"Everything alright?" Libby asks when we come in. She invited me along with Avery, who usually stays there. I must look bad already, but Avery looks like she got hit by a truck after her shift. Sorry, lovely.
"Rough day," I murmur and press a kiss on her cheek, which she returns. "What about you?"
"All's great." She's nervous. I can tell from the way she's making little steps from one side to another, like she's about to run away. I have a bad feeling.
Libby and I are around the same age. We're not biologically related, but she's a good friend of mine and she's Avery's sister, which makes her my sister. Which is also the reason why I get the urge to hit my head against a wall when I see the cupcakes on the table.
"No."
Libby's smile vanishes. "What?"
"Have you not heard me?"
"It's not what it looks like-"
"Tell me you're not dating that asshole again!" Avery's voice is loud and she has a look of hurt on her face that I cannot ever forget. As much as I love Libby, Avery is my sister.
"We're leaving. Let's go, Ave." I grab my sister's wrist and walk out of Libby's apartment. Avery hurries to catch up with me but doesn't say anything. She doesn't have to. I know we're thinking the same thing.
It happened. Again.
I stop when we reach my car, and I wait until Avery sits before I let out a deep breath.
"You okay?" I turn to her. She sits shotgun, as always, and she's doing her best to keep her emotions bottled up but I can read her easily. I want to say that I can't believe Libby went back to him, but I would be lying. I can, because she's done it before. I don't want blame her, but somewhere I do. Drake's no good for her, but more than anything is he horrible to Avery, and to think that Libby lets him back into her life and thus Avery's makes me sick. I feel ill.
"It's not fair," Avery presses out eventually, teeth gritted and her eyes fixed on something in front of her.
"I know." I start the car. "I'll have her send your stuff over. Do you want pizza?"
"Pizza sounds good," Avery answers, relieved.
"I don't get it," she argues a short while later while stuffing pizza in her mouth. "She promised, you know?"
I nod while taking my own slice. Heartfelt talks always work better when you're eating pizza. "I think I saw him last week, at Dean's. Drake, I mean. Or whatever his name is."
She frowns and says something I can roughly piece together as: "What were you doing there anyway?"
My heart skips a beat. "Dean forgot his stuff in the park when we met up earlier last week. so I brought it to him." Lie. "He had some people over, I didn't stay long enough to see." Lie. All you do is lie.
Luckily, she's too busy eating to notice. Guilt washes over me but I fight it back so she won't notice. Only later, when we're home and she's gone to sleep in the extra room I keep for her, I allow the guilt to take over.
C. R. D. - M. L. T.
Aisha and I are sitting at lunch. She's telling me about her weekend.
"We went to my auntie's," she's saying. "And as soon as we stepped in, she went in that awfully high pitched voice," and I want to keep listening to her because Aisha has this riveting way of telling stories that makes you want to listen, but my mind is elsewhere.
"Camille, is everything okay? You look like you're somewhere else entirely." She laughs and I can't help but join her, even if it's just a little laugh.
"Everything's okay," I answer. "I'm just worried about Avery."
She rolls her eyes. "You worry too much, lovely. Avery is fine, as long as she lives with you at least." A shadow crosses her face. "Can't say the same for Libby, though."
I'm endlessly grateful that I have Aisha. I tell her everything, that's why she knows everything about me. Her family knows me well; especially after mom's death, I spent many days sitting with them, being a part of their family. Aisha is family.
"I know," I sigh. "I should-"
Just as I start to speak, an office aide steps closer and announces loudly enough for the whole room to hear. "Camille Diante is wanted in the office."
I get up. "What's wrong?" I was right, I think. Everyone's staring at me. It's an awful feeling.
I don't get an answer. We walk to the Principal's office and I'm getting worried. This is the second time in one week. I don't wait for anyone to call me; I know my way in.
There are three persons in the room. The principal himself, my sister Avery, and some blond guy in a suit.
The first thing I do is briefly check Avery for anything unusual. No crying or tear stained cheeks, that's good. No visible injuries. May sound dramatic, but I wouldn't put it past her.
"Miss Diante, please come in!" The principal sounds excited. An alarm goes off in the back of my head, because no one is ever glad to see me.
I refuse to urge to tell him that I am already inside of the room, and instead I stand behind Avery's chair. She seems just as confused as I am. I touch her shoulder lightly, maybe to reassure her or to remind myself that she's still here. That nothing happened to her.
"What's going on?" I ask. Definitely not the smartest way to start a conversation, and certainly not what I'd usually say, but it gets my point across. Why are we here? Again? "Is there a problem with the Physics test?"
The principal shakes his head. "The test has been graded, but that is not the matter now."
I murmur to Avery. "You alright?"
She nods briefly. I try to think of a logical explanation, but it is given to me by the guy who has occupied the principal's chair.
"We've been trying to contact you and your sister for a few weeks now, but none of our letters seem to have reach you," he says, his low, rich voice measured and precise. I try not to stare at him, but I take in the details I do see.
He's wearing a suit, his face is stoic, and he looks much older than he probably is. He has ridiculously perfect cheekbones and I resist the urge to scoff. Unfair. Almost white hair that could reflect light itself. Eyes that stare into the depths of your soul.
"And you are?" I try to keep my tone friendly, but there's hardly a way to ask this question without sounding harsh. I decide that I don't care. Avery shifts uncomfortably in her seat.
"Grayson Hawthorne."
Before I can respond to this totally enlightening information, Avery talks, "You heard Camille. How do you know us? What's going on? What were you contacting us for?"
I grip Avery's chair a little tighter. Suddenly, I'm reminded of multiple things at once. Dean. Layla. The bottles. I shake my head slightly, trying to rid myself of the memories that cling to me.
The guy in the suit doesn't answer her question. Instead, he arches and eyebrow. "Principal Altman?" He says. "If you could give us a moment."
That wasn't a question. That was an order from someone who's been in the higher position his entire life. The principal leaves the room hesitantly, but my gut feeling doesn't.
"You asked how I know the two of you." His eyes are the same colour as his suit: grey, bordering on silver. "It would be best, for the moment, for you to just assume that I know everything."
His voice would be surprisingly pleasant if it wasn't for his words. "A guy who thinks he knows everything," I mutter. "That's new."
"A girl with a razor-sharp tongue," he returns simply, silver eyes focusing on mine and lips turned upwards ever so slightly.
"What do you want?" I ask. With us, something inside me adds. What do you want with us?
"All I want," he says, "is to deliver a message. One that has proven rather difficult to send via traditional means."
"You talked about letters," Avery says.
I frown. "We never got any letters...hold on a minute." I take my phone and dial Libby's number. It rings a few times and I turn away, holding it to my ear. Come on, Libby. Pick up the damn phone.
"Camille?" An uncertain voice says.
I can't hold back my relief. "Libby. Have you received any letters within the past few..."
I look at Grayson. "Three weeks," he says.
"...Weeks?" I hope she understands the urgency of this. To be fair, I don't think I understand it either.
"I- Yeah, I have actually," Libby says. "I thought they were a scam, something about an inheritance and someone called Tobias Hawthorne. Why? Is everything okay?"
I take deep breaths. One. Two. Three. "Yeah, everything's good. Send me a picture of them, alright?"
"Yeah. By the way, I'm really sor-"
"Not now, Libby. Please." There is a silence and I hang up. It takes me three seconds to put the phone back. Avery notices, because she has this look on her face.
"Tobias Hawthorne," I say, voice monotone. "Who is that?"
"That's why I'm here." Grayson's pale eyes meet mine. "My grandfather passed away earlier this month." A weighty pause. "His name was Tobias Hawthorne." Grayson studies my reaction- or, more accurately, the lack thereof. "Does that name mean anything to you?"
"No," I say. "Should it?" My heart beats faster.
"My grandfather was a very wealthy man, Miss Diante. And it appears that, along with our family and people who worked for him for years, you and Miss Grambs have been named in his will."
The room is spinning. I hear the words but cannot possibly process them fast enough. "'His what?"
"His will," Grayson Hawthorne repeats, a slight smile crossing his lips. "I don't know what he left you, exactly, but your presence is required at the will's reading. We've been postponing it for weeks."
"Why would your grandfather leave anything to us?" I ask finally. My thoughts are racing. A glance to Avery tells me she's suffering the same. Her leg is bouncing, something that happens when she's nervous. We both have ADHD, which is why her behaviours are natural to me. Everything she does, it's a lot like me.
Adrenaline. I can feel the blood rush through me, my ears are filled with the sound of it. I try to find a focus in the room. I look at Grayson Hawthorne.
"That's the question of the hour, isn't it?" He steps out from behind the desk, and suddenly I know the object of my focus. Silver eyes.
"I've taken the liberty of making travel arrangements on your behalf." This isn't an invitation. It's a summons.
"What makes you think-" I start to say, but he cuts me off.
"I'll give you two a moment." He leaves the room.
Avery and I are silent for a full five seconds after he's gone.
"How rich is this Grayson guy," Avery whispers. "And when will you marry him, then poison him so he leaves you all his money?"
I slap the back of her head lightly and she laughs. "No, seriously. What is going on? Are we actually believing this?," I ask.
She pulls her phone out and types something in the search bar. I look over her shoulder to see what comes up. Tobias Hawthorne, philanthropist. "I don't know. But this doesn't seem like a scam. Tobias Hawthorne is really rich. And did you see the way this Grayson guy sent Principal Altman away?"
I scoff. "I did. But I can't just take off, and neither can you." We'll both miss work. We'll both miss classes. I'm about to graduate. And there's still Libby...
"We'll take Libby with us. Please," Avery says, guessing my thoughts, a desperate tone in her voice. I sigh and close my eyes. I can hardly say no to her. And some time away would be good for us. "Come on, Milly. Wouldn't it be nice to take a trip, just us?"
She squeezes my hand and suddenly, the wound in my heart hurts a little less.