Page 150 of You + Me – Against the World

Next, find help.

Call Clémentine, Felix. They’ll know what to do.

And I need to go home. I don’t have a choice about that. I need to see my parents. Be home before they are, so they don’t get suspicious. Protect my freedom…

While Vadim is once again deprived of his.

52

After an affectionate reunion with my mother and sister, a few painful questions from my father, who wants to know what I plan to do with my summer, and a few gifts from France to unwrap, I ask how my grandmother is doing and give a few vague answers about myself, just to get through the family reunion as quickly as possible. I tell them I’m going to spend the day with Clem and won’t be home until late tonight, as it’s the end-of-year party. For once, none of it is a lie, although there’s always the chance my parents will be suspicious anyway. Not today, though. Marie Lancaster is in a wonderful mood—a trip to Paris always has that effect on her—and she cheerfully declares that I deserve to unwind after such a grueling year.

If only she knew.

I find Clémentine sitting at a table with Felix at the back of the Sunset Café. They had both replied immediately to my panicked texts, and now they begin bombarding me with questions before I even have time to sit down. Shakily, I tell them about the arrest and the drugs hidden at Vadim’s place. Neither of them doubts his innocence. Alonso gets agitated and starts hurling insults in Spanish, spitting out the name “Keith” every three words.

“Keep it down!” Clem snaps irritably. “Everyone studied Spanish in school, you know!”

The café is packed with overexcited students, some celebrating the end of exams, others looking forward to their upcoming vacations, and all of them excited about the much-anticipated party that is scheduled to take place on campus for the freshmen. Nobody is listening to us. No one seems to notice that our three faces are the only ones not lit up with wide smiles.

“Let’s go talk to the police, Alma!” Clem says. “We have so much dirt on Keith. Someone has to listen to us.”

“Yeah, good luck with that D’Aragon,” Felix replies.

“It’s just so awful! How can a social worker get away with leading a double life like that?”

“Look, even you fell for it,” Alonso continues. “He fed you a couple of nice lines, flashed his muscles, and bam! You were in bed with him.”

“Alright, alright, no need to remind me. And I still have to break up with that bastard! Will you come with me, Alma?”

“Hey! Have you both forgotten that Vadim just got arrested?” I chide, glaring at them. “How do we get him out of there?”

“I can’t do anything,” Felix says. “If I go talk to the cops, they’ll lock me up too.”

“So you’re just going to let him take the fall alone? Your best buddy, your brother from another mother, or whatever? After everything he’s done for you?” I hiss.

“Do you really think I’ll be able to help him when we’re rotting in two separate cells? Think, Lancaster, instead of attacking me!”

“You think, Alonso! Try to come up with a plan!”

“That’s all I’m doing right now!”

“We could find him a lawyer,” Clémentine suggests, trying to ease the tension.

“Huh. My dad knows some…” I reply.

But I immediately think of the consequences of asking him.

“Your dad?” Felix responds scornfully. “All he’ll do is make things worse for Vadim!”

I burst into tears. A few students turn around and watch me cry for a couple of seconds. Then, just as quickly, they go back to their conversations, which are filled with laughter, excited cries, and carefree chatter. It’s unbearable. Their happiness. The noise. The party being prepared for us. And Vadim, who is alone when I picture him, in a police station cell or an interrogation room, probably losing his mind, with no believing him. The thought twists my guts.

The day wears on, but none of us gives up. Good ideas emerge, and bad ones too. We snap at each other, complain, and lose hope, but Vadim remains at the center of every thought. A few sodas later, we make a solemn vow to prove his innocence, no matter what. We just don’t know how yet. Our hands shake as we stack them one on top of the other in a pact, but Felix promises us that we’ll figure it out. Neither Clem nor I believe him, but it’s the only thing I have left to hold on to.

The three of us.

Against the rest of the world.

For him.