The Valdez Affair

26. What Becomes Of Us

"You know, dead people can get goosebumps," Nicole recited from her phone.

" I didn't," Adrian said.

"Also, this one roman emperor made his favorite horse a senator."

"What's up, kids?" Jace said as greeting, settling down with his tray containing a burger and two bottles of juice.

Beside me, Sebastian sat down at the same time. "What are we talking about?" He leaned forward, lightly pecking my cheek.

"Nicole's enlightening us with useless facts," Hayley said, to which Nicole grinned widely.

"My pleasure."

"Hey, Nic," Jace said. "Can you not make my day shittier than it's already been? Thanks."

Nicole rolled her eyes. "Because obviously I'm going to listen to you."

Hayley shot her a glare before turning to her boyfriend. "Why was your day crap?"

"I had two tests," Jace said, "and I got a C in my Biology quiz."

Hayley squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Wanna go out today? It'll cheer you up." She turned towards us. "You guys want to meet up in the afternoon. Let's do something fun."

"I'm in," Adrian said. "I'm dying for some excitement."

"Same," said Nicole.

"I can't today," I said. "I need to work on my college apps. Deadline's coming up."

"Where are you applying?" Nicole asked.

"San Diego and San Francisco."

"Not UCLA?" Hayley asked. It was her school of choice and, because Nicole was looking at colleges on the East Coast, Hayley had been hoping for, at least, a chance of us being together.

"I might later," I said. "My dad got all the info from these colleges over the weekend. So, I'm focusing on that right now."

"Are you going to come Sebastian?" Jace asked.

Sebastian glanced at me. "How about Ariel and I join you guys for dinner?"

"Would you be willing to spare us some of your time, Miss Watson?" Nicole asked mockingly.

"Yes, ma'am." I laughed. As I did, my gaze fell on a tall, brunette girl across from me.

I hadn't seen Melody Gibson a lot over the past week. Now, she was looking at me from the corner of her eyes as she passed by our table. It almost seemed like a glare in my direction.

Not a lot of people knew that her stint with dating Sebastian was fake. But it was. The look she gave me was uncalled for. It was starting to twist up my insides, making me nervous.

What was up with that girl?

I felt a hand reach for mine, our fingers interlacing. I glanced at Sebastian and he just clutched my hand tighter. I turned ahead and Melody was already out of view. 

Taking a deep breath, I tried to push the last few moments out of my mind. Instead, I leaned against Sebastian's frame, hoping to gain comfort from the knowledge that he was here, with me. Sebastian liked me and that sufficed.

~

When I walked into the house, the first thing I noticed was the smell. It was coming from the direction of the kitchen. The smell itself was that of something burnt.

"What is that?" Sebastian asked.

I began to hurry towards the kitchen. "My guess is Victor."

We crossed the foyer, heading to the kitchen. The counter at the front was clear. Victor, Violette, and my mom were standing near the stove.