sign {h.s.}

capitolo sedici

"CASSIDY, GIRL, I need you to stop crying." Practically begging at this point, desperation is leaking through Lana's tone. She started to be nurturing and compassionate. Understanding and patient. By now, I can tell that she is growing increasingly panicked by the tears that won't stop falling.

The day started great.

Once I got back to the dorm, Lola was immediately intrigued in my night. Deep red hickeys littered my chest and neck. I'd no recollection of any particular time in which they were left, but that made no difference to Lola. She wanted details. Temporarily, I found myself stuck and uncertain on how to proceed. The fact that Harry were the one to leave them there made me uncertain on how to proceed. I found myself getting caught up in whether or not this is something that could be considered a conflict of interest.

So, I lied.

In more—albeit, invented—detail than I had ever otherwise provided before, I listed all of the dirty things that Brody had done to me. Broken bits of language existed between the two of us. When possible, I signed along—even if it was only something so simply as spelling out the words. It made for a slow process, but it made me feel better knowing that she alone didn't have to work overtime to understand me. Regardless, I found it better than the unfathomable alternative which would result in her calling Harry over to interpret our conversation for her sake.

We spent the morning and afternoon giggling and gossip. Girl time to the max. It was unlike anything that I had ever done before. Coming from a family of boys—and a friend group of mostly boys, as well—I have never really been exposed to this side of feminine friendship. More than anything, I was just shocked at how much I liked the experience. I liked putting on a sheet mask and laying back on my bed and indulging her in all of the filthy things that happened the night before. Even if some of them were invented to hide the identity of the third person in the ménage à trois.

It was late in the afternoon when I heard from Lana. On the Uber ride home, I had informed her of the filthy details of my arrangement with Harry. Still buzzing from the experience, she was rather insistent that I join her group of friends at a new party tonight. A bigger party, she demanded that I would join her tonight. We made a loose plan for me to go to Lana's apartment to pregame and get ready. I would meet her roommate and a couple of friends there and we would all head over together.

Around eight, I left Lola and favor of Lana. Of course I invited her to the party, but she politely declined. She was planning on having a movie night with her friends. Grateful that we had had such a good day together, I thanked her for the girl talk and sent a quick, silent prayer that I would be forgiven for lying to her about the existence of a third person. Let alone that the third person was her hired interpreter. The morality of the situation is still settling with me, and I'm not quite certain how to make it all work.

When I showed up at Lana's door, I was only dressed in my party clothes. I hadn't done my makeup yet; I wanted to match my look to hers. Fortunately, neither of us wanted to go very hard on our makeup looks for the night. Save from our usual attention to a bold lip, some highlighter, and thick eyelashes, neither one of us spent a lot of time on an overly extravagant eyeshadow look.

As soon as I walked in the door, Lana introduced me to her roommate, Bea. Similar to Lana, Bea also has an intense propensity for partying and casual relationships. Chaotic and energetic in the best possible meaning, the two girls were both very welcoming from the second that I walked in.

We began drinking right away. Bea spends her summers as a bartender on Cape Cod and was more than happy to play bartender for us. The experience was unlike anything that I've ever experienced before. We laughed, played drinking games, danced, and sang to the overwhelmingly loud music. By the time we were walking out of their apartment, I felt like I had gained two new best friends. My second observation was the fact that I had unintentionally got a lot drunker than I had wanted at the pregame.