42. Ask Tara What You Should Have Asked Her Seven Years Ago
ASK TARA WHAT YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED HER SEVEN YEARS AGO
WILL
When I left the apartment, the anger I’d been feeling had meant that I was numb to the other emotions her words had raised within me.
When Annie had said she wasn’t sure she was staying, it was like being transported back seven years once again, and I’m forced to just accept that things are always on Annie’s terms.
But this time, I’m the one who walked away.
I drove to Chris and Morgan’s place on auto-pilot and immediately told them what had happened. Morgan deserves to know the truth just as much as I do, and her face dropped when I repeat Annie’s words.
“But… she seemed like she was ready to put everything behind her and start again?” Morgan says, repeating the same words she’s been saying since Chris peeled out of here.
He hasn’t yet had his chance to let Annie know how he feels, and for once, I have no interest in protecting her. She needs to hear how much she’s hurt everyone, not just me.
“She mentioned Tara has been trying to tell her she should stay,” I reply, twisting my mug in my hand .
The coffee inside of it has turned ice cold while I’ve stared at it, trying to make sense of how things have changed so much in the span of one night. When we’d finally fallen asleep after our marathon sex session, I truly thought this was it. That we were starting over.
To have her drop the bomb that she isn’t sure if she’s going to stick around was not what I was expecting when she’d told me she had something to tell me. I hadn’t really known what to expect… but it wasn’t that.
“Maybe you should go see Tara? She’s the person who knows Lis best these days.”
I can tell Morgan is bitter about that and wonder how long it’s going to be before she either gets on the phone to Annie herself, or if she’s going to tag team with Chris and go smack some sense into her.
“Yeah. Maybe I should. As much as I’m angry with her right now, I don’t want to lose her again, Morgan.” My voice cracks, and I take a breath to keep a lid on my emotions.
Morgan rubs my shoulder, her eyes flashing. “I could kick her ass right now. What the hell is she thinking?”
I shrug. “I think she’s spent so many years running that she’s forgotten what it’s like to be happy. I thought we’d made progress over the last week… I guess I was wrong.”
“You weren’t wrong. You were making progress. I was seeing signs of the old Annelisa over the weekend. She’s still in there. Maybe… Maybe this time, you need to fight for her?”
I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well, last time, you were so hellbent on letting her have the space she wanted that you completely ignored poor Tara for months… Maybe, this time… You should ask Tara what you should have asked her seven years ago.”
“And what was it I should have asked her?” I ask.
“For her to help you get Lis back, you dummy.” Morgan smacks me up the back of my head, and I duck away .
“Hey, no need for violence,” I say. “I don’t want to drag Tara into the middle of all this again. She and I are finally in a good place.”
I still regret how poorly I handled things with Tara when Annie first left, and I don’t want to lose the friendship we’ve rebuilt.
“Aiden told you that Tara would definitely tell you where she went if Lis ran away again. Maybe she can help you from stopping that happening this time. Go talk to her.”
I consider her words before shaking my head. “I can’t do that to Tara, Morgan.”
“Will Anderson. Do not make me hit you again,” Morgan replies, raising her hand towards the back of my head again.
I duck out of the way and bat her hand away. “Seriously, when did you become so violent?”
“When you became so stupid, apparently. Go and see Tara. Do not make me tell you again.”
I sigh, getting to my feet. “Fine, I’ll go see her. Message me if Chris gets back and tells you he broke Annie.”
“Will do.”
She sees me out, and once I’m back in my ute, I let out a long breath, shaking my head.
Seriously, how has this day gone to such shit so quickly?
When I pull up at Tara’s place, I sit in the car for a few minutes while I try to work out what I should say. The first few years after Annie left, my friendship with her sister went severely downhill, and that was all my fault. Can I really ask her to get caught in the middle of all this?
I guess there’s only one way to find out.
“Will? Hey.” Tara opens the door with raised eyebrows.
I usually call before I just show up, and it’s clear I’ve surprised her .
“Hey. Have you heard from Annie this morning?” I ask, realising too late that this conversation might set off alarm bells for her, given how it went the last time I asked her that question.
She shakes her head, frowning. “No… Why? What’d she do now?”
I give her a brief rundown of our conversation earlier, and her expression darkens.
She waves me inside before turning and heading further inside.
Confused, I follow her, shutting the door behind me. Aiden is sitting on the couch with Brandie, playing a game of Uno, and he looks up at me with a raised eyebrow.
“What’s going on?”
“Annelisa,” Tara replies, continuing on to the kitchen.
Aiden sighs.
The fact that he doesn’t require any further information is a little depressing.
I follow Tara, entering the kitchen to find her scrolling through her phone, before putting it to her ear.
After a moment, she pulls the phone away and her brows move closer together as she stares at the screen.
“What is it?” I ask.
“It went straight to voicemail.”
I let out a long breath. “Great. She’s probably turned her phone off after Chris went around to chew her out.”
“I’m gonna call Mum to see if she’s heard anything from her. She’s meant to be coming home next week, so Annelisa won’t have just disappeared when she’s taking care of her apartment…”
Shit… now their mother is involved?
Before I can protest, Tara presses her mother’s name on the phone and puts it on speaker.
“Hi Tara.” It’s been years since I’ve heard Stella Richard’s voice, and it feels strange hearing it now.
“Hi Mum. Sorry, this isn’t a social call. I’ve got Will here with me and - ”
Stella cuts her off. “Will? Annelisa’s Will?”
“Hi Stella,” I say, figuring it’s best she knows I can hear her.
“Will! This is a surprise. How have you been?”
“Not a social call, remember Mum?” Tara says, shaking her head.
“Right, sorry. What can I help you both with?”
“Have you heard from Annelisa at all today?”
“Actually, yes. I spoke to her about twenty minutes ago.”
Tara’s shoulders lower a little and she lets out a breath. “Thank God. So she’s okay?”
“Well, she sounded a bit frazzled, and she’s heading back to London earlier than planned.”
Tara’s gaze meets mine, and I wonder if my expression matches the shocked look on her face. “What?! When is she going?”
“Today. She said she had some things she needed to take care of and was checking if I was fine for her to leave before I came back. I figured the plants would be fine for a few days on their own, so I told her it was okay. Why? What’s going on?
Why’s Will there?” Stella’s tone has shifted and I can tell she’s concerned.
“Well… I guess Annelisa hasn’t been keeping you updated on stuff while she’s been here, but she ended up seeing everyone again, and well…” Tara looks up at me, looking like she’s struggling to come up with the right words.
“Annie and I were back in contact,” I chime in.
Stella is quiet for a moment. “So, reading between the lines of those statements… Annelisa and Will rekindled their relationship, and she has done a runner after having to deal with her feelings?”
I guess it’s not hard to see where Tara gets her ability to read people so well.
“That’s it in a nutshell,” Tara replies.
Stella sighs. “I’d really hoped she’d changed this time. I’m sorry, Will. She was on her way to the airport when she called me. Have you tried calling her? ”
“Tara just tried, and it went straight to voicemail,” I say, struggling to keep my tone even.
This all just went from bad to worse. I thought I had time to convince her to stay and give us a chance, but now she’s gone again.
Tara finishes up the conversation with Stella and hangs up, letting out a long breath while she studies my face.
“Will… I’m going to do something I should have done seven years ago.” She taps around on her phone screen for a moment.
She eventually stops, and my phone pings. I check my phone to see she’s sent me Annie’s contact card… including an address in London. I look back at her, and she shrugs.
“Last time, you were all noble and let her have her space, and look where that got you - seven years of misery for both of you. It’s obvious to everyone that you two are meant to be.
It’s time that idiot big sister of mine realised that.
And if she can’t work it out on her own, then it’s my job as her little sister to meddle and help you bring her home. ”
I look down at the address again. “I can’t just go to London, Tara. It’s clear that she needs time to think.”
Tara makes a little strangled noise as she shakes her head.
“She has done more than enough thinking. At the very least, she needs to see that you’re willing to fight for her.
” She puts her hands on her hips, and the pose looks so like Kylie that I smile, despite the turmoil I’m in. “Do you love my idiot sister, William?”
I sigh. “Yeah.”
“Then fucking bring her home.”