Cherish [GirlxGirl]

Chapter 16- Final Chapter

For me to be late was rare, for me to be late packing for a trip had never happened before. Despite the uniqueness of the situation it was the reality. Alexis and Georgia were about to arrive and here I was, half dressed, hair only just finished and some of my clothes still sitting on the end of my bed waiting to be put into my suitcase. I'd managed to oversleep, which meant I'd gotten to the hairdresser late, which meant that the three hours it took to braid my hair put me dangerously close to not having enough time to get ready before the others arrived. Which meant me telling them to come later. Which meant that I would have all of 45 minutes to check in before my flight.

As for the clothes, that was purely procrastination. I expected to have enough time to pack them so instead of taking the ten minutes I would have needed the night before to put them away. I wanted to leave myself the option in case I thought of a cuter outfit for the 9 days I would be away.

Yes, 9 days. That's all the time I was using to visit St Lucia. It had long been on my list of islands to visit and this two weeks of vacation felt like the perfect time. Especially with things with Cherish not improving in the last few weeks.

She stopped texting, as did I and we hadn't said more than a polite hello to each other since then. And even that was on the occasion that we happened to be out of our apartments at the same time. Fate made sure that that was daily. Even on the weekend I had run into her. I still missed her but there were no opportunities to say so. None I took at least. I missed Terrell as well but less. We had spoken a few times over text messaging. It was good. It helped knowing that I had not lost him completely. Cherish however seemed to be permanently removed from my life and I was adjusting to that.

I continued brushing my teeth with one hand as I awkwardly attempted to unzip my small suitcase with the other. Inside were the shoes and bathing suits I had put in days before. Those had been the obvious choices. I knew I would do a little shopping but most days I intended to be at the hotel or on the beach. I had also set aside two days for sight seeing but the rest was books, sunshine and relaxation. I was turning my me day into nine whole days. No mess, no drama.

I placed and damn near dumped the folded clothes into the small suitcase and tried to zip it closed with the one hand. Then I rinsed my mouth and packed my toiletries bag.

Someone was knocking on my door. I checked my watch.

"Shit!"

Georgie and Alex were here and I was still in a towel, the lower half of me was. At least I could consider my suitcase mostly packed, albeit poorly done.

I dashed to the door, the towel held in place with one hand.

"I'm so sorry." I announced as I opened the door. "I'm almost done. Just need to get my jeans on and drop some stuff in my bag."

I didn't stay to invite them in. I was already on the way back to my room.

"It's cool." the voice called from the doorway. I knew who it was but it definitely WAS NOT Georgia or Alexis.

I froze momentarily and took a few steps backward, into my living room. The person standing just inside my doorway, dressed in khaki coloured shorts and a dark green AERO t-shirt was familiar to me but not a person I would have predicted to be there. I was beyond surprised. We hadn't been face to face like this in almost three weeks but there she was, smiling that familiar smile. She knew I was surprised to see her too.

"You really should check who's at your door."

"I know but I was expecting someone so mistakes were made."

She raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Georgia and Alex." I clarified.

She nodded slowly.