Cold Secrets

-M. Lauren

Chapter Eight

"So…" Anna began slowly, singing into the phone. "Do you have anything you want to tell me?"

Elsa rubbed at her eyes. She looked at the clock. It was minutes after eight on Saturday morning. Her hair was mused from the pillow, and sheet marks engraved into her fair skin.

"You're going to have to be more specific…" She whispered groggily. Elsa flopped onto her back.

"Did I wake you up? That's impossible! You're always awake before me!"

"Long night…" Elsa hummed. "Now, go on."

"Right, okay- so, I spoke with the afternoon teacher at Millie's daycare yesterday…" Anna's lips curled as she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me you went to the beach with Ryder and his mother?"

Elsa's eyes widened. She sat up straight, allowing the sheets fall to her waist. Words caught on her tongue, and as her mouth opened; all that released was a jumbled bunch of sounds.

Anna laughed. "I'm not mad! I'm just curious... Why wouldn't you tell me about this?"

Sighing, Elsa bit down on her lip. "I… didn't want you to jump to conclusions..."

"Oh, and why would I have done that?" She knowingly hummed.

"Because…" Elsa thought to continue, but her mind tied together between emotions. The next words to leave her mouth surprised even her. "-because you might have been right about the library thing! Alright?"

Smirking, Anna's eyes lowered. Man, did she wish she could see her sister's face right now. It was probably red with embarrassment as she fidgeted with her hands and nails.

"So, it wasn't the old books that caught your eye, then?"

Elsa internally groaned. "Not exactly… you see, Honeymaren and I work together. We ran into each other at Millie's daycare, but I think she was interested before then... She started bringing me coffee… and we went out on a date…"

She had whispered that last part, however it didn't matter. Anna had caught every word.

"I'm sorry, but battling two toddlers at the beach together doesn't exactly count as a date, you know?"

"No…" Elsa uncomfortably sang. "That wasn't the date I was talking about… the real date was on Friday… yesterday…"

Anna was silent for a moment. She'd either passed out from shock, or she had her hand held over the speaker while she squealed. Neither would surprise Elsa, and she rolled her eyes at the thought.

"-and how was it?" When Anna's voice came again, it was calm; very mellow.

"I thought it went fine, but…" Elsa fell back onto her bed. Her hand dragged across her face. "-but she cut it off, alright?"

Hearing the words leave her sister's mouth with a snap, Anna's eyes widened. "Wait, what? She dumped you right after the date? She couldn't just, I don't know, wait and ignore your calls like a normal person?"

"It's more… complicated than that." Elsa rolled onto her side, dragging her pillow with her. "It's her son, and her ex. Her life is…"

Elsa's voice trailed off. When she refused to finish, Anna stepped in for her.

"Complicated? Well, yeah. Whose life isn't?"

Anna was coming in strong in her defense, yet it didn't make Elsa feel any better. Honeymaren had given her no reason to be upset with her. She was only doing what she felt was best for her son and herself. It was honorable of her, really; not to lead Elsa on. She cut things off before they could being, and that was fair.

"She said she can't date right now, and I don't blame her! Besides, this isn't the worst case scenario. I wasn't even certain I wanted to go out with her in the first place."

Again, no response came from Anna. There was the occasional click of her tongue, and the tapping of her fingers against something solid. Elsa knew she was mulling over dangerous thoughts. Her nerves continued to increase as she waited for Anna's voice to return.

"Are you home?" Her reply was short.

"Um, yes… why?"

"I'm coming over!" Anna announced, before quickly hanging up the phone.

Knowing full-well her sister planned to jump right in the car; Elsa forewent the shower she'd been looking forward to. She replaced her sleep pants with black tights, and threw her hair into a bun. There was no real salvaging her appearance anyway. She'd hardly slept. Her mind kept reeling, and if Elsa was being honest; she didn't much care if her sister could see that she was hurting.

And hurting, she most certainly was. That was made all too clear when Anna walked through her door twenty minutes later.

She entered the living room. Her eyes were driven wide by the sight. Elsa sat cross legged on the couch while she clutched a cup of coffee between her hands. Her usually put-together sister appeared disheveled and tired. Blonde hair fell chaotically over the top of her head. Makeup stained the skin beneath Elsa's eyes. Her lips pulled to the side, and her shoulders shrugged.

Anna dragged the ottoman in front of Elsa. She sat, and her brows drew low.

"Did you like her?" It was the first question that came to mind. She'd been wondering about it since before she hung up the phone.

"What?"

"Honeymaren, do you like her?"

Bottom lip quivering, Elsa's attention diverted to the side wall. "I- I think so…" She whispered, wondering why the words had been so difficult for her to say aloud.

Anna hummed. "That certainly explains the mess, then."

"What mess?" Her eyes flashed around the tidy room.

Anna chuckled as she returned Elsa's shirt strap back to its shoulder. "You; you're the mess."

Frowning, Elsa set down her coffee. Her arms crossed, and she drew further away from Anna's hands. "If you came here to make fun of me; don't. I already feel foolish enough!"

"No, no!" Anna bat her hands. She came to sit beside her. "I'm here because I'm your sister. You went on a date! That's a big deal, Elsa! Well… for you, anyway…"

Anna felt her flinch in irritation. She ignored it, and took Elsa under her arm. It took a long moment, but she eventually relaxed. Elsa's head fell against Anna's shoulder, and her knees tucked tight into her chest.

"I'm sorry it didn't go well..." Her fingers brushed down Elsa's arm. "What did Honeymaren say, exactly- when she cut things off? Was it at the end of the date or… oh no! She didn't leave you somewhere, did she?"

Elsa softly shook her head. "No, she took me home... There were some issues, I think, with her son's father. She said she needed to pick Ryder up, and that she shouldn't date anymore."

"-but not that she didn't want to, right?" Anna adjusted in her seat to see Elsa better. "She said she couldn't date you, but only because things were hard at home?"

Elsa nodded, pulling herself upright. "I think so... She didn't look like she was having a bad time when we went out. It wasn't until she felt guilty about cutting the date short, that she decided to call things off…"

"Interesting…" Anna hummed. She taped a finger against her chin. "You know, her son Ryder has been at that school for as long as Millie has. I think they even started the same week..."

"Where is Millie, by the way?" Elsa frowned.

"Right now, probably drinking water from Sven's dog dish… 'Dad Duty'." She explained with a laugh. "-but Millie isn't my concern right now. I'm on 'Sister Duty', so let's figure this out together, alright?"

She sighed. Elsa's hands returned to her cup, and she hid her face behind its brim. "There's nothing to figure out, Anna. Honeymaren made her case. I have to respect that."

"Not necessarily…" Anna's eyes began to glow.

"Whatever you are thinking, put it away. I know that look, and I don't like it!"

"I wasn't thinking anything like that!"

"What?" Elsa baited behind an arched brow. "You weren't thinking of having me do something slutty?"

Anna's jaw dropped. She smacked Elsa playfully in the arm. "No! Not slutty…"

"Good, because I'm not you!"

Soon, Elsa's face mimicked Anna's. She was laughing as her sister pinched her side.

"It's not slutty!" Anna defended. Her voice rose sharply. "It's clever! Now, do you want to hear me out?"

"Fine," Elsa grumbled and set down her cup.

Crossing her legs, Anna turned to face her fully. "Okay, so Honeymaren's got a kid."

"Yes, Anna. We know this already…"

She shot Elsa a feigned glare. "Let me finish, or I am taking away family game nights!"

Elsa teased her by rolling her eyes. She knew Anna was more than aware of her personal dislike for game nights.

"So, Ryder…" Anna continued with a huff. "He's young. He requires a lot of attention, and he's being raised by a single working mom. That's a lot for any kid, but let's take a look at Honeymaren, shall we?… In the full year we've been at that school, I've never seen Ryder picked up by anyone other than her. Sometimes her mother, I assume, will go with her; but raising kids is a full-time job for even two people. And you mentioned an, ex…"

She watched Anna's eyes lower to her. "I know nothing." Elsa shrugged. "She said things weren't great between them."

"Hmm, I see. That really only adds to her already-stuffed plate..." Anna sighed.

It appeared her sister was finally grasping the issue here.

"Now you understand why I have to leave it be? Honeymaren's life is chaotic, and I would only make things harder for her..."

Anna's head tilted to the side. "Why harder? Why couldn't you make her life better; easier, even?"

"I don't know…" Elsa stared hard at her hands. "I guess I wouldn't want to complicate things further for her."

Shaking her head, she pulled Elsa's attention back to her face. "I don't think that's the issue here, Elsa. No, Honeymaren's concern is that she doesn't want you to feel burdened or neglected by all she has going on… That's why she cut things off."

Her brows wavered. "Oh…" Elsa hummed.

Anna smirked, lips laying flat against her cheeks. "Well, what do you think? The question you need to answer for yourself is whether or not you think you could handle all that Honeymaren has going on. If her life became a part of your life, could you deal with short dates, sick kids, and battles between exes?"

Elsa shrugged again, and her shoulders fixed. "I think I could… I mean, I would always try to."

"I know you would, too, and I think that's why this is hurting you so much. You put yourself out there, Elsa! You took a crazy, random leap into something new, but then you weren't given the opportunity to try and make things work after… You took a risk for the first time in forever, and I think you should ride that wave and take another one. "

Elsa stood quickly with her mug in hand. "Okay, listen... None of this changes anything! It doesn't matter what I feel, or what I think about what I couldn't do. You're supposed to be comforting me! Not making me feel worse…"

She made a beeline for the kitchen, but Anna was hot on her heels.

"No…" She continued. "It's my job to help problem solve, and that's exactly what I am trying to do for you!"

Moving in front of the sink, Elsa ran the hot water. "I don't have any problems that currently need solving, thank you…"

Anna huffed. Her sister was so stubborn. She jumped onto the counter and sat beside Elsa while she started in on the dishes.

"-but you do, don't you see that? You're not the problem here, Elsa. She is… or at least, Honeymaren thinks she is… but anyway, my point is, you don't want to complicate things, yet I think you could actually be a solution; one Honeymaren hadn't expected to find. If you prove to her- tell her that you can handle her life while its at its worst; you will show her that a relationship with you is worth the investment. You both will learn that even the good stuff comes with sacrifice! I think that's your next move, however, it's entirely up to you if you want to make it or not..."

Elsa didn't respond, but Anna could see she'd gotten through to her. She was desperately scrubbing her mug clean. Her teeth were grit, and her eyes flickered as she mulled over her thoughts.

"Make yourself useful." Elsa finally said. She tossed a dish towel at Anna's face. Catching it, Anna smiled.

Yeah… she'd gotten through to her.

Cheers,

-M.