Bright Midnight by Halle, Karina (ereader android TXT) 📕

brushes past me, close enough for me to catch a faint smell of something herbal, like dill, and throws my backpack in the trunk.

Astrid gives him a bemused glance for a moment before she looks at the station where the train is pulling in.

“I’ll be right back!” she says. “Don’t discuss anything. I want to know all the details about whatever the hell this is.” She wiggles her fingers at us then runs off to the train station, puddles splashing.

Somehow my feet move without me telling them to and I go toward the back of the car where Anders holds the door open for me. “You still up for a ride?” he asks, and in his eyes I can see he wants me to say yes. He’s welcoming me, this chance encounter.

But I’m starting to wonder how much of this is chance.

And how much of this was me coming here, hoping this would happen.

I find myself nodding, still feeling like I’m in some surreal dream, then I slide into the backseat. I give a grateful, albeit awkward, smile to the girl next to me, knowing she has to be one of Anders’ sisters, their eyes are the same, just as he gets in the car beside me. It isn’t until he shut’s the door that I realize just how wet I am. The car is engulfed with the musty dampness of rain, the windshield wipers going a mile a minute.

And I’m pressed right up against Anders.

Holy fuck.

He twists in his seat to face me, that piece of hair still stuck to his forehead, and asks, “Where were you headed?”

I swallow. “The…” And just like that I’ve forgotten the name of the hotel, even though I had just told Astrid. I fish my cell out of my jacket pocket, fingers trembling as I try and slide it open.

“So, I’m sorry,” the girl next to me says. “But who are you? I mean, how do you know my brother?”

“Long story,” I tell her with a quick smile, before trying to open my GPS. My fingers are wet, making it impossible, and having Anders’ shoulder right up against mine isn’t making things any easier.

“I went to school with her in America,” Anders says, offering more about our past than I was willing to give up.

“Oh,” the girl says with a frown. Then her brows raise. “Oh.”

Wait. What did that second oh mean? Does she know about us? Because Astrid gave nearly the same reaction.

The girl…

“What are you doing in Norway?” she goes on.

“Maybe we should get her to her hotel,” Anders says, and something about that boils my blood, as if he’s trying to get rid of me so fast. Again.

“Hold on, hold on.” The girl is raising her hands and shaking her head. “None of this makes much sense.” She takes in a deep breath. “Okay. Shay…that’s your name, right?”

I nod.

“Okay, Shay. You and Anders know each other from high school. You haven’t seen each other since then, am I right? So, this is a bit of a coincidence, don’t you think? You both meeting again like this. And now Anders, you want to take her to her hotel and just drop her off and that’s it?” She looks at him, eyes narrowing briefly. “No. I’m sorry. No to both of you. Shay, my name is Lise. You’ve met Astrid. Anders is our brother. Our brother isn’t to be listened to, he’s just gotten off a ship after being at sea for three weeks and his brain isn’t working properly. You know how people get sea legs? He gets sea brain. Please forgive him. And forgive my English too.”

I’m about to tell her that her English is fine when she powers on.

“What I think we need to do, unless you happen to have a business meeting in the next hour or so, is head to the bar in the old town, have a few drinks, and discuss what a crazy thing this is, yes?”

Suddenly the back hatch pops open and luggage is thrown in, shaking the car. Then Astrid climbs into the driver’s seat while the passenger side opens and a tall, lanky guy with a beard gets in. It must always be lumberjack season in Norway.

“Okay!” Astrid says, clapping her hands together. “We have a full car today! Roar, this is Shay. It’s Shay, right?”

I nod. “Nice to meet you Roar.”

Roar turns in his seat and smiles at me. He’s got a goofy face that balances the beard. “Same to you. Astrid says you’re a friend of Anders.”

“Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure out,” Lise says from beside me. “He wants to drop her off at her hotel.”

“I didn’t say that,” Anders protests gruffly.

“Ha!” Astrid says, starting the car. “You’re coming with us to the bar first. Then we’ll take you to your hotel. You’re our hostage now.”

Lise pipes up beside me, says something else in Norwegian.

Anders looks at me. I can’t read him. I’m not sure if I want to.

Being dropped off at my hotel probably would be for the best though, but then what? I would spend the rest of the night, the rest of my days here, maybe even the rest of my life, wondering just what the hell happened.

I can’t pretend I didn’t come to this country hoping this would happen.

Hoping, secretly, without my heart knowing it.

But I know it now.

And this shouldn’t have been possible.

So I think I owe it at least that.

Even though I don’t owe him a thing.

Everyone is staring at me, waiting for an answer.

“I’d love to have a drink,” I say, as Astrid pulls out of the parking lot. Not sure I had much choice in that anyway.

I can see Anders frowning out of the corner of my vision. He turns around and nods. “A drink it is.”

“Good,” Astrid says, stepping on the gas so hard my head goes flying back against the headrest. “Sorry!” she says, winking at me in the mirror.

“Is this your first time in Trondheim?” Lise asks