Free Secret Admirer by Melody Carlson Page A

Don’t you want to come home?”
    “I don’t see why,” said Carlie. “It’s a long trip for you to come up here, and I’ll bet the boys are having nap time.”
    “Not yet, but I was just about to make them.”
    “So, why don’t I just stay here, Mom? Really, I promise you, I’m fine.”
    “But aren’t you in pain?”
    “No,” said Carlie firmly. And that was mostly true. “The doctor gave me some Advil, and it’s really helping. I just want to stay here, Mom. I mean, I paid for the trip, and it’s a bummer that I hurt my arm, but it’s not really that bad. Can’t I please stay and come home tomorrow?”
    Now Carlie’s little brothers were starting to scream in the background — a sure sign they both needed a nap. “Are you sure?” asked Mom above the noise.
    “I’m sure, Mom.” Carlie laughed now. “Besides, I’ll bet it’s a lot quieter up here than at home.”
    “Yes,” she said loudly above the howling. “I’m sure that’s true.”
    “So, I’ll be home tomorrow then, okay?”
    “Okay,” said Mom. “If you’re certain, mija. I just don’t want you to be in pain or anything.”
    “The doctor gave me a pill to help me sleep tonight,” Carlie told her. “And I’m fine, really, just fine.”
    So it was settled. Janna talked briefly to Mom too. But when she hung up, it was clear that Carlie was going to stay.
    “Yay!” cried Emily and Morgan happily.
    “Now,” said Carlie, “I’m starving!”
    So the three of them went to the café for a late lunch, and then Carlie encouraged her friends to get in some more runs before the lifts closed.
    “I can sit by the window and watch,” said Carlie. So Morgan and Emily, acting like a couple of mother hens, helped make Carlie comfortable in a big chair in the corner between the picture window and the huge rock fireplace. Then Morgan found a couple of magazines, and Emily brought her a cup of hot cocoa.
    “Thanks,” said Carlie. “Now you guys go do some snowboarding, okay?”
    Morgan shook her head. “No, I’d rather stay here.”
    “Me too,” said Emily.
    “Really,” insisted Carlie. “You guys need to go have some fun.”
    “We don’t want to leave you.”
    “Please,” begged Carlie. “Can’t you see that it’s torturous knowing that my good friends are missing out on fun because of me?” Carlie looked at the clock over the fireplace. “You don’t even have two hours of riding time left.”
    “And you’ll be okay?” asked Morgan.
    “I’m fine.”
    Of course, Carlie felt mixed emotions after they left. She tried to distract herself with her magazines and cocoa and, really, she was glad that her friends could at least have some fun now. But she did feel lonely too — and left out. She also felt embarrassed for her stupid accident. It was even more humiliating to know that it was partly because of Chelsea that she’d been hurt. Chelsea hadn’t exactly dared her. In fact, she’d told her
not
to jump. But she’d done it in a way that had made Carlie feel like she’d be a loser if she didn’t. Even before she did it, Carlie had known it was a mistake to jump … and yet she’d gone ahead. She looked down at her injured arm. It was a hard way to learn a tough lesson.
    But even more troubling than knowing she’d been stupid was that she felt betrayed by Chelsea now. Betrayed and hurt. Oh, she knew it wasn’t really Chelsea’s fault that she’d broken her arm. But at the same time she knew she wouldn’t have attempted such a daring stunt if Chelsea had kept her big mouth shut.
    “Hey, Carlie.”
    She looked up to see Enrico approaching. His ski hat was in his hands, his hair was all ruffled and sweaty looking, and he had two bright red spots on his cheeks, probably from the cold. But what really got her attention was that he seemed uneasy — like he was almost afraid of her, which was ridiculous.
    “Hi, Enrico.”
    “How are you doing?”
    She nodded down to her blue cast and the sling. “Great.”
    He