if by chance | ✓

26 | like i was a supernova

[ 26 ]

C O R A

✦

It has been three weeks since Eugene was out of surgery, alive and out of risk but still under observation. It has also been three weeks since I had had any interaction with Rhys, minus the occasional text messages to check on each other and the one time I called to let him know about the test series coming up next week on our elective course on Forensic Psychology. He had been unusually brief in his responses, yes's and oh's dominating the phone call before he excused himself saying he had to drop his cousin Rory off to her Aerobics class.

I hadn't pressed further, figuring he needed time to de-stress especially since he found out Acacia and Eugene were dating and he had absolutely zero idea about it. I wasn't supposed to know either but Acacia considered me as her only friend who she could trust with her secrets (like people often did) and hence decided to let me know. I understood Rhys had his own reasons to be mad at Eugene, but he also needed to acknowledge that they had almost no time alone to discuss things ever since the tumor was detected ─ with the whole camp thing in between ─ and Eugene was naturally a bit reserved, more than Rhys himself. Although, when I had argued the same, Rhys had totally dodged the topic and insisted we talk about something else because it was getting too much.

"Did you hear me? Cora?" Vivianne narrows her eyes at me from the passenger seat and I meet her heated stare in the rearview mirror.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" I blink, taking the right turn onto Camden Borough. On account of the excruciating cold, the number of people on the roads have significantly reduced but the cold apparently was not enough to keep them away from the Thanksgiving sales and thrift stores.

"Noah, tell her. I hate repeating stuff" Vivianne scowls, making both me and my twin chuckle.

"Viv wants us to stop by the McDonald's drive through, she wants to try out their new curly fries" Noah says, fixing his hair, "Also, may I add, you drive like a snail."

"Snails don't drive" I roll my eyes, earning a laugh from Vivianne.

At the next curb, which announced the entrance to Regent's Park, I drop Noah off for his casual date with Archer. Knowing they'd head off to the zoo, I teased they were just two monkeys returning home. Viv was unexpectedly cool about them too, so I inferred that she had the closure she needed. She had to, sooner or later.

"You look pretty tense" She comments, as soon as I park my car in the front porch of the Crawford's.

"I am pretty tense" I mutter under my breath just loud enough for my cousin to hear. She hides a teasing smile.

I had been here before, albeit just once, but it had been at nighttime and everything looked vastly different in broad daylight, the sliver of sun bathing us head to toe. I also hadn't noticed the little fountain in the middle of their garden earlier, which mostly included violets and yellow roses and a huge apple tree around the corner. I wondered if it was Rhys's uncle who fancies all of this or if it was his mother.