The Big Fish by Madison Henley (best free e reader .TXT) 📕

could’ve sworn her heart had dropped to her stomach. The sound of whistle came racing back into Meredith’s eardrum so loud that she lunged forward in her seat and made way for the field. Gabrielle was hurt.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Keliah sat on the veranda outside of the cottage and watched the quiet, ethereal scenery in front of her. She had snagged a black beanie from Georgia’s coat closet as well as a fleece jacket of hers, however she was only wearing boxer briefs on her bottom and argyle socks on her feet that were too thin for her liking if you asked her. Her face paled and her breath hitched as a soft wind picked up and crept in her skin. She was beyond freezing, but she needed to get out of the cabin as quickly as possible before Georgia woke up. She had scattered around her room, trying to find a suitable pair of pants but most of her suitcases were still in Georgia’s car and God forbid she walk near that thing and some alarm goes off. So she sat in the biting cold, goosebumps covering her bare flesh, and closed her eyes listening to the satisfying sounds of nature. She squinted her eyes as if it would rid her of the images forever stored in her memory bank of last night’s events but her powers of recall were strong as ever and all Keliah could do was flutter her eyes back open. The water was a deep cerulean wash now and the trees were virescent as ever. Keliah sighed and continued to swing her legs back in forth in the rocker. Even with her eyes open, she could still see the unfortunate events that took place just some measly seven hours ago.

 Keliah had pulled away from Georgia, her eyes dark with lust and her lips parted, soft, rapid breaths escaping from them. She had muttered something incoherent before running to her room and locking the door behind her. Several expletives were muttered into her pillow that night and not under the circumstances she wanted them to be. Georgia’s temerarious behavior had sent Keliah so deep into shock; her initial response was to run. The first time Georgia shows her any type of endearment and she runs away? Georgia probably spent the entire night building her walls with a thicker, sturdier substance, vowing to never again let them back down.

“Hey,”

Georgia’s voice, as husky and velvet as it was, startled Keliah. Keliah looked up to see her leaning through the doorway barefoot with just trousers and a checkered flannel on. Her arms were folded across her chest to contain her warmth and her face was still printed with her pillow as if she just had woken up.

“I made coffee. Come inside.”

Keliah followed Georgia inside to the kitchen and took a seat at the stool her coffee was placed in front of while Georgia’s back faced her as she fixed herself a pot of

tea on the stove.

“Where’s your pants?”

Georgia chuckled quietly, turning to face Keliah, leaning her elbows on the counter.

“Uh, in your car.”

“And why is that?”

Keliah raised her mug to her lips and took a lengthy swallow, preparing her next words carefully.

“Uh, we never got the suitcases out...We had to carry in the tree.”

Keliah reminded Georgia.

“Oh. Right.”

Georgia turned around just when her pot started whirling and poured the hot liquid into her cup, closing her eyes as she took her first sip.

“So I know it’s early but the earlier we get there, the better.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just get dressed.”

Georgia reached in her drawer and threw Keliah the keys to her truck.

“Here are my keys. You’ll need your pants for this.”

***

As Georgia drove, she tapped a mindless beat with her thumbs against the steering wheel. Keliah sat plastered in the passenger seat, fearing that if she showed any sign of life, Georgia would strike up a conversation with her about last night. She figured staying still would deny her presence. The ride was exceedingly silent. Such tension filled the air, it made Keliah want to scream. She stuck her tongue in her cheek, staring at Georgia using her peripheral vision. She might as well get it over with so her and Georgia can at least enjoy the rest of their Christmas break before they never speak to each other again.

“I’m s—”

Before Keliah could get a word in, Georgia cut her off with a drawn out assessment of nature.

“You know, it’s absolutely beautiful out here. Still to this day it’s astonishing the many things Mother Nature can do.”

Keliah turned to look at Georgia who was smiling off into the distance. She seemed completely unaffected by last night. Keliah rolled her eyes. The walls were back. Keliah had worked so hard to tear them down; it was going to take forever to do it again. She sulked back in her seat and stared out the window. The snow began to fall heavily and Keliah counted the snowflakes to distract her mind from having an anxiety attack.

Georgia tightened her grip on her steering wheel. Her soft humming turned more into a groan as time passed. The events from sat night were still etched into her brain. She was upset, angry, and embarrassed. She paused for a moment, deciding which response she was feeling the most.

Anger it was.

Georgia’s jaw was set and her eyes narrowed. She was sure her grip on the steering wheel was going to tear off the expensive leather, yet she held it tighter. It was everything in her power she could not to demand an answer for Keliah’s foul behavior last night. The one time she lets her guard down and Keliah runs away? Fucking fine. Keliah was right, the walls were back and were