Leap of Faith

Day Forty-Four

I gulp. “What?” I whisper shouted.

“That’s why everyone went quiet when you walked in,” Mallory said weakly to me. “Gillian got it pretty bad too. She’s had permission to go home.”

I wanted the ground to open and swallow me whole. At least then I’d be out of this Hell. I couldn’t stand the stares. As much as my confidence had grown this week, it hadn’t extended so far that I could stand to be stared at and whispered about behind my back. Colton must have sensed this because he sent Mallory away and took the seat next to me. Again his arm protectively wrapped around my shoulder and he pulled me closer to him.

“Did you have anything to do with this?” I ask Colton, trying not to look up at him.

“Not directly, no,” he answered. I pulled away from him and shook my head confusedly. He sighed and dropped his gaze. “We couldn’t let Adam get away with what he did to you, Cate. Everything we’ve done, we’ve done because the asshole had it coming to him. You’re our friend, Cate, and if he hurts one of us, he hurts all of us, and we’re not the type of guys to take shit like that lying down. Excuse my French.”

I blinked up at him, unsure as to what I should say. Eventually, I went for the most obvious. “Thanks.”

The afternoon was uneventful. I went to my classes, did the work, hung out with the guys for a little after final bell rang, and then drove home to find the chaos that had engulfed the house since I had left only eight hours previously.

David had flown in today in time for his wedding tomorrow. Mom and Vivian were rearranging seating plans because one or two guests had pulled out and Libby had invited a few people on a spur of the moment this morning while she was out in town. Dad was lamenting the cost of what he called a ‘glorified party’ and Anna, Sawyer and the groom were busily placing wedding favors into kitsch lavender pouches to be placed on the tables at the wedding.

Libby, meanwhile, was sat in the TV room watching Sex and the City while wearing a face mask and eating gherkins dipped in mustard. I was going to say something to her, but Anna shot me a warning look from Dad’s study and motioned me in to help with the wedding favors. I took a quick glance at my watch and saw that I had over three hours before TJ was coming to pick me up, so I set my satchel down and sat crossed legged on the floor as I picked up a pouch.

 “Oh, my God!” Anna shouted after half an hour. We all turned to look at her, worried about what had caused her outburst. Had it been that she’d placed two scented candles into the pouch and only one Love Heart? For some reasons David had done that a lot, and he’d cursed each and every time. Anna let her guilt ridden eyes fall on me from across the table. “I haven’t wished you a happy birthday!”

I rolled my eyes. “You know how I feel about birthdays,” I tell her. I absolutely hate birthdays, especially mine. “Don’t worry about me. We need to get these things done.”

After another hour of helping, I made my excuses and ran up to my bedroom to get ready. I hadn’t told anyone about tonight, partly because it was none of their business, but mainly because I knew they’d insist on helping me get ready and there was way too much stuff to be getting on with for tomorrow.

I went to my closet and couldn’t find anything suitable for tonight. I had considered wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a pair of heels, but my cell buzzed with a message from TJ telling me to dress formally. I sighed and eventually found the dress I had worn to one of my cousin’s wedding last summer hidden in the back of the closet. It was a dark blue, strapless midi that was longer in the back that the front. I wasn’t sure if the dress still fit but the zipper went up smoothly, until I found myself staring at my reflection in the mirror.