Cherry Weekends

Chapter 12

TW: Mention of violence 
*These warnings are simply to caution you of what will be mentioned, and I will list subject matter of this nature ahead of any chapters including them, or any other explicit content regardless how limited.

After a few weeks Nicole had not only set everything up about the school as a pre-order type of program, which all the kids seemed to love, but she was able to nearly double the sales, and even get advances from a lot of the larger orders. David was obviously very pleased with the way everything was working out and so was Nicole.

She could get back to the cabin early, and that meant she had time to dine with Harry before they dove into their usual Friday night activities. Curling up on the couch, watching old movies and cult classics most people their age had probably never even heard of while they ate dinner, and then things would get more heated.

Harry hated to admit it, but he was glad Nicole was arranging everything ahead of time and getting back to the cabin earlier on Friday nights because he was growing more and more concerned about Sam. He had seen firsthand how intense Sam was the night he came to the cabin in search of Nicole, and the thought of it made his skin crawl and his blood boil.

He also knew that Sam was not going to give up easily, just bend over and accept the fact that Nicole had found a way around him. So, Harry was on high alert every Friday afternoon until Nicole would finally walk through the back door around 4:30, 5 o'clock at the latest. Which is why this particular evening, as the clock was ticking away past the hour of Nicole's normal arrival, Harry found himself pacing circles about the first floor of the cabin and checking every clock around the house in the process.

Nicole had scurried out of her last class at the usual time and rushed to meet with Elizabeth who had been waiting patiently for Nicole for only a few minutes while puffing away on a Mentholated Camel. Everything was packaged and ready to load into Nicole's car quickly. They exchanged hugs and pleasantries before Nicole explained that she needed to get back, and rush to the library to grab a book for one of the papers she knew Harry had been assigned that week.

Elizabeth gave her a knowing look which only came across as odd to Nicole, who simply shrugged it off and hopped back into her car, taking off down the road with one last wave behind her to Elizabeth, blasting her music just a little too loudly as always.

Everything went smoothly at the frat houses as well, and she finished everything a bit earlier than she expected, though later than usual since there was a major game with their rival school that weekend. That always meant a larger load to keep up with all the extra guests that would be attending the parties, celebrating a victory, or soothing a loss. She smiled contently as she took a deep breath of the fresh, yet frigid, winter air, and marched across the courtyard toward the old brick building she didn't get to visit as often as she would like.

Nicole entered the library and did a quick search for the book on one of the computers before setting out for the second floor of the old building where she had been directed. She took her time waltzing along the shelves. She couldn't help it, she loved to read.

Books were her escape; her portal to another world where she could say, do, or be anything. She could follow the book through every twist and turn, she could put it down at any point and imagine a completely different ending, she could learn something new, rediscover something she had forgotten, and when the real world was cruel and lonely, books were filled with friends, unchanged by time, untouchable even to their own whims. They were exactly as she chose to envision them.

As she traipsed along, discovering more and more books she knew she just had to get lost in, she almost forgot the original reason for her visit that evening. Finally, at the very back of the second floor, she had just found the book she was looking for and added it to the pile of eight she was already in possession of, when she heard his spine-chilling laugh.