5. Let Me Bury You in Crap
LET ME BURY YOU IN CRAP
Lavender
Present day
WHEN I GET back to campus, all the parking lots are full.
It takes half an hour to find a damn spot, so I have no time to grab coffee or food before my next class, which happens to be psychology.
I’m well versed in things like cognitive behavioral therapy, so this class should be okay—except for group assignments.
I hate those, because it often means talking to, and working with, people I don’t know.
Josiah was an anomaly this morning. I don’t usually make friends easily because I can be shy and quiet and people mistake that for standoffishness.
Hence, the majority of my friend base is made up of my extended family.
We didn’t all end up here by accident. It started with Quinn and Robbie, who both happened to apply and get accepted.
Then Liam and Lane followed, also ending up in Chicago.
By the time Maverick was submitting college applications it had become a running joke that we’d all end up in Chicago.
Except both him and Kodiak were accepted too.
Then Lacey, Lovey, and BJ all applied. By the time it was mine and River’s turn it was assumed that we’d come out here, too, if we were accepted.
Only I deferred my acceptance for a year.
After psych class, I meet up with my twin cousins Lacey and Lovey since I have some time to kill before my next class and no desire to go home. At least River, Maverick, and I aren’t the only ones with odd names in our family. They’re sisters to Liam and Lane, who are also twins.
I find them sitting in the back corner of the campus café, and of course, they’re not alone.
My cousin BJ is lounging in one of the chairs.
His long legs are stretched out, and his head is tipped back, mouth hanging open, because he’s passed out cold.
There are three pencils stuck in his man bun, and someone’s decorated his forehead with a row of reinforcement stickers.
“Lavy!” Lacey hops off the couch, jumps gracefully over BJ’s legs, and pulls me into an enthusiastic hug.
It means my face is almost mashed into her chest. Lacey and Lovey are willowy, and very nearly identical.
There are subtle differences, but unless you know them well, it’s almost impossible to tell them apart.
They look very much like Barbie dolls come to life and are the kindest, most genuine girls I know.
I’m so glad I’m going to school with them this year.
Lacey and Lovey are in their junior year, both studying public relations.
They pledged the sorority and live off campus in a house with six other girls.
They’re involved in pretty much every fundraising event there is, and they’re super outgoing.
They invited me to pledge, but the idea alone makes my mouth dry, so I declined.
Lovey waits until I’ve made it past BJ before she gets up to hug me. “I love this dress! Do you think I can borrow it?”
Lovey is almost six feet tall, so I’m thinking the skirt would be a micro-mini at best, but if she’s cool with her underwear showing, so am I. “If you want, sure.”
They pull me down, so I’m sitting in the middle of the couch, sandwiched between them while they volley questions at me.
“How are you?”
“What’s your schedule like?”
“Are your brothers driving you nuts yet?”
“Are there any cute guys in your classes?”
“Have you seen Quinn? I heard he got into a fight this morning before the guys even got on the ice,” Lovey says, eyes wide and thumbnail between her teeth.
“Quinn is always getting into fights.” Lacey rolls her eyes. “There’s a party at our house this weekend. You should come and sleep over at our place! It’ll be so fun!”
I make a time-out sign before they can launch any more questions. “Overwhelmed,” I whisper and then realize, with horror, that I’m on the verge of tears and not sure why.
Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Today has been a clusterfuck, and I still have one more class before I can go home and eat all the marshmallows out of a box of Lucky Charms.
“Oh no!” they both whisper back, and suddenly I’m engulfed in a hug from both sides. “We’re so sorry.”
“We know better.”
“Take deep breaths.”
“I’m okay,” I mumble, not wanting to draw more attention to myself.
They release me, but both shift at the same time, pulling one leg up so they can turn toward me, the movement synchronized.
“You don’t seem okay,” Lovey says softly and tucks my hair behind my ear.
“It’s been a long day. And to answer your questions, yes, my brothers are driving me nuts, my schedule isn’t bad, but today is heavy, and I didn’t know about Quinn and the fight.
It’s not really a huge surprise, though.
” I adore Quinn, but he has a short fuse.
“There’s a nice guy in my costume and set design class who might be cute, but I couldn’t see him very well because I didn’t have my glasses, and let me think about the party.
A sleepover would be fun, but we’ll see if I can deal with the meeting new people part. ”
“The girls in the house are really chill, and the guys who come to our parties don’t hang out with the hockey team, so you won’t have to worry about your brothers showing up, or anyone else.
” Lacey chews her bottom lip and glances furtively at BJ, still passed out in the chair. He can literally sleep anywhere.
“Maybe.”
Lovey grins and claps her hands. “Maybe is almost as good as a yes.”
“And there will be tons of cute guys.” Lacey waggles her brows.
I laugh and shake my head. “We’ll see. As much as cute guys sound awesome, I’m not sure my brothers are going to make dating very easy this year.”
“Hopefully they’re too busy with sports and classes to pay attention to what you’re doing.” Lovey twirls the end of her hair around her finger. “Thankfully Liam and Lane live closer to hockey row, so they can’t interfere with our dates.”
Lovey and Lacey are the youngest of six, and they have four older brothers to my three, so they sort of understand where I’m coming from, but not completely.
“They’re also super chill,” I point out.
“This is true.” They nod in tandem.
As much as the idea of a party excites me, the reality isn’t at all the same. I want to be social, to have lots of friends like they do, to join clubs and be part of things, but I get so stressed out when there are too many people around. People think I’m weird.
Which I am, but in those situations, I end up looking weirder than average.
My stomach growls loud enough to startle me. I glance at the line of students. There are at least ten people waiting to order.
“Are you hungry? Do you want me to grab you a coffee? Something to eat?” Lovey offers.
“I can wait.”
“I was about to get a tea. Tell me what you want, and I’ll order it for you.”
Even lines make me anxious. Sometimes people try to talk to me, and then I have to make polite conversation with strangers, and I don’t have the energy left for that today.
I give her a grateful smile. “Okay. I’ll take a decaf, coconut-milk latte and a scone or a muffin.”
“That’s it? They have sandwiches.”
“A muffin is good.”
“Nothing with raisins, though, right?”
“Right.”
As soon as Lovey gets in line, she strikes up a conversation with the guy in front of her. She isn’t even flirting. She’s just nice.
Lacey and I talk about class schedules while we wait.
Every few minutes someone stops to say hi.
Lots of girls give BJ a sly second glance when they pass him.
Like Lacey and Lovey, he’s a junior, but unlike most twenty-one-year-olds, he’s sporting a full, lush beard, better suited for someone at least five years his senior.
He’s also sporting a sizeable tattoo that spans from his wrist to his elbow, and he has plans to continue the art until he has a full sleeve, exactly like his dad.
In fact, BJ is almost the spitting image of his father, apart from his chocolate-brown eyes, which are very much his mother’s.
The other big difference is that instead of being into hockey like his dad, BJ is a figure skater—a tattooed, bearded figure skater, who hangs out with a bunch of hockey players.
He gives off a zero-fucks vibe at all times.
Since our mothers are half sisters, we’ve always spent a lot of time together, particularly during holidays.
When Lovey returns with food, BJ’s eyes pop open. He yawns loudly and stretches. “Lavender? When’d you get here? How long have I been out?” His voice is low and raspy with sleep.
“A while ago.” I help Lovey unload the tray of food. She was smart not to let me go up and order myself. There’s no way I could carry the tray without spilling something. I’ll never have a serving job; that’s for sure.
BJ leans forward to scope out the goods. Before he can reach for something, Lovey shifts to block him, her hands on her hips. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m hungry,” he says gruffly.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re literally always hungry, BJ.”
“That’s because I’m a growing boy.”
He tries to reach around her to nab something from the table, but she elbows him in the side.“You get last pick.”
BJ gives up trying to steal her lunch and flops back in the chair wearing a mirthful grin.
Before I can take a seat in the middle of the couch again, BJ grabs me by the waist and yanks me into the chair with him.
“What’re you doing?”
“I need you to save me. A girl I hooked up with last semester walked in, and she’s a stage-five clinger. Pretend like you’re into me.”
I make a gagging sound and try to get out of the chair, but the springs in the seat are shot, and my knees are practically at my chest. “Seriously, BJ, that’s just wrong. We’re related.”
“She doesn’t know that. Just stay put until she’s gone.” He wraps his arm around my shoulder to keep me seated.
I’m not sure if I’m embarrassed or entertained or both. BJ is ridiculously charismatic, and girls throw themselves at him on a regular basis.