𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘 → original

twenty one

Ophelia did go see Vallie's family, but it did not quench any of her longing or help in her grieving. In fact, the visit had placed a new beast before her, filling her with a fear that she wasn't sure she would be able to utter aloud. Something was off. Something was very off in the Wright household. And she needed her friends to help her work through it.

Ophelia had texted the group chat (they had used the old one with Vallie still in it for months, until her number was disconnected) the second she got back to Pittsburgh, telling them that they needed to start planning a trip for their winter break. After Christmas, they would spend New Years together. She said no one was allowed to decline, because it was imperative that she share her thoughts in person. Amory even offered to fly anyone out who couldn't afford it.

Everyone had more or less agreed, because they knew that there was no turning down Ophelia. A few weeks went by before she told them where they would be meeting; Flagstaff, Arizona. No one knew why, and Ophelia was reluctant to explain without actually seeing them. Still, they agreed. Their New Year's Eve plans were decided for them.

✩✰✩

On December 30, after varying hours of travel and different arrival times, the group was finally pulled back together. They were all in Amory's hotel room, some yawning from jet lag and some wary to just be near each other again. Still, upon seeing each other, they had all hugged, and smiled, and forgotten momentarily what it was that had pulled them so far apart in the first place. The lapse in memory did not last long for any of them.

Lou was particularly nervous, a feeling she could only describe as guilt filling her chest when she first saw Caspar's face.

Caspar felt like he could breathe for the first time in months, having Lou close enough to know that she was alive and (somewhat) well.

Nadia was weary, though she did not let it show. Her leg was fully healed, and she flitted around the room and chatted like the once-popular college athlete she had been in another life.

Amory was smiling, and it was genuine. The Lions had a shit season and didn't make it to the playoffs, which surprised no one, and the room was filled with some of his favorite people.

Marc no longer looked exhausted, and he couldn't help himself but gush to the others about finishing up his cooking classes, and the opportunity he had been presented to work under a chef in New Orleans. Even if he didn't take it, which he didn't think he would, he couldn't help but slip back into the bragging boy he had once been.

Ophelia was faking, taking a page out of Lou's book. She talked and smiled and laughed, granting herself a few moments of reprieve before she shattered it all with her news.

They chatted idly, each of them tip-toeing around the elephant in the room; why they were there. Ophelia made no move to have some grand announcement, she didn't clap her hands or direct orders. It seemed she wanted to allow herself a few selfish moments of just being with her friends before she did any of that.

Once they fell into a bit of awkward silence, all sitting around and eyeing one another, waiting for someone to ask the question, Ophelia finally sighed and garnered the rooms attention.

"Okay, so, I'm sure you're all wondering why we're all here, though I don't think I should need an excuse to see my best friends." Ophelia smiled, still faking it at all. "Right, well, there is a reason of course. A few months back, I went and visited Vallie's family."

Everyone straightened up at that, shooting each other confused and concerned looks. Marc in particular was shocked, because after Ophelia came to his graduation, they had spent much more time together, at least once a week. Caspar even came sometimes, too. He wondered when she had found the time to visit the Wrights, and why she had never mentioned it.