Cold Secrets

-M. Lauren

Chapter Twenty-Four

"I heard from one of the department heads this morning- Elsa took off the entire week from school. She's teaching online until after the holiday..."

"The whole week?" Anna moaned. She slumped back in her chair.

Across from her, Honeymaren nodded painfully. "We should never have kept it going this long... I should have told her!"

"It's not your fault," her hand rested over Honeymaren's. "I instigated it! This is all on me."

"Yeah, but I kept it going. I'm just as at fault now…" She pulled back and turned away.

Anna sighed, staring at the side of Honeymaren's face. There were dark circles under her eyes and a slight paleness to her cheeks. It was evident she hadn't slept at all the night prior. She had probably laid there tossing and turning, just as Anna had.

"What do we do now?" Honeymaren whispered, her stare still fixed to the wall.

"I… I don't know." Anna slid further down in her chair. "Elsa won't talk to me. She won't answer my calls or respond to my texts... She wouldn't even open the door when I went by her apartment! She hasn't shut me out like this since we were dealing with what happened to our parents."

"She cut me out, too…" Honeymaren's head buried against her shoulder. She bit into her bottom lip and groaned.

"Well, for starters, Elsa needs to know the truth; the whole truth, and not just what she could gather from our text messages."

Frowning, she shook her head at Anna. "That'll make it worse… so much worse."

"It's going to get worse before it gets better, but what other option do we have? Elsa's already hurting, but she'll come around!" Anna curled into her neck, taking her coffee between both hands.

"-come around to you, maybe… but I think after all this, Elsa's going to be done with me for good. I lied to her, Anna… I took it too far… I played with her head! I'm no better than Helga in her mind!"

"Okay, okay! Let's not jump to conclusions here. That's a little extreme, even for someone who's been through things like Elsa has." Anna soothed.

"-but it's true! How will Elsa ever look at me the same again, knowing our entire relationship was a lie?"

"Not all of it!" She defended. "-just the beginning… Your feelings for her are real. Anyone can see that."

Honeymaren stubbornly rolled her eyes. "I don't think Elsa's going to see it that way..."

"Listen, Elsa is hurt, but she's probably more embarrassed than anything else- and that's on me! Not you... Let me try and smooth things over again. I'm sure she'll talk to you after she understands why I did what I did. Elsa's stubborn, but she's not heartless…" Anna's lips pulled to the side.

She watched Honeymaren's face gradually redden. Her hands hardened into tight fists over the table. With her back pulling straight, Honeymaren suddenly stood. She was on her feet and frantically shaking her head.

"No, Anna, this was a mistake; all of it! In two weeks, you and I will never have to see each other again, and I think that's for the best. I need to put all of this behind me, for Ryder's sake... I should have never gotten involved in the first place." She pulled her bag over her shoulder and took her coffee between her hands.

"Maren, wait! We can fix-"

"I'm sorry, Anna. I know what you were trying to do, and I appreciate it, but this should never have happened..."

Quickly walking away, Honeymaren exited the coffee shop. Anna stayed glued to the seat, staring after her. Everything had spiralled so fast. She couldn't keep up. Her attempt to help both Honeymaren and her sister had ended terribly, and she was directly at the center of why.

Kristoff was right, though- this was what Anna got for meddling in Elsa's affairs; especially when she'd been so thorough in asking her to butt out in the first place.

Her apartment was spotless. Floor to ceiling, each and every room had been scrubbed clean. Overhead fans were dusted. The kitchen and bath were mopped and bleached, and the scent of lemon cleaner permeated the air.

It had been a long three days of reorganizing. She'd sorted through all of her clothes, made piles for donations, and now she was free to relax and enjoy all her hard work.

It was the relaxing part that wouldn't come easily, however. Try as she might, Elsa's mind would not settle. There was a weight on her chest that had her attention pulling right back to days prior. Everytime it did, she found herself moving on to a new project. It was an endless cycle; one she wished she could crawl out of, but this kind of hurt was new. It was unwelcome.

And it was, unfortunately, here to stay.

She was dropping another bag in the hallway when a knock sounded at the door. Elsa instantly tensed. Her eyes swept slowly through the kitchen before her shoulders released.

It was her take-out…

Shutting Anna and Honeymaren out of her life had been easier said than done. Turning her phone off was simple. Canceling her classes was slightly more difficult, but it had to be done. Anna, though, she was persistent. Before and after work each day she'd stopped by to knock on her door. It had Elsa feeling tense; on edge...

She was tired. She needed space. Elsa didn't think it was all that much to ask for; especially after everything Anna had put her through.

But she'd been wrong before.

With a sigh, Elsa approached the door. For good measure, she checked the peephole first. There was a man on the other side in a delivery uniform, and Elsa allowed herself to relax.

She pulled it open with a small grin.

"Elsa Aren," he asked, and she simply nodded. "You're all set."

Elsa accepted the bag. "Thank you."

After a quick grin, the man was retreating down the hall. Elsa shrugged before spinning on her toes, and kicked the door closed behind her.

It connected with something soft. The click of the door jamb never came, yet there was a large bang when the handle collided with the far wall.

Startled, Elsa spun around. A hand caught the door before it closed, and that hand belonged to none other than her sister.

She shook her head, moving forward with her hand to the door. "Out! Get out!"

"Elsa, please, wait!"

Anna fought to keep the door open as Elsa tried to close it on her.

"Five minutes! Please, five minutes! That's all I ask, and then I'll leave!" She pleaded desperately.

With her weight still braced against the door and her head turned away, Elsa didn't move. Her brow furrowed. Her teeth grit. Until finally, she growled and stepped back.

Anna overbalanced as she fell on her way into the apartment.

"You have five minutes, and then leave. No arguments."

Anna was left to pick herself up from off the floor. She closed the door behind her and hurried after Elsa.

Her food sitting neglected on the coffee table in the living room, Elsa had returned to folding clothes at the foot of the couch. She wouldn't look at Anna, her attention staying strictly focused on her hands.

"You're wasting what little time you have. Start talking," she chided.

"Elsa, I-" Anna looked at her feet. She was towering above her sister, but had never felt smaller than she did in that moment. "I'm sorry…"

"I gathered that much, thank you," she uttered dryly.

"I'm trying!" Anna breathed. Her ears tucked into her shoulders. "I don't know where to start or what to say!"

Laughing through her nose, Elsa's eyes rolled. "You've been so desperate to get in here, but you never stopped to think of what you'd say? Why don't I save you the trouble... I don't want you to say anything! I don't want to hear it! I need and want to be left alone."

"-but Thanksgiving's tomorrow… You can't- you still have to come!"

Elsa didn't respond. Her pile of to-be-folded clothes was growing smaller and she slowed in her efforts. Her attention remained diverted.

"I'm your family, Elsa. Forget about everything else, please! That's still where you're meant to be!"

Standing, Elsa took the clothes in her hands. She crossed to the bedroom, leaving Anna to follow.

"You're right. We are family, but then again; you haven't exactly been acting like a sister, have you?"

Anna watched her slide her clothes into drawers before moving toward the closet. "I never meant to hurt you, Elsa… I was trying to help!"

"Help?" She turned sharply. Her arms crossed. "If you were trying to help me you would have left me alone! You would have liked me the way I was, and left me to go at my own pace!"

"I do like you the way you are, and we were going to tell you!" Anna promised.

"Someone should have! Do you have any idea how blindsided I am? How awful and humiliated I feel?" Elsa's face contorted. She quelled her emotions by lowering her brow.

"I- We never meant-"

"Tell me," Elsa demanded. "Tell me how you know her?"

Anna's eyes widened. She reeled in a deep breath and bit her lip. "I'm Ryder's case worker… for the trial…"

Many emotions creased across Elsa's face all at once. She shook them away. "Well, it appears your unethical practices know no bounds." Her arms pulled tighter over her chest.

Anna stepped forward, but Elsa held up her hand. "It didn't start out that way! I promise you that! I was helping her with the case. I got Ryder into Millie's daycare... For months, it was only work!"

"-but then you made me your side project. Because fixing the single mother wasn't enough for you, so you went ahead and threw the single sister into the mix as well?"

Jaw wavering, Anna's hands fell to her side. "I wanted you to let someone in… someone other than me… When I met Maren, I thought she could be a good friend. You'd both been through so much, and she was nice! She became more than a client to me. She was my friend, too! I knew you would like her the same if you just got to know her, and you worked at the same place... I didn't even consider that you'd become involved in the way that you did; not until it was already happening-"

"-but then you backed off, right? You set up your friendship game, and then you let me figure out the rest on my own?" Anna started to respond, but Elsa cut her off, "Save it! I saw everything. You had your hands on everything, Anna! Every minute of my relationship you were right there making sure it happened for me!"

"It wasn't like that, I promise! It wasn't supposed to be like that!" Anna pleaded for her to understand.

"I thought I did it myself! I thought there was something special about me! I believed the coffee was a fluke thing, and that Maren was interested in getting to know the person I am! But then I find out you were orchestrating the whole thing... You knew about the library, and the date I turned down with her! Anna, you knew about everything before I told-"

Elsa's voice broke. She turned her back on Anna. When a hand touched her shoulder, she quickly shrugged it off.

"It's time for you to go," she heard Anna take a step back.

"I- I just wanted you to be happy… and when I saw Maren might make that happen, I wanted to do everything in my power to make sure it did… but neither of us meant to hurt you! I promise..."

Elsa's arms grew limp and she held them against her waist. She felt tears sliding down her cheeks.

"And you did do it yourself, Elsa! Maren didn't fall for me, or the person I painted for her. She fell in love with you!"

Shaking her head, Elsa drew in a short breath. "Go," she called over her shoulder. "-just go..."

Defeated, Anna's eyes fell to the floor. She took a single step backwards, and then another.

"Please come tomorrow…" she whispered. "If not for me, please come for Millie…"

Elsa didn't move, nor did she respond. She waited until the far door opened and closed behind her sister before turning back around. Lightheaded, she dropped to the edge of the bed. Her head fell into her hands.

Maren hadn't fallen for Elsa; she had fallen for the game Anna designed.

Cheers,

M.