Julia grinned at her sister and eyed the bag. “What did you get? Anything good?”
“A sweater,” Annie said, handing her the bag. “Mom and Dad must be gone.”
“Their car left twenty minutes ago.” Julia’s smile only got wider, and Annie couldn’t blame her for that. Yesterday had been a very long day filled with tension and eggshells, and Annie had never taken more painkillers in one day than she had yesterday.
“I know you don’t want to do the Promise stuff,” Julia said. “Which is fine. But come hang out.” She nodded to the table filled with all manner of delicious things. “Helen’s obviously here; she’ll be out in a few minutes. She ran into a guest she knows inside.” Julia sank into a padded wicker chair with a sigh. Annie sat beside her and nodded to Maddy, who lifted a steaming cup of coff
