight in front of me. Michelle and a man I recognized from last night were on one end of the kitchen bar while Jane and Anthony were on the other end. Jane looked significantly better than she did when I saw her on the couch earlier, her black hair even darker, hanging in wet strands down her back. Despite the freshly showered hair, she had coated fresh make-up on her face so she appeared like she normally did. Anthony was sitting relaxed next to her, wearing casual jeans and a tight dark green t-shirt. He was smiling and laughing, telling her a story. It almost made me feel like I was a fifth wheel about to crash their party.
Anthony’s eyes glanced in my direction and his face lit up, his smile growing bigger. He made me smile back, but I couldn’t really elate myself much more with all the tension of the Ethan and Cate situation on my mind. Anthony stood up and came over to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the top of my head. “Hey, babe,” he said softly. He ducked his head a bit so he was looking me in the eyes at the same level I was. “I’m sorry about last night.”
I gave him a puzzled look, “What for?”
He stepped back a second, holding me by the shoulders at arm's length. "For getting too drunk to spend more time with you," he said, a slight blush coloring his cheeks. "All I wanted all day was to see you, and then by the time I did, I had drunk too much."
I smiled and swatted his arms down from my shoulders, “Relax, Anthony. It was fine. I’m not even worried about it.”
He visibly relaxed, throwing an arm back over my shoulder and ushered me closer to the bar. "Thank God," he said. "I still feel bad, but thanks." He pulled a bar stool out for me and I climbed up.
After we all ate breakfast, Jane decided we needed to get a Christmas tree for the lodge. Without really anything else to do, we all bundled up and Marcus drove us to the outskirts of Aspen where there was a large Christmas tree farm. Our group piled out of the limo and forged a path through the trees. Michelle and Haden, her boyfriend, led the way through the farm looking unbelievably adorable surrounded by the snow and Christmas trees, holding hands and making me want to vomit at the sight of their cuteness.
Anthony walked along my side. He had tried striking up a conversation with me, but I had unintentionally tuned him out, my head wrapped around thoughts of Ethan and Cate. When it was clear that I wasn't really paying attention, Anthony turned to his other side where Jane had been walking next to him. They began talking and laughing while Jane told him about herself.
“Hey, boss,” Mason said to me from where he was standing on my other side. “You okay?” I looked up into his gentle face, concern washed across his features. I sighed and gave him a shrug. “Is this about last night?” he asked quietly.
"Yeah," I said. "Ethan's on his way here. Says he needs to talk to me about this in person." I kept my face blank, unsure what to think about all this. I was nervous to see him again but was afraid to fight with him more. I knew we would, though, and that saddened me because we had never really fought that much before.
“That’s good,” Mason nodded. “You have a lot to talk about.”
I didn’t say anything. It was true and it was obvious.
“This one!” Jane’s excited voice drew my thoughts back to the present. She was pointing at a huge evergreen tree, practically jumping up and down. “It’s perfect! Don’t you think?” She turned to Anthony, giving him an encouraging smile.
He nodded, his confident smirk taking over his face again. “You’re right, Jane,” he agreed, circling the tree. “It’s perfect.” He gave her a wink before looking over at me and cocking his head to the side. “What do you think, Elena?”
I shrugged, “Works for me. How are we going to get it back to the cabin?”
At this, Haden walked up flexing his arms in an exaggerated fashion. “You ladies just leave this up to the men,” he said with an inflated deep voice. “Time to whip out the guns, boys.”
“Okay then,” Michelle laughed. “You guys take care of this, and we'll go get hot chocolate. How's that sound?" She looked between me and Jane. Jane nodded enthusiastically, stepping up to walk alongside Michelle back to the entrance where there was a quaint concession stand. I fell into step beside them silently leaving Mason, Anthony, and Haden to handle the tree. Mason already had a saw out that he had borrowed when we got there, preparing to cut down the tree.
“So, Elena,” Jane said as we cut back through the farm. “What’s up with you and Anthony?”
I looked over at her, shrugging and turned back to watch my feet, “I don’t know. We met in New York at the premiere. It had seemed like we hit it off,” I replied inconclusively.
“Well,” Jane said. “He’s hot. Good choice.”
Michelle laughed, “Yeah, he’s a cutie. Doesn’t really seem like your type, though.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
"I don't know," Michelle said, looking a little like she didn't want to talk about it anymore. "So anyway," she changed the subject. "What did Ethan want this morning?"
“Oh – he’s coming to see me tonight,” I said. The concession stand was finally back in view and we made our way to get in line. There weren’t many people here so even though we stood out, no one really stared too much at us.
“Ethan Anderson?” Jane asked, knowing perfectly well that he was the only Ethan I ever spent time with. “What’s he coming here for?”
“We have a lot to talk about,” I said.
“Have you two hooked up yet?” Jane asked bluntly. We had made it to the front of the concession stand line. The attendant was a young teenage boy, his eyes widening when he saw us.
“No way,” I said, my face blushing. “Actually, I’m pretty sure he hates me, right now.”
“Three hot chocolates,” Michelle ordered, getting the attention of the attendant. “Of course he doesn’t hate you,” she turned to me. “You two are perfect for each other. He could never hate you.”
I blushed more. It was always embarrassing when people insinuated that Ethan and I should be together. I knew I had always had an attraction for him, but his friendship was more important than anything to me. Right now, it seemed that I didn’t even have his friendship anymore.
“What does Anthony think about all this?” Jane asked, picking at a string on her coat sleeve.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged again. “I mean, he knows that Ethan and I are close – or we were close. But that’s it.”
"Well, if it doesn't work out with either Anthony or Ethan, let one down easy and then give him my number," Jane winked. Michelle swatted Jane on the shoulder. Jane laughed. "What? It's not fair that Elena finds all the good ones."
"Not all the good ones…" Michelle mumbled as the attendant returned with our hot chocolate. We all grabbed one and made our way to a heated outdoor picnic area while we waited for the guys.
“Haden’s great,” I told Michelle. “You two are adorable.”
“Yeah, so adorable,” Jane said. “I almost threw up constantly on the flight here sitting next to you lovebirds.” She pretended to gag. “No, I’m happy for you, Michelle, really. But you’re disgusting.” She laughed. “But no really…it’s gross. But so great.”
When the guys finally returned the front entrance, they were empty-handed. Jane stood up, propping a hand on her hip and glaring at the guys. "Where the hell is my tree?" she asked.
“Relax,” Anthony said nudging her on her other hip as he walked by her to get to me. “We paid a guy to deliver it to the cabin for us.”
“Oh,” Jane said, dropping her hands to her sides. “Good idea.”
“So, what now?” Michelle asked, leaning into Haden who had his arm looped around her waist, drawing her close. “You guys hungry?”
I let out a large yawn. “I think I’m going to have to take a nap,” I said, shaking my head.
“No, Elena, come on,” Jane pleaded. “Let’s go get something to eat.” Anthony peeked down at me, shrugging his shoulders.
“You guys go,” I told Jane, looking between her and Anthony. “I really need to get off my leg. It’s tiring me out a lot. Just drop me off at the cabin on your way to dinner.”
Anthony looked disappointed, but I didn’t miss the way he glanced over at Jane before nodding. We all piled back into the limo and made our way back home. Anthony sat next to me, entwining our fingers together to hold my hand on the way back home.
I hated thinking it, but it felt almost wrong to be holding his hand. I wanted to enjoy this. Hell, I had been looking forward to seeing him for a week and we had barely had any time together. With everything looming over my head concerning Ethan and Cate, everything I had been excited about was suddenly lackluster.
When we got back to the cabin, I gave Anthony a soft kiss on his cheek, squeezing his hand and hopping out of the limo. Mason followed me inside, waving behind him as he reached for the door. He gave me a pitying smile as I stumbled into the living room, collapsing on the same couch that Anthony had slept on the night before. I pulled a blanket over me, and without even bothering to take off my walking boot or the layers of winter clothing I wore, I fell asleep.