Playing the Game

21. A Blonde Billy Badass

"Yeah, we're good..." Since the full state of affairs isn't the kind of thing I feel like explaining here, and all I can think about is getting some ice for Mia's hand, I cut to the important part. In a way only Brandon will understand. "It's fourth grade again. And we got a Billy Badass situation."

"Fuck yeah!" Brandon calls out, his mouth curling up with an appreciative smile. "I guess you need a bag of frozen peas, bro."

As he takes off for the kitchen, Mia gives me a look. "Was that some kind of code?"

"Sort of," I shrug, adjusting June in my arms. She's dead to the world. I can only hope that when she sobers up, the good memories of the night overpower the bad.

Sure, she said she was fine. And when we busted into the room, everyone was still fully dressed and it didn't look like they'd gotten very far. But still, the thought of what could have been is killing me inside.

I can only imagine how it will affect her.

Clearly on the same thought train as I am, Mia's face is the picture of concern as she looks over her best friend, bringing her hand up to brush the hair off of June's face. The tenderness in her gesture makes my chest pinch. And when her eyes drift up to mine, holding my gaze, I feel some of the animosity that's been charging between us lately dissolve like a mist.

I wonder if she felt that, too.

Brandon rounds the corner, holding up a bag of veggies. "You'll have to settle for corn, Gray. Not a frozen pea in sight."

I laugh, finally breaking my eyes from Mia's. "That'll work."

He walks toward me. "You don't think anything's broken, do you?" he asks, making his way around to my right side, eyeballing me to figure out the best way to put the bag of corn on my hand. That's when I remember he doesn't have all the information.

"It's uh..." I glance over at Mia. "It's for her."

Brandon pauses, his eyes shooting over to Mia, trailing down to where she's cradling her right hand. "Oh, shit," he mutters under his breath, the ghost of a smirk showing up on his dumb mouth. He looks over at me, a hint of judgement meeting the amused look on his face.

"My hands were kind of full," I say to him, lifting my arms slightly to accentuate my cousin still draped across them, none the wiser to anything going on around her.

"I didn't say a thing," Brandon hums, turning his attention to Mia. He takes her hand, giving it a gentle onceover before positioning it over the frozen corn just so. "I can't wait to hear all about this, but I think we better save that for later and just get you guys back to the dorms."

"I couldn't agree more," Mia smiles, falling in beside me as we follow Brandon out of the house and into the darkness outside.

*****

Mia's dorm is exactly how I thought it would be. Organized and neat, neutral colors that please the eye. A distinctly feminine feel to it, and a sweet smell that makes you want to sink your face into a pillow and breathe it in for the rest of your life. I feel immediately more calm upon walking in, and I really didn't expect that.

To be honest though, I don't really know what I expected. I've never given Mia's bedroom much of a thought. When we've seen each other back in New York, her home across the country never crossed my mind. And lately, as my interest in her only seems to grow, I'm usually picturing her in my room.

"You can lay her down over there," she says, gesturing from the lump of June in my arms to the bed on one side of the room. "My roommate's out for the night."