Little White Lies

Chapter 3

It was almost nightfall by the time they made it to Sacramento, and Eric had already forked out almost a hundred dollars for food and gas. Candice promised that she'd pay him back, and for now, he said he still had some money. The fear of running out of dollars was new to Candice, and this gave her a headache she hoped she never had to experience again.

Candice directed them towards her friend Bianca's apartment, hoping that she'd let them crash without any warning.

"I'm going to say that I'm distraught and you drove me up, and I forgot my cards back at my dorm," Candice repeated their backstory as they waited outside the high-security lobby. She'd usually go inside and wait, but her beer-stained top wasn't really going to win her any favors.

"Hello," Bianca's voice came through and Candice sighed in relief. She needed a shower bad and she was close enough to Bianca that she could rob some outfit off her.

"B, it's me," Candice spoke. There was statics for a few seconds before Bianco squealed and the buzz of the door opening filled their ears. So far, so good.

Bianca was waiting for them when they stepped out of the elevator, her brunette hair perfectly placed and curled. She enveloped Candice with a hug.

"Care, I heard what happened and I am so sorry!" she said, enveloping her in a hug. She opened her mouth to say something again but paused when she caught sight of Eric. She immediately straightened up and tugged a lock of hair behind her ear. "Hi, I'm Bianca."

"Eric, nice to meet you," Eric said with a polite smile. Candice noted with satisfaction that he didn't seem quite as interested in Bianca as he did with her. Bianca, on the other hand, hadn't seemed to notice.

"I'm glad you come to me instead of some crappy hotel, those places just drive you crazy when you are not in the mood," Bianca started. Candice resisted the urge to run to a guest room or use the internet with her laptop, knowing that if she did, it would be out of character.

"We'll be on our way soon anyway, but I—I just need to see a friendly face," Candice lied. Bianca put her hands on her chest, obviously touched. In truth, Candice liked Bianca and her other rich friends enough, but they never had a habit of going to each other in the face of a real crisis. They were always comparing themselves against each other that it was exhausting. But given the circumstances, even the wicked Victoria wouldn't have suspected Candice.

"Is that your boyfriend?" Bianca whispered to Candice, but she had no volume control and Eric surely would have heard them. "He is delicious."

Candice gave her a tight-lipped smile, feeling possessive of Eric all of a sudden. Besides, it wouldn't make sense if Eric was anyone other than her boyfriend to be here with her right now.

"Here's your room," Bianca led them to her best guest room with a flourish. Candice nodded in satisfaction. She had made some upgrade, too.

"We came over so fast that I didn't get a change of clothes..." Candice said sweetly but didn't miss the eye-roll from Bianca nor the shocked face from Eric. The room was smaller than her bedroom in White Falls, but it had enough room as well as a flat-screen TV. With any luck, they could do internet search from it.

"Fine, but you better buy me back some new ones," Bianca said before disappearing. No doubt she would get one of her staff to delivery her clothes. For now, they were safe. This building had top of the line security and anyone who attempted to scale to the twenty-eighth floor would surely be spotted.

"Wow," Eric said, looking around the room in awe. "This is even better than a hotel room."

"Bianca's family owns like half of Sacramento's real estate," Candice said with a shrug. Despite the urgent need for more information, she collapsed on her bed, sighing at the softness.