Beside

15 - girls

"Fox, do you think there are aliens? I do. Let's send them a letter. What should we say?"

"Dear Aliens, please visit, we're bored. We have candy and we hide under the slide during recess."

"And we have ring pops."

"And board games. They'll like us."

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

c h r i s

I can't stop bouncing my knee.

Cam's sitting cross-legged on the couch, flipping through another stack of Noah's papers. He's behind, big legs surrounding her, throwing the black hood of her sweater over her eyes. She fights him off, trying to read.

A knock at the door.

I'm squealing before I even realize it, racing toward the door like a kid at Christmas.

"Whitney!"

"I come bearing gifts!" she says, pulling a bottle of wine from her purse. Her skin's all golden-brown with freckles scattered across her face like specks of sunlight. They pulse as she takes in the place.

"Come in," I say.

She steps in wearing a flowy cream dress cinched at the waist with a thin braided belt. It has bell sleeves that flutter when she lifts the bottle. "I got rosé."

I turn with a smile. "Cam, Noah, this is Whitney!"

Noah lifts a hand and nods. "Nice to meet you, Whitney."

Whit's burnt-honey hair spills down her back, so she tucks it behind her ear with a smile. "Thanks for having me."

Cam pushes off the couch, her long legs eating up the space in a few strides. "I recognize you."

Whitney grins. "You're Camila, girlfriend to Noah, dog owner to Charlie. You came by Hallowed Grounds once. Remember?"

Cam points at Whitney. "Holy shit! You!"

"Me."

Cam waves toward the terrier, who's standing in the kitchen staring at Whitney. "Charlie, it's Whitney!"

Whitney shoves the wine into my hands and crouches down, holding out her tattooed hand toward Charlie. He sniffs Whitney's hand before nudging it with his wet nose.

Noah says, "I'll head out for a bit." He takes Cam's chin, his thumb brushing her cheek as he kisses her. "Have fun."

My heart feels all fluttery, watching them. It's like the kind of love I used to dream about.

Noah takes his bookbag from the hooks and leaves, nodding to all of us once more. Cam is smiling, fiddling with the hem of her black hoodie.

That was movie-worthy.

Once we're all seated on the floor, Camila takes the bottle, raises it to Charlie, and chugs half in one go. Whitney has to wrench it back, fighting her off. Charlie barks at them, but he just seems happy to have a new friend.

The whole moment is so normal, yet it feels like a scene from a daydream.

Whitney tucks her feet up underneath her. "What's going on in this little circle of life?"

Cam snorts. "School. Work. Kicking Fox's ass."

"Speaking of school!" I blurt, "I went to campus a few days ago, Cam. I loved it. The buildings, the air, it's like stepping into a storybook. You can just feel all the history, you know?"

"Noah would love that you said that," Cam says. But then a dark cloud appears over her head, moving and writhing, fingers of darkness curling around her head. She's holding the wine, but her fingers are trembling. She sets the bottle down on the table and rubs her face. "So, how'd you guys meet?"

"PenPals," we say together, smiling.

"Remember that time I sent you that terrible poem about the moon?" I say.

"Terrible? That poem was the moon, Chris."

I point at Whit and tell Cam, "She's a total liar."

Cam rolls her eyes, half-grinning. "Who's ready to watch Die Hard after."

"What's that?" I ask.

Whitney gasps. "You told me you'd watch it! Who's the liar now?"

"Bruce Willis!" Cam shouts. "Explosions! Saving Christmas! Come on, Chris!"

Charlie barks.

I raise my hands. "Sorry!"

Later, after Noah returns and we're knee-deep in poker using random gold pieces of Whit's jewelry. Cam's quiet again, and even though she's laughing at Whit's jokes, there's something heavy in the way she's holding herself. That cloud's still there.

I scoot a little closer, resting my chin on her shoulder, peeking at her cards since I'm long out of this round. She taps her ace of clubs. I nod against her, pretending I know what's going on.

Cam wins that poker round, tossing the cards into Whitney's unimpressed face. Charlie jumps up and barks again. It's even funnier because I know Whit, and she's mad. She's so cute, all red and puffed-out cheeks.

"In your face!"

"Oh, take a day off!" Whitney says.

"Winners don't take days off, baby!" Cam cheers, high-fiving me again.

A knock on the door snaps us out of our wine-haze and gloating.

Cam frowns, shifting her gaze to the door. "Is that Fox?"

"It's for me, I think," Whitney says as she stands, gracefully gathering her things. "It's my boyfriend."

I pout, telling Cam, "Walker always steals Whitney in the evenings."

Another knock echoes through the apartment. Whitney hurries to answer it, her sandals clicking lightly against the floor.

The door swings open, and Walker steps inside. Tall, broad, burly blonde man in a red flannel.

"Why's there a lumberjack in the apartment," Cam mutters into my ear. I slap a hand over her mouth with wide eyes.

Walker takes Whitney into his arms for a hug, then pulls her in, an arm around her, giving the rest of us a nod.

"Evening, ladies. Looks like you all had a good time."

I nod, smiling. "Cam just destroyed us in poker."

Cam lifts a hand. "I'm Cam."

Oh shoot. Right. "Uh, Cam, this is Walker, Whitney's boyfriend."

Charlie nudges my elbow with his cool nose, blinking at me. I point to Walker, "That's Whitney's boyfriend. Go say hi."

"Wish we had the time," Walker says, "but we should get going. Dinner date. Don't want to keep you."

Whitney's whisked away. Just like that.

"What the fuck." Cam's staring at the door after it clicks shut behind them. She turns to me with a grin. "You don't drink, eh? What's the story there?"

Cancer. My liver's not the strongest these days. The c-word hovers in my mind for a second, but I brush away the dust off the windowsill. The empty rosé bottle turns on its base, tipping its neck at me, Sorry, kid. But it's okay. I'm still here.

"I'm a lightweight," I tell Cam. She smiles dryly.

"You don't say."

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What do I think?
I don't think.
What do you think?
What's the vibe?

Next chap is 🥵
Fox is gonna come home
and Chris gonna go
ask for kiss 😘

Thanks for reading Beside.
—Laurel Montaze—
_______________________
😶

If you're not reading this on W🅰️TTPAD, it's been stolen. My username is @immorallaurel