𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘 → original

ten

It was the fourth day of their trip, with only three more days to go until they went their separate ways again, and they still had not seen Vallie.

The worry was starting to claw at them, though none of them wanted to voice their concerns aloud. It felt silly, like something that only happened in a movie. Vallie was probably fine, working extra shifts at the hospital simply because she knew they were in need and couldn't say no, meanwhile all of her friends were worrying about the worst possible outcome.

Ophelia found herself questioning why Vallie wasn't calling the house phone, or why she wasn't calling Tyler's phone, but texting him instead. None of them had seen the texts, of course, and that worried her further. She knew that she would feel much better just hearing her voice, so she punched Vallie's number into the landline and prayed that the girl would answer. It went straight to voicemail.

Ophelia sat down on the couch in a huff, then stood back up and paced, finding that she couldn't sit still. Lou was in the living room too, sitting on the couch quietly with her knees pulled up to her chest. She didn't like this, not one bit. Watching Ophelia pace back and forth was making her feel sick, though, so she reached for the girl's wrist as she passed to slow her.

"Want to paint my nails or something?" Lou suggested, just to give them something to do. Ophelia hesitated, then nodded.

Ophelia went to the downstairs bathroom and dug through the medicine cabinet, happy to find one bottle of red nail polish. It was the only option, so even if Lou didn't like the shade, she'd have to accept it. Ophelia grabbed a few paper towels and they both sat cross legged on the floor, Lou giving her one of her hands.

"She's going to come today, and everything is going to be fine." Lou found herself whispering to the girl, because Tyler was still in the house and she didn't really want him to hear. She didn't even believe the words she was saying, but she didn't like the shake in Ophelia's hands, so she said them anyways.

"You're right." Ophelia nodded. She didn't believe the words either. "Can we talk about something else, until then?"

Lou nodded, her eyes trained on the way Ophelia slowly painted her pinky finger nail. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Are you seeing anyone?" Ophelia paused her motion, looking up into Lou's eyes. She saw the confusion and fear in Lou's eyes before she even opened her mouth.

Lou realized that this meant everyone knew her and Topher were no longer together. She felt sick to her stomach, thinking about the night of Vallie's wedding. She had been so foolish to stay the night with Caspar, she knew the others would whisper, and this was her proof.

"I mean, I just assumed you and Topher were no longer together because—"

"Because of the night of Vallie's wedding." Lou finished the sentence for her, squeezing her eyes shut. Now it was her hands that were shaking.

"Vallie's wedding?" Ophelia paused and furrowed her brows, placing the brush back into the nail polish. "What does that have to do with anything? I was going to say because I ran into him at a grocery store in Pittsburgh a few months back. He didn't say anything about you, which kind of told me all I needed to know."

Lou's mouth felt dry, knowing she had just outed herself. She gulped, unable to return Ophelia's wide-eyed gaze.

"I just assumed, since me and Caspar stayed the night together, you guys would talk..." Lou's voice was quiet, hating having to say any of this out loud. She knew she had to, though. She was too far gone. Plus, maybe some small part of her was so very tired of keeping this in.

"Why would I assume that was weird?" Ophelia cocked her head to the side, trying to reach Lou's eye. "I mean, Marc and I stayed together and we just ordered room service and watched movies all night. Did—Oh my god." The implications of Lou's nervousness finally hit her. "Did something happen between you two?"