Smoke and Wishes (Best Wishes #1)(64)
“You’re totally planning that trip right now, aren’t you?” I guessed. Silence was her response. After a few more moments, she whipped her head towards me quickly, finally back in reality.
“Say what now?”
“Nothing,” I laughed, “let’s go get some food and get checked into the hotel so we can drop off our bags.”
“Oh, yes puh-lease! All this talk of seafood is makin’ me hangry.”
We spent the rest of the day feasting on seafood and desserts, binge-watching Netflix, and filling each other in on everything we had missed over the summer. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a girls’ weekend, and having my best friend back meant the world to me.
October 21st
Sunday Morning
Lucienne
The car ride back to RSU had been filled with loud music, singing, and laughing hard enough I cried. My legs were stiff as I stretched in the guest parking lot. Char grabbed my bag from the trunk, and I shucked the small duffle over my shoulder, letting the weight settle on my hip before we started down the path to the dorms.
The quad was fairly busy this morning, students relaxing and studying across the grass in the uncharacteristically warm weather. I spotted a few kids from my classes spread throughout the space, but when I spotted several specific faces, I groaned in agony. I was having such a good weekend, too. My dramatics caught Char’s attention.
“What?” Her black brows pulled low over her eyes as she looked at me. Tilting my head slightly, Char followed my gesture to find the Bitch Crew walking towards us on the path. “Are those the bitches who’ve been giving you trouble?” I nodded, nibbling my lower lip. We would have to pass right by them to get to my dorm. “Well, fuck them.” Haughtily lifting her head, she put a little extra sway in her hips as we walked, her signature way of telling people to stay out of her way.
“Is that guy with them, Hudson?” Looking again to the group, I realized I’d somehow missed Hudson with his arm around Brittney. I grew nauseous at the sight but dipped my head in the affirmative. Linking pinkies, she bumped me with her hip. “It’ll be okay, boo, let’s just get to your dorm. Your mom will kill me if I don’t bring back those tins you’ve been hogging,” her reminder of my mom brought a smile to my face, easing the tension in my chest.
“Hello, Lucie,” Claire sneered when we finally neared each other. I rolled my eyes, beyond tired of their petty drama.
“‘Sup, bitch,” Char catted back, her smirk was firmly planted on her face as she stopped in front of Claire. “You causing problems with my girl? Because I don’t give a shit if you’re a supe or not, I will fuck you up.” Claire and the other bitches scoffed. Sneaking a glance at Hudson while they were all focused on Charlie, I almost gasped aloud. His lavender eyes were even worse than when I saw them on Thursday; dull, muted, and nearly blank. It seemed as though he hadn’t even noticed they had stopped. Unfocused eyes stared off into the quad. When they made their way to me, I found anger and disgust there. What the hell?
Quickly averting my gaze back to the girls, I willed my tears not to fall. It felt like I was choking, that horrible gasping feeling when you need to sob, but hold back. Focusing as much as possible on their little standoff, I heard Claire’s response. It was unbelievably full of snark, head bob and all.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but…”
“First of all, hoe,” Char cut her off with a wave of her hand, “that was the most cliché thing you ever could have said to me and second, I’m the fucking bad bitch that will destroy you if you keep coming at Lucie. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have better shit to do than deal with petty bitches like you.” With a face that could kill, she looked the Bitch Crew up and down, clearly not impressed with what she saw. “Come on, boo,” nudging me with her elbow, we started to walk around the group. Claire, however, seemed to have different plans, making the mistake of opening her mouth once more.
“Oh, Lucie, I’ll be sure to let Noah know what you’ve been up to, especially after this.” She glared at Char, who had stopped dead at the mention of Noah, before turning. Here we go. Char pulled back and punched Claire in her left eye, the thud of the hit sounding in the quiet of the group followed quickly by an unattractive screeching.
“You can tell Noah I’ll be fucking waiting for him if he ever tries to come near her again, you hear me bitch? Same goes for the rest of you. Back the fuck off,” Char snarled. Snaking her arm through mine, she dragged me along and down the path quickly. After a few moments of tense silence, she slowed to a more reasonable speed, her body relaxing.
“I’m sorry, boo,” my face scrunched in confusion as to why she was apologizing. She must have understood where my thoughts had gone because she answered my unspoken question, “I just couldn’t control myself at the thought of that bastard. I can’t believe she fucking threatened you with him, that’s just...” she trailed off with a growl.
“Charlotte Ava Hauser,” I said sternly, “never apologize for standing up for someone. It could mean the world to them. And by them, I mean me.” I chuckled at the glare she gave me at the mention of her full name. She opened her mouth to lecture me when I heard my name being shouted. Whipping my head around to find the source, I spotted Elijah running down the walkway towards us, Gabe following at a more mellow pace.