Golden Boy

38. The Attic

{ Endless thanks to the artist whose handle is @dark_academia_aesthetics on Instagram, who sent me this incredible headshot of Zina, pictured above. It's now her official image, for the many that have been speculating. Thank you so much!

{ DISCLAIMER: homophobia}

"Your what?"

George stared at Zina's letter, and Lee was staring at him, his brow furrowed. George opened the envelope slowly, and he pulled the letter out, Fred looking over his shoulder. Both twins looked entranced and attentive to what Zina had written as their eyes darted down the page.

Lee looked over at Camellia with an expression of confusion, but she couldn't say anything. She'd completely forgotten about Zina- again. How was that even possible? Why did this keep happening?

"Fuck..." George muttered, folding the letter and putting it back in the envelope. "S-She, erm... misses me, apparently."

Fred's lips were slightly parted, and he struggled to compose himself. Camellia took a few steps toward him and took his hand, and he seemed to snap out of it. He looked at her and swallowed hard, then murmured, "Sorry, I- I just got distracted for a second..."

"Mate, you have a girlfriend?" Lee asked, still shocked. "I mean, I knew you'd broken up with Angelina ages ago but... why didn't you tell me this? I mean-"

George looked at Lee, and just like Fred had done, he seemed to snap out of his trance. "Lee, I dunno what happened... I swear, I wasn't thinking about her, when we were- erm, last night. I wasn't thinking about her at all."

"So you forgot you had a girlfriend?" Lee said, crossing his arms in front of him, but not in a challenging way. He seemed caught off guard and genuinely confused.

George seemed shocked as well. "I... I forgot," he mumbled, and he tucked the letter away.

"Look, George, it's fine. I mean, we were drunk anyway, it was probably just that..." Lee said, not making eye contact with him.

George nodded. "Right, yeah... just drunk."

Camellia and Fred looked at each other, both sensing the tension between the other two grow more than ever. George had actually forgotten about Zina, and for a long time, too. And cheating wasn't in his nature at all- but the way he looked at Lee in this moment made Camellia think that he would like nothing better than to get him alone again.

It wasn't her place to say, but she'd been thrilled to see George and Lee together, especially after all their years of genuine friendship and chemistry. She hated Zina more than anyone, and she didn't even come close to deserving George. While Camellia didn't condone cheating in the least, she couldn't help but feel that this was the exception to the rule.

"Come on," Lee said to George, motioning toward the kitchen. "Let's just go get something to eat."

The two went into the kitchen together, and Camellia turned to Fred, the muscle in his jaw tensing. "Fred... what's wrong?"

He shook his head dismissively. "N-Nothing," he stammered, and he gave her a reassuring smile. "I love you."

Camellia narrowed her eyes at him. "I love you too..." she said, but her stomach was in a knot. The second he'd held Zina's letter, he'd acted completely different. Something told Camellia that things were going on behind her back that she didn't know about, and it made her sick just thinking about it.

No. No, no, no. What was wrong with her? Fred would never do anything like that- he loved her, and he'd proven that time and time again. Camellia suddenly felt guilty for doubting him, and while she still had that terrible feeling in her gut, she tried her best to brush it off as jealousy and irrational thoughts... there must've been something else going on that he just wasn't ready to talk about, nothing more. A relationship was nothing without trust, and she trusted Fred to no end.