Chapter 2
Chapter
Two
DAPHNE
Pin-up Barbie proved more elusive than anticipated. Daphne found her absence curious. Admittedly, she didn’t fully invest herself in the search due to an afternoon of classes, but with a couple of hours to kill before dinner, she thought tracking down someone that vibrant would be an easier task.
Nobody on campus looked like her. Daphne’s mystery woman shone with the bright jewel tones of something poisonous, so many eye-catching colors and accessories.
But after wandering through all the usual locations students frequented, Daphne didn’t spot a single flash of red.
She thought about going to registration to see if she could dig something up, but without a first name, she didn’t have enough to begin.
Fuming, Daphne sat alone at a table in the library, ignoring the cluster of girls at the neighboring table. They giggled like idiots. Once they started nodding in her direction over their books, exchanging hushed whispers, she sighed in irritation.
Gossip was still hot after Alex’s epic crash-out.
It followed her around like shit on her shoe.
Daphne knew she had made a mistake getting involved with him, but she hadn’t realized how large an error she’d made until the fallout started.
Alex was charming and popular. Daphne was not.
The gossip that leaked regarding their relationship was of a he-said, she-said nature, except Daphne couldn’t be bothered to say anything about that idiot and therefore she’d been painted as the villain in the court of public opinion.
Despite Alex’s position, age, and juvenile behavior, no one took her side; not Beth, nor these giggling morons.
What was the point of fighting when opinions were already made?
Instead, Daphne kept her head down and concentrated on her classes.
Three more semesters and she’d never see any of them again.
Easier said than done, though. The snickering rabble set her teeth on edge.
Daphne gripped the edge of the table, waiting for them to leave so they didn’t see her react.
She desperately needed a distraction. The universe must have heard her.
A flash of red snagged her attention through the stacks.
Daphne slid out of her chair, leaving the gossiping group behind as she followed the fleeting splash of color.
It could have been someone else wearing bright red, but she tiptoed through the shelves.
Wandering into the familiar Anatomy reference section, Daphne realized she’d lost sight of the source of the bright color and leaned against the out-turned spines.
A soft voice slipped through the gap in the books behind her. “Fancy seeing you again, sugar.”
Daphne peered through to the other side, where Pin-Up Barbie peered at her with those bright blue eyes.
“Hi,” Daphne breathed, surprised by the fluttery sensation in her stomach. Dinner was soon but she didn’t think it was a side effect of hunger. “You’re here.” A brilliant observation on her part, truly.
Pin-Up Barbie flashed her a smile. “What’s a girl like you doing in a dump like this?” She spoke in teasing tones. The library was clearly not a dump, but it was older and dusty. To someone so bright and shiny, it might come across as a dump.
Daphne blinked, determined to rescue the conversation. “Isn’t that my line?” The grin she offered was more strained than intended. She hadn’t smiled much since Alex.
Her subject didn’t seem to notice. “Well, I’m trying not fail of out of Sociology, so that means actually studying.”
Daphne tapped her fingers against the book spines. She could navigate this library in her sleep. “Might help if we were actually in the Sociology reference section,” she said, her voice soft and sincere while she studied Pin-Up Barbie’s reaction.
There was an infinitesimal pause before a lovely pink blush bloomed across the blonde’s cheeks. The flush somehow made her eyes even more blue, the sort of cornflower blue too vivid to be real. The flutters in Daphne stomach intensified.
“I don’t come here, like, ever,” Pin-Up Barbie admitted.
“I could show you?” Her offer ended on a wavering note of uncertainty.
“I’d like that.” Pin-Up Barbie’s smile cranked up a notch, melting the flutters into mellow warmth.
Daphne circled the stacks, startled when the blonde straightened. Pin-Up Barbie was more than a head taller than her, a natural height considering the ruby red ballet flats she wore on surprisingly dainty feet. Side by side, the top of her head reached the blonde’s shoulder.
“This way,” she said, aware of the heat creeping up her neck. “I’m Daphne, by the way.”
“Celeste,” said the blonde, allowing her to finally put a name to her heart-shaped face. “Daphne is a lovely name.”
The heat grew more insistent, threatening a full-scale blush.
Alex never made her blush. “I was named after my grandmother.” Early in their relationship, Alex had said she had an old lady name.
She laughed at the time, but the comment stayed with her.
“Celeste is also very pretty. It sounds like celestial.” She certainly had a heavenly body.
Celeste’s brows rose at her comment. “Thank you.” That megawatt smile dimmed to something smaller and softer but much more genuine. “Do you always eat alone?”
Daphne stopped, caught off guard.
Celeste’s hands fluttered through the air. “Sorry, that was super intrusive. It’s just, every time I see you in the cafeteria, you’re alone.”
“How many times have you seen me?” Part of Daphne knew she should be alarmed by the unseen attention of this not-quite-a-woman in front of her, but judging from the fresh wave of fluttering in her abdomen, she was closer to flattered. How had she never noticed Celeste before now?
“Um, maybe a dozen. I just transferred in at the beginning of the semester,” she explained, brushing her hair behind one ear.
Strange, Daphne would almost call that small movement the tell of a lie.
Did Celeste have such a solid grasp on human mannerisms?
“And I don’t go to the dining hall that often. ”
“Oh.” That explained why Celeste only saw her alone. Daphne had been somewhat distracted at the beginning of the semester. She cleared her throat. “Here’s the sociology section.”
“Thank you again,” said Celeste, turning to the shelves.
Daphne lingered. “You’re welcome to join me,” she said. The blush finally hit her cheeks in a simmering wave. “Next time you come to the dining hall.”
Celeste turned back to her, wide-eyed. “If you don’t mind waiting a few minutes, I could join you for dinner?”
“Sure.” The word came out higher than Daphne intended.
She leaned against the end of the stack, waiting for Celeste to grab what she needed.
The giggling rabble passed by her, laughing hard while making pointed gestures at her.
Daphne didn’t spare them a glance, but Celeste emerged from the stacks wearing a frown.
“What’s up with them?”
Daphne was not ready to share her annoying ex situation. She shrugged. “Ditzy idiots.” She nodded to the short stack of books in Celeste’s arms. “Ready to check out?”
Once Celeste visited the circulation desk, they strolled to the dining hall.
A dozen questions burned on Daphne’s tongue, but she still found their mutual silence comfortable.
Some of that ease slipped away once they were inside.
Daphne noticed when more than a few tables glanced their way, but she grabbed a tray.
The hot meal on offer was baked chicken and she loaded up her tray like normal.
It wasn’t until she found an unoccupied table that she noticed Celeste sat across from her empty-handed.
“Aren’t you getting anything?” She watched Celeste’s face, searching for more hints and clues.
The blonde flicked her fingers. “Not feeling the chicken tonight. I’ve got left over Thai in my mini fridge.
Besides,” she grinned, folding her hands in front of her.
“I’m here for the company.” Her nails were filed to points and painted the same shade of red as her lipstick.
So much red should have clashed with her hot pink highlights, but it worked for her.
Celeste appeared to be an expert at color coordination. “So, what are you majoring in?”
The question kicked off an easy, light conversation between them. Celeste seemed highly interested in Daphne’s chosen major and career goals.
“Why a medical examiner?” Celeste asked. Daphne nearly fumbled under her intense gaze.
Why a medical examiner? Why not a doctor? Alex had asked her this question, but this was different. There was no judgment in Celeste’s tone, only curiosity. Yet, part of her still felt the need to defend her choices.
“Don’t laugh,” said Daphne, taking a sip of her coke to wet her throat. “I like the…puzzle.”
Celeste’s brows drew together. “The puzzle.”
How was she going to explain this without sounding creepy? Alex said she skeeved him out.
“Patients can tell you what feels wrong. They might lie, but usually it’s a start.
A dead body is an unfolding mystery. Even if you find the cause of death, you might discover other under lying causes, or conditions they weren’t aware of because they weren’t life threatening.
Like the cadaver in my anatomy class,” said Daphne, her voice becoming more animated.
“She had these benign clusters of sub-dermal cysts. What causes that? If it’s caused by genetics or environment. Or—”
“Slut.” The slur splashed across her back, along with what felt like a cup full of cold liquid.
Daphne recognized the sticky sweet scent of root beer as it soaked through her shirt and the seat of her pants.
Celeste rose to her feet, slapping the table, but the culprit was already halfway out the door.
Daphne recognized her retreating figure as one of the giggling girls from the library.
She sighed and continued eating her dinner, valiantly trying to ignore the sticky wet sensation seeping into her underwear.
“What the hell?” Celeste’s voice was a hiss.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Daphne, wishing she could rewind the last five minutes. “I’ll take a shower after I get back to my dorm.” Hopefully Beth didn’t hide her toiletries again.
Celeste sat back down, but there was tension in her expression. “Why would she do that?”
“Act like a tween twat?” Daphne angrily bit into a piece of steamed broccoli.
This was not a subject she wanted to talk about tonight, dammit.
Or ever again. “Just some issues with an ex.” She refused to devote any more energy to Alex today, even if it tanked their dinner conversation.
Celeste fidgeted across from her, clearly dissatisfied by her brush-off explanation. “I’m sorry.”
Celeste frowned. “Why are you apologizing?”
“Feels like I ruined dinner.” Daphne set her fork down, her appetite gone as her meal congealed to a lead weight in the pit of her stomach. “I’m going to go get cleaned up.”
She stood, closing her eyes at the unpleasant sensation of sticky cool soda running down her backside.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, but with Celeste as a witness, it felt ten times worse.
Balling her napkin in her fist, she glanced at her dinner companion. “Thank you for joining me.”
There was a high probability that she would never join her again.
Celeste opened her mouth to say something, but Daphne couldn’t hold her composure.
She fled, nearly throwing her tray away in her haste to get away.
Others were noticing the unfortunate state of her clothes, their snickers nipping at her heels as she broke into a run toward her room.