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“She doesn’t. Well, she does, but he’s a total douche and she’s going to end it with him.”
“How do you know all this?”
“You said to get proof. I spotted her, tracked her down, got her class schedule, spoke to one of her teachers, stalked her boyfriend, followed them on their date and saw when he pissed her off and she stormed out of there. All without being seen.”
He grins, like a fucking canary winning a medal, and I scowl at him. I have to admit, I’m pretty impressed though. He’s only been here since the weekend.
“How’s your cousin settling in?” I ask to change the subject.
“Elena? She’s fine. She’s staying on campus this year so the house I bought for her and her friends was a bit of a waste, but I can always rent it out for the year or just keep it empty till she needs a place next year. Whatever.” He shrugs but then throws a fierce glare at Thorn in the rear-view mirror. “Don’t even think about fucking her.”
“What about her friends?”
“They’re old enough to consent. Just use a condom for Christ’s sake. The last thing I need is Elena bitching me out cause you gave her friends an STD.”
“That happened ONE time. And it was a false alarm, it wasn’t even me.” Thorn insists.
“You want me to take you to the hotel, or do you want to stay at the house? It’s fully furnished and set up.”
“I’ve booked a hotel. I thought the house would be full of freshers.”
“Ok. It’s no bother. Elena asked if we could go out with her and her friends tonight. I figured that would be okay. I could drop you at the hotel, we could do a little sightseeing, grab some food and then hit the clubs with them.”
“What about the other thing?” I frown.
“What other thing?”
“The reason you dragged us up here, moron.”
“Oh yeah, that. I mean her. Well, we can do a bit of stalking on campus tomorrow. I still don’t know which dorm she’s in but it shouldn't be too hard to find out. We might just need to scope things out for a couple of days and then decide the best plan of action for approaching her.”
“Fine.” I still don’t think it’s going to be her, but I have to face facts: Rebel’s whole countenance is different this time. He’s excited, I can see, but he’s also calm. In the past he’d been almost manic with hope and desperation that whoever he had caught a glimpse of, was her. Now he seems sure. Self-assured. But not smug. Dread swirls in the pit of my stomach. I’m not ready for it to actually be her.
I have to force myself to take a deep breath to calm down. I tell myself that it’s settled, one way or another, I know exactly when I will see this woman. I can relax. I have tonight and a couple of days. I can enjoy myself and push her from my mind until then. Easier said than done, but I’m determined to get at least one good experience out of this trip. Whatever the morning holds, it can wait.
Charlotte’s Diary
2 weeks post-blaze
Baxter Branson has been infuriatingly annoying. Everywhere I go, he’s there. He seems to have made it his personal mission this summer to wind me up. I can’t escape him! He keeps appearing and dragging me off to do ‘fun’ activities with him, refusing to take no for an answer. Trying to duck and dodge him is exhausting, and proving futile!
Cordelia is as bad; she keeps encouraging him. I feel like they’re plotting against me. They’re certainly ganging up on me. Is this a set-up? Oh dear god, I hope Cordelia isn’t thinking that Baxter could be a solution to my baby-daddy problem! The thought makes me want to vomit and laugh in equal parts.
Why don’t they understand that I just want to be left alone?
Cordelia should know better at least! She’s the only one who knows what I’m going through. I don’t know what she hopes to achieve by constantly thrusting me into the path of Baxter Branson. I refuse to seriously consider that she has romantic aspirations for the two of us...
Whatever it is, it can’t be good.
