The Truth About Us

“You know as well as I do, your grandfather doesn’t need the money. And neither do we.”

Her mother curled Abby’s fingers over her palm, trapping the keys inside her hand until she felt the metal dig into her skin.

“The only reason we didn’t buy you a car before now was out of principal. We thought you should wait, but things have changed,” she said, letting the implication of her words hang in the air between them—GG was gone, which made everything different. “Take it for a spin. Get some fresh air like your dad and grandfather are doing. Get your mind off everything. Or just enjoy the car. Maybe it will be good for you, a way to heal.”

Abby nodded, accepting the gift, unsure of how she really felt about it. But she wasn’t one to dwell. She took the offering and flashed her mother a smile of gratitude before leaving.

Fresh air greeted her as she opened the front door and stepped outside. She inhaled, clearing her head. When her gaze found the car, she assessed the yellow Bug gleaming in the sunlight, and a pang of loss settled in her gut.

Where would she go? Should she pick up Cammie like her mother suggested?

The keys dangled from her grip, as she imagined hanging out with her friend. The last thing she wanted to do was pretend like she was okay.

Shifting the bag over her shoulder, the weight of the journal inside beckoned her. Abby could care less about the promise of a trust fund, but she did care about GG’s final wishes. The letter inside the jewelry box, the meeting at the park and the journal—all those things had to have been orchestrated by her grandmother’s lawyer.

Maybe it was time to pay him a visit? She had questions, and she was pretty sure he had the answers. There had to be a deeper significance of the book than the obvious, and it was clearly linked to GG’s secret.

If she wanted to find out more, starting with him sounded like as good a place as any.

CHAPTER FOUR

It’s just a car. It’s just a car. It’s just a car. Abby chanted as she pressed her foot against the accelerator and drove.

She took shallow breaths so as not to inhale the vanilla-rose scent of her grandmother’s perfume, which clung to the upholstery in the small space. Memories pushed on her every thought, knocking with urgency to be let in, but she refused to acknowledge them. She didn’t want to think of her grandmother driving, how she had looked behind the wheel, or how much she loved the pale-yellow paint of her Beetle Bug. It was safer to focus on the GPS and the sound of the computer-generated voice that told her to take the next turn. Anything but the way she felt inside.

She took in the bright blue sky, heavy traffic, and the buzz of pedestrians flitting in and out of shops. The compact car weaved in and out of traffic with ease, heading through Fairfax toward Brambleton, a comfortable suburb of Washington D.C. in Loudoun County.

Though Abby had never been, as she drove through town and approached her destination, the neighborhoods appeared like many of the other diverse ones she had visited in the county. Over the years, Loudon’s population had exploded, converting what was once rural farmland into a highly populated, buzzing, high-class suburb. It was a beautiful area. Still, as Abby made the thirty-minute drive, she couldn’t help but wonder why GG chose a lawyer from here, instead of one located right in Fairfax.

At least he was amenable. All it took was a phone call after she left home, and he had agreed to meet her at his office on a Sunday.

She turned onto 606 East and drove for several miles until she closed in on the Brambleton Town Center, and her GPS signaled her arrival. She pulled into the crowded lot and drove in front of the huge strip mall. The expansive shopping center boasted yogurt shops, restaurants, a cinema, and local businesses, along with clothing boutiques. Among them, she found Klein & Sons Attorneys.

She found a parking space within a reasonable distance, turned off the ignition, and inhaled, taking in the scent of her grandmother’s perfume, still lingering despite her absence. The floral notes hit her like a punch to the ribs as memories flooded her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she rested her head back against the seat, not yet ready to face anyone and pretend like her grandmother’s memory wasn’t eating her alive inside. Images of lazy Sundays spent together, holidays, and birthdays flipped like a slideshow in her head.

Abby remembered the last time just the two of them spent together before she got sick, and her sudden cancer diagnosis rocked their lives.

Her grandmother reapplied a fresh coat of the bright pink lipstick she was never without as Abigail got in the car. Glancing over at her with a smile, she said, “Let’s take a road trip, shall we?”

“What about school?”

Her grandmother flapped a hand in the air. “School will be there tomorrow. Let’s go.”

After she drove them into the city for lunch, they dined on sandwiches and french fries, then went shopping while Abigail talked about her social life or lack thereof. Several of the girls she hung with had new boyfriends, but no one interested Abby. She had no desire to run around high school football games, flirting and scouting for cute guys, or hang out at the popular weekend haunts. She was quite content coming home on a Friday night and watching movies or swimming in her grandparents’ pool.

It wasn’t until they were back home that GG leaned over and squeezed her tight, like she never wanted to let go. “Don’t ever forget who you are, baby girl,” her grandmother said. “You are special and so strong. Stronger than me. You offer no excuses for who you are. You never let people influence you or push you to do things you don’t want to. You’re destined for great things. One day, you’ll find someone. Let your heart guide you.”

At the time, they had no clue cancer was eating away at her colon. Abby thought she was giving the typical advice of a grandmother based on the conversations they had that afternoon. But now, Abigail wondered if it had been more. Had her grandmother been trying to prepare her for this secret, even then? Why didn’t she tell her while she was still alive? It would’ve made things so much easier.

With a sigh, Abby shoved the memories back and placed her hand on the door handle when her gaze snagged on a shiny silver object wedged in the tiny cubby of the center console. Plucking it out, she revealed a tube of lipstick. She flipped it over and read the name. Rose Bud—GG’s favorite.

Without thinking, she took the cap off and rolled the tube up to reveal a pink hue, wondering when GG wore it last.

Abigail swallowed over the lump in the back of her throat, and before she could stop herself, she flicked the driver’s visor down and applied a thin layer of color to her lips. Rubbing her lips together, she blended the color and checked her reflection. Her mother’s round blue eyes stared back at her, popping above the bright pink and bringing out the apricot in her skin. Her sharp cheekbones and heart-shaped face mimicked her grandmother’s and comforted her, a reminder GG was a part of her and always would be.

Pushing her shoulders back and grasping for courage, Abby took one last look at herself before opening the door. “This one’s for you GG,” she murmured and slid out of her seat and headed toward the expansive glass doors of Klein & Sons.