Page 2 of It’s Me, but Different (Merriweather Sisters #3)

Sloane

“Please, Esme. I promise you won't run into me while you're here. Don't do this to the kids,” I plead, making a subtle gesture toward the little ones.

Luckily, the girl insists that she promised them it would be an unforgettable vacation. Even so, she stays next to her mother and looks at me threateningly with crossed arms, as if she hates me too.

Esme seems to reconsider for a few moments, and with her children's insistence, she thinks better of it.

“You give today's lesson, and I don't want to see you again in these two weeks, understood? I'm doing this for them; they've had a really hard time, and they need this vacation. If it were up to me, I'd leave right now,” she clarifies, raising her eyebrows.

“Are you good at teaching? I don't want to fall,” her daughter interrupts, who seems to have a very strong personality despite her age.

A smile escapes me.

“I've taught plenty of people, and I'll try to keep you from falling, but falling is part of the learning process,” I explain.

“Mom said I wouldn't fall,” she complains, frowning.

Esme puts a hand to her forehead.

“I might have exaggerated a little so they wouldn't refuse to try,” she admits.

“Are you okay, champ?” I ask the boy, who's still a little scared. “Why don't we start by getting to know each other?”

The girl, who seems much more outgoing, takes a step forward.

“I'm Ana Sofia, and he's Theo. We're eight years old.”

“Nice to meet you. I'm Sloane,” I greet, noticing how Esme's hands tremble slightly when she straightens Theo's hat. “Welcome to Silver Peaks, kids.”

I teach them the basic fundamentals of skiing, and when we're reaching the first hour of class, I notice they're already very tired, especially Theo, so I decide to stop.

Esme has spent the entire lesson leaning against a tree, as if fearing that something serious could happen to her children at any moment.

When I approach with the kids, I mentally go over the words I want to say to her to say goodbye forever.

Still, before I can do so, River and Anika suddenly appear and head toward where we are, all smiles.

“Hi,” my sister greets. “How are you doing, kids? Did you enjoy your first day skiing?”

Ana Sofia looks up with a serious expression.

“Good,” she admits, looking suspicious.

“I fell sideways, and Miss Merriweather helped me get up,” Theo announces while Esme wraps her arm around his shoulders and pulls him against her body.

I can see that her treatment of Anika is cold, even though they were very good friends in college. She blames her for what happened too.

“How about I invite the kids for hot chocolate while you and Sloane talk about lesson schedules and that kind of thing?” River suggests.

Esme starts to say something about this being the last lesson they'll take with me, but she stops herself at her children's insistence, who must be hungry after the ski lesson. Before leaving, my sister gives me a look that says, “Don't screw this up again,” without needing words.

For our part, Esme and I stay quiet for a good while, both not really knowing what to say while she nervously rubs her gloved hands.

“I swear I had nothing to do with this, though I'm very happy to see you again,” I admit with a sigh.

“I had no idea you'd be here. If I had known…”

“You wouldn't have come, I know,” I murmur, finishing the sentence for her.

“Probably not,” she admits, nervously rubbing her hands again. “It's been a long time, and the kids need a vacation where they can simply… breathe and forget about what happened with their father. I didn't mean to intrude on your world.”

“You're not intruding on anything. If I'm honest, I'm really glad you came. It's not the time, but I know I treated you terribly, and…”

“No, Sloane, it's not the time to remember those things. You hurt me terribly, but it's better to leave it in the past,” she cuts me off, raising a hand.

“Listen, if you want an instructor to teach the kids, I'm definitely your girl. If you prefer someone else, I understand, really.”

“Thank you. We can try; it seems the kids had an excellent time with you,” she confesses while playing distractedly with her hair.

“This is awkward, isn't it?”

“Yes, a little,” she admits, letting out a nervous giggle. “Now I should…”

“Yes, sorry, the kids. River is probably making them try all the hotel's sweets.”

While I watch her walk away toward the cafeteria, I receive a message from my older sister.

Harper: Anika and River told me about Esme. Julie is also participating, so I can't protest about the VIP client treatment they've given them for an almost free price.

I can't help but smile. Harper always thinking about money. Though deep down, she's giving me the green light to roll out the red carpet. Ski lessons, spa sessions, everything we have.

When I return to the hotel, Ivy gestures for me to come over.

“You look like you've seen a ghost,” my twin sister jokes.

“Esme is here,” I confess, dropping into an armchair next to her.

“River told me. How are you handling it?”

I stretch my arms above my head while organizing my thoughts.

“I'm okay, I guess. Somewhat confused, not knowing what to do. Eleven years, and… boom! She's right in front of me with two kids.”

“I heard River and Anika spent a lot of time planning this. They wanted to return the favor for getting them together.”

“Actually, I tried everything to keep Anika away from River,” I admit, shrugging.

“And later you went to San Francisco to try to get them to work things out, so that counts. What I didn't expect was for Julie to participate too, even signing the offer herself. As serious as she seems, she's already letting those two influence her. Well, tell me, what's your plan?”

“My plan? Teach the twins to ski. Be polite. See if Esme wants to talk about the past at some point so I can apologize, or if she prefers to pretend it never happened.”

“Maybe you should tell her how you feel?” she suggests, raising her eyebrows.

A nervous laugh escapes me.

“And what exactly do I feel? I haven't seen her in over a decade.

She got married, had kids, and lost her husband two years ago.

She's been through a whole lifetime. Meanwhile, I'm still here, with my medal hidden behind a display case, with a screwed-up knee and a bunch of 'what ifs.

' Basically, I'm still stuck in the past while she's moved on.”

Ivy places a hand on my shoulder and squeezes.

“Don't put yourself down. You help run this place and the rest of the family's ski schools, and you've matured a lot since then. You're no longer that selfish and somewhat conceited athlete who put her Olympic dream above everything else. Maybe you're exactly what Esme needs right now.”

“Somewhat conceited?”

“Very conceited,” she corrects. “Sometimes you were unbearable, I swear. Why do you think I didn't go to college with you despite being your twin?”

“I don't know, Ivy. I guess we'll see. Right now I'm totally lost.”

On my way to the suite I occupy in the resort, I hear the murmur of conversations in the dining room or children's laughter in the kids' area. Maybe Esme's children are there. My knee hurts, reminding me that despite still being young, I'm far from being the invincible skier I once was.

After a quick shower with very hot water, I put on my pajamas and drop onto the mattress to watch a movie, though a message on my cell phone brings me back to reality.

River: We've scheduled a ski lesson at 10 in the morning. The kids are excited. She's still somewhat… let's say… shocked. Sorry if all this is being a bit intense.

Of course Esme is shocked. She came here expecting a ski resort in Montana, not me, the ex-girlfriend who dumped her to chase Olympic glory.

A new message arrives almost immediately.

River: I hope this can be a second chance. You deserve to be happy.

I don't respond to that sentence. Happiness.

It's not that I can complain about my life, quite the opposite.

I have my sisters, much more money than I can spend, and I enjoy the tranquility of the mountains.

Still, seeing Esme again has shaken me so much that I'm practically in shock. It reminds me of what I let slip away.

I wander to the shelf and take out some family photo albums. In many, I appear at the top of the podium, holding some trophy. In others I'm with Ivy. In some more with my older sisters. There are no photos of Esme. I never allowed myself to keep them. It was too painful.

I close my eyes and let the warmth of the fire in the fireplace lull me to sleep.

Tomorrow, I'll see her again. I'll guide Theo and Ana Sofia down the slopes, teach them to trust the snow under their skis.

But I can't ignore the whirlwind of half-buried feelings: regret, curiosity, and a fragile hope.

Maybe we'll just cross paths at Silver Peaks for a few days, and I'll never see her again.

She'll return to her life, and I'll regret every day that I let her escape.

Or maybe River and Anika's crazy plan will work.

My phone vibrates one last time with another message.

Anika: Are you okay?

Everyone is worried that my head will explode or something like that. I send back a simple “I'm fine” and throw the phone aside, covering myself with the comforter.

Eleven years ago, I thought I had to choose between love and glory, and I chose glory.

That choice ended with a serious knee injury and an empty life.

Esme moved on without me, with a husband, with two children, and with a future.

Even if that future ended in pain, she kept moving forward.

I didn't. If there's the slightest chance she'll at least forgive me, I'm willing to try.