Page 42 of HER SISTER

After taking a long bath and some Ibuprofen pills, I somehow managed to feel much better.

The group chat was buzzing with the idea of going to the shops in town, which made me change into regular clothes.

Since we were only shopping, I pulled on a pair of light black jeans and a cream sweater with a black puffer jacket and matching Tasman Ugg boots to keep my feet warm.

I made sure to blow dry my hair so it wouldn't be wet in this extremely cold weather before styling it down with a middle part.

Normally I would've put on a little bit of makeup, but honestly, I just didn't feel up to it.

"Everyone ready to go?" Mya questioned as Damon put his plate in the sink.

I nodded a few times as everyone stood from the dining room table, causing me to follow suit.

"Hopefully, I can hunt Mili down at one of the shops and apologize for earlier," Mya said to me as we all got settled in the SUV.

Mili's out shopping too?

Well actually, that sounds like her.

I nodded, "I'm sure she'll accept your apology," I assured her.

Mya sighed, "I really hope so," she whispered as the SUV pulled out of the large circular driveway to head down another long driveway that would take us back down the mountain.

Soon we were in the middle of the large cozy town, which was lined with people walking the sidewalks.

Some had shopping bags hanging from their arms while others sipped hot chocolate and ate warm donuts.

It legit looked straight out of a Hallmark movie.

My brows raised when the SUV stopped behind the other one with the rest of our friends—noticing that these weren't just regular shops.

No, they were boutiques.

Some were recognizable—like Chanel or Gucci.

While others were luxury in-town boutiques.

This is actually insane.

I looked over when Mya slid out of the leather seat, causing me to slide out behind her.

"Okay, I have some stuff that I need to check out at Cartier if anyone wants to come along," Mya offered.

I shook my head, "I think I'm going to go get some hot chocolate." And search for Mili.

Mya isn't the only one who needs to talk to her.

Mya nodded, "We'll meet back here at seven," she determined.

"Sounds good to me," I said as I began walking away, causing Mya to look over at the group to see what everyone else was planning to do.

And as I said I would—I headed over to the hot chocolate stand.

Until soon I was heading over toward the snowy boutiques lining the streets of the town to search for Mili.

My first guess was Saint Laurent, knowing I had seen Mili wear it before.

But when she was nowhere to be found in the warm store, I was back to square one.

Maybe Balenciaga?

I suddenly walked over to the store, knowing that I had seen her wear that as well.

But even after entering the store and looking around, she was still nowhere to be found.

I shook my head to myself, feeling a little discouraged as I thought about other brands that she wore.

Maybe Louis Vuitton?

A sigh fell from my lips, deciding that after this I might just give up—there are so many boutiques here.

I pursed my lips when I entered the warm high-end boutique, searching for Mili's familiar face.

A soft sigh fell from my lips when I managed to come up short yet again.

Well, until I noticed her familiar presence by the back of the store looking at the wallets.

I suddenly took in her outfit—noticing that she was wearing an oversized hoodie with a puffer jacket over it and light baggy jeans.

Her curly hair was now straightened and down as she wore her familiar black-rimmed glasses that seemed to compliment her sharp face.

I sucked in a deep breath, suddenly feeling my heart pound against my chest.

And before I could think it through further, I was forcing myself to walk over to her.

My heart managed to pound harder as I grew closer and closer to her, and I couldn't miss how warm my body got at just the idea of talking to her.

"Hey."

The greeting felt stupid and awkward, but I wasn't sure what else to say after two months of not uttering a single word to each other.

Mili continued to analyze the wallets, "Hey," she said back, keeping her tone lowered as she remained focused.

And even the one word alone seemed to send my thoughts into a frenzy.

Suddenly, I couldn't string together a sentence, much less remember what I was planning to say.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Mili questioned as she walked further down, clearly really interested in the wallets on display.

I forcefully hummed as I tried to gather my nerves, "I was just um..." I trailed off, suddenly feeling like my idea was stupid. "I just wanted to make sure we were cool?"

Mili didn't hesitate to nod once, "Of course we're cool, why wouldn't we be?" she said as she began eyeing a different wallet.

I blinked a few times, "I-um, I don't know, it just felt like we weren't," I admitted, knowing she hadn't bothered to look at me, much less speak to me.

Mili shook her head once, "No, we're cool," she said.

I tilted my head, clearly not buying her response, "So we're all good? We're friends?" I clarified, hoping to get somewhat of a read on her thoughts.

Mili suddenly paused her actions entirely, but even still, she managed to keep her attention in front of her, "Friends?" she repeated back to me, and she seemed to sound slightly offended.

"Yeah?" I said, but it somehow came out as a question.

Mili laughed slightly to herself, "We're not friends."

And just like that my stomach was twisting in anxious knots.

"What? Why not?" I said, hoping that I heard her wrong.

Mili only shrugged as she moved down further to look at more of the wallets, "Take a wild guess," she said.

And I knew that she was referring to us being something at some point.

But that was over so what now?

"We could at least try to be friends?" I said, clearly feeling even more confused with her vague answers.

Mili's lips seemed to twitch up into an amused smirk, "Try?" she carefully repeated back to me before she said, "I don't want to be your friend."

My brows unconsciously furrowed, "Why? I thought we were cool?" I quoted, knowing she had agreed to that at least.

Mili hummed, "We are cool."

I shook my head, feeling irritated by her short responses, "So why won't you be my friend?" I questioned.

And when Mili suddenly looked up from the glass case, my heart managed to beat even harder against my chest—it really wasn't hard to pinpoint my increased nervousness, even if she still managed to avoid looking at me.

I felt my sudden nervousness diminish when Mili went to walk past me.

But not before she managed to stop right beside me and lean down to my ear.

And even her body being barely centimeters away from mine was enough to make me grow unbearably hot.

I couldn't help but bask in the familiar smell of her coconut hair product and sweet cologne.

"Considering I just spazzed out over the mention of you falling off a sled—no, I don't think I could be your friend, Atiana."

I breathed in a sudden deep breath at her statement alone, and before I even managed to get my frenzied thoughts together, Mili was walking past me completely.

"Put her stuff on my tab," I heard her call out to the workers before she left the boutique, leaving me completely speechless.

I blinked a few times as I stared at the spot that Mili was once standing in.

So I was right, she was mad about the sledding situation because of me.

And now I see why Arielle looked over at me.

Because she knew why Mili was so upset as well.

Did anyone else notice?

I shook the thoughts off, knowing that no one even knew anything happened between me and Mili, so they wouldn't even expect it to really be about me.

A deep breath fell from my lips, does this mean she isn't over me completely?

Or does this just mean that she cares about me and was mad about the fact that I got hurt?

Maybe both?

Why does this have to be so complicated?

And how does she get to just say that and leave me here with my chaotic thoughts?

I shook my head to myself—we're definitely about to talk about this, and I'm not giving her an option this time.