Chapter Six
CHAPTER SIX
THEN
December 2015
THE ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BALL in Winchester was hosted by local Congressman Harvey Cawthorn and his wife at their home. The plantation house sat back off the road a good half mile or so, down a dirt drive that was filled in with gravel until you got closer to the house, where they had poured concrete (and repoured it every other year to keep up appearances).
The white house had a large veranda with four classic columns and four windows—two on each story on either side—each of which was currently decorated with evergreen wreaths sporting red bows. Small porches extended from the side of the house and the driveway formed a circle around a large fountain just below the ten steps that led up to the front door with a carved tympanum (at least that’s what Michaela called it when she saw it).
The opulence of the Cawthorn Mansion made it the obvious choice for the location of the Christmas Ball. The Christmas Ball was an event that only the most prominent families in the area were invited to attend. The “official” purpose was to raise money for families in need during the holiday season, but it was really just an excuse for some of the richest people in town to have a party.
The Davis family had never been invited until this year. Scratch that; the whole of the Davis family had never been invited until this year. I have been invited a few times over the years after I became friends acquaintances with Harvey’s son. I rarely chose to attend. This kind of thing isn’t my scene, but I don’t have a choice this year (or for the foreseeable future).
Walking inside, I notice the house is full of people dressed to impress. Women wear ball gowns and men are dressed in five-piece suits. Servers pass through the crowd with trays of champagne, sparkling juice, and cocktails. It looks like Christmas threw up. I feel like there should be a rule against two Christmas trees in one room. I don’t remember there being this many decorations when I visited during Christmas before.
Across the room, I make brief eye contact with Nina before a large mass steps into view—William Cawthorn, son of our host and Elizabeth’s current boyfriend. Michaela saunters off to meet Nina and Elizabeth, leaving me alone with him, and that’s the last place I want to be right now. I am about to steal his girlfriend, after all.
The paperwork has been signed. Elizabeth has been registered at SCAD, starting the winter quarter in January. My name was scrubbed from everything to do with the hazing incident, which has been made public and the police are heavily involved. The kid’s parents are going after the school and fraternity because of the injuries he sustained; luckily, he did live. Had I not taken him to the hospital…I don’t even want to think about it, but my name got scrubbed from that, too. I’m set to graduate this spring and start a job at QC Marketing, a firm in Charlotte. Brina was gracious enough to throw in a year’s lease on any condo of my choosing.
The “relationship” won’t make a public debut until after the new year, though. One of Elizabeth’s last-minute stipulations was that she wanted to spend the holidays with the Cawthorns, and I wasn’t going to protest getting to spend one final holiday with my family.
Elizabeth’s idea of “selling” this whole arrangement was contingent on my reputation as one of the town’s golden boys. She would stage a break-up with William at a time and place that we’d set later and then I’d swoop in to help pick up the pieces of her broken heart.
“Josh, dude, what the hell is going on up at Chadwick?” William asks.
“Crazy, right?” I try not to wince at the mention of it.
“Did you know about—What am I saying? Of course you did! You went through it too, I imagine?”
“It wasn’t this bad, but the guy who supposedly did it was newer—a sophomore.”
“Shit,” he breathes. “The kid is supposed to make it, though, right?”
“Far as I know.”
Something over my shoulder catches William’s eye, and I turn to see Elizabeth laughing at something Michaela whispers behind her hand. Elizabeth takes a sip of champagne, her lips gracefully enclosed around the rim of the glass, letting the golden liquid slide down her throat before she pulls away without leaving a stain.
When I turn back to William, he is still staring at her.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” He sighs. “Elizabeth has been acting weird lately. I think the distance is getting the best of us.”
William has been at Duke while Elizabeth has still been in Winchester, not to mention she has been traveling a lot since she graduated high school last spring. At least, that’s what I hear from Michaela.
“If she would just go to Duke like we planned—”
“She’s not?” I feign ignorance.
William sighs. “She enrolled at Savannah starting next month.”
“I mean, Savannah isn’t that far.”
“Dude, it may as well be on the other side of the country. Not to mention, do you know she’s making me wait?” I’m not quite sure what he means. “She won’t sleep with me! Something about not being ready. We’ve been together for two years, Josh! Two. I could have anyone I wanted up there. The girls are just there for the picking, but I—”
“Will, you can’t be serious.”
“I haven’t done anything!” He’s getting defensive, and I can’t tell if it’s because he’s worried I’ll say something or because he’s just that frustrated. Honestly, I almost feel bad for what’s about to happen. He seems to want to make things work with her and has no idea what’s coming.
“But, if she’s going to SCAD, I think I need to end things after the holidays.”
Scratch that. This asshole can kick rocks. Who talks about their girlfriend like that?
I’ve always known he was somewhat of a prick, but this…this is on another level. And as much as I want to tell him to go fuck himself, tell him he doesn’t deserve someone like Elizabeth…I bite my tongue. “Kind of a dick move there, Will.”
“No one wants to spend the holidays alone.” He shrugs so nonchalantly it pisses me off. Will takes the glass of whiskey from a waiter who appears out of thin air. He takes a long sip of the amber liquid, his gaze returns to Elizabeth once again before turning back to me. “Besides, Mom would murder me if I did it beforehand. She feels so bad for Elizabeth because of her parents and all that. It’s been three years, like give me a break.”
“Dude.”
“What? You’re suddenly Team Elizabeth or something?”
“Don’t be such an ass.”
“Well, she uses them as an excuse to—”
I don’t hear the rest of his excuses because I walk away from the conversation. Suddenly, I don’t feel so bad about what’s coming. I’m happy to help Elizabeth get away from that asshole. William calls after me, but I ignore him, continuing through the house until I find Finn conversing with Oliver and some of his business associates. Not exactly the conversation I was looking for, but anything is better than William.
My sister blabbers on about…something. It started with how incredible it was to be invited this year, but I lost track around the time she started talking about the food. I have only been throwing in the occasional Mhmm and Sounds interesting so she thinks I’m still listening, but I couldn’t tell you the last thing she said.
Stepping out of the house, I spot Elizabeth talking with Harvey further in the backyard.
“That’s great, Mic. Look, I’ll be right back.” Pushing past her, I ignore my sister when she calls out to me. My gaze is locked on my target as she laughs politely at something the older man says. She takes another sip of her champagne. When I approach them, Harvey offers a polite smile.
“Joshua, it’s so good to see you!”
Harvey extends his hand, and I return the gesture. William may be an asshole, but his dad is far from. Even on the congressional floor, he remains poised, even-tempered, diplomatic, and assertive but polite. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a story of him losing his temper with his constituents. He gets the point across without being the loudest one in the room.
“Thanks for the invite, Mr. Cawthorn.”
“It’s Harvey, you know that.”
I met the Cawthorns when Finn introduced Nick and me to William a few years ago. Even though Nick couldn’t stand him, I didn’t think he was so bad. That being said, being introduced to a congressman for the first time was one of the most nerve-wracking things I’d ever done. I had no idea what to expect. The nerves only grew bigger as we pulled into the driveway the first time William invited us over, but they faded as soon as we walked in. Nick and I were welcomed with open arms and a homemade meal prepared by Mrs. Cawthorn.
“Well, the family is happy to be here,” I say. “Really enjoying it.”
“It’s been a pleasure to meet them. I'll be sure they get an invite from now on.”
Whether or not that’s true, the sentiment behind it is nice enough.
Glancing at Elizabeth, I ask Harvey if I can steal her away from their conversation. “Nina is looking for her,” I explain.
“Be my guest. I wouldn’t want to keep Miss Villa waiting.”
Harvey nods toward Elizabeth and leaves, but it’s not long before he’s pulled into another conversation with a different group of partygoers. I imagine that’s how he spends most of his night at a shindig like this.
“We need to talk,” I say in a low voice.
“Rain check.” She hands me her empty glass with a tight smile. “I need to see what Nina wants.”
This girl is more oblivious than I thought. Isn’t it obvious that I was only saying that to get her away from Harvey? Elizabeth should know better. If Nina was looking for her she’d have no problem finding her.
“She doesn’t want anything, but it was the only way not to look suspicious asking to talk to you alone.” I set her empty glass on one of the high-top tables. “Now, walk with me like we’re heading to find Nina.”
“And why should I?” Elizabeth protests when I press my hand to her lower back to guide her through the crowd.
“Just do it,” I hiss with a tight smile.
Elizabeth rolls her eyes but does as she’s told. When we’re finally away from the crowd, she pulls away from me. “What is so damn important—”
“William is going to break up with you.”
“What?”
“I said—”
“I heard you,” she snaps. She steps forward, pressing one of her manicured nails into my chest. Up close, it’s easy to tell the nail has been meticulously dripped with the perfect Christmas red and little Christmas figures hand-painted on each one. “And how would you know that?”
“Does it matter?” It shouldn’t matter. What should matter is the fact that it’s going to happen.
“Of course, it matters!” Her slight outburst catches the attention of two bystanders.
I smile at them before taking her by the hand and dragging her inside.
While the downstairs is bustling with guests, the upstairs is off-limits during these types of events. Her hand tightens around mine as we swim through a dense group, breaking through on the other side to reach the hallway to the kitchen. Inside, at least five chefs work at various stations to ensure the food is ready for dinner, which is supposed to take place in the next thirty minutes. We’ll have dinner followed by the debuts of the girls “coming out” in society (whatever that means) and then the crowning of the next Miss Winchester. Not a single chef seems to notice as we pass through to the back staircase. Up the stairs and down the hall, my pace finally begins to slow, reaching one of the alcoves inside of a dormer window.
“Would you let go?” Elizabeth pulls her hand from mine and takes a step back. “Now answer my question! How do you know he’s going to break up with me?”
“He says you’ve been acting weird.”
She scoffs, leaning back against the banister. “Like he’d know.”
“I guess, the distance isn’t helping.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Elizabeth crosses her arms, staring down the empty hallway. It’s pretty obvious her thoughts have moved far away from this conversation. If she’s anything like me, she’s thinking about our impending union. How this conversation goes doesn’t really matter, how William wants to break up with her doesn’t really matter, because the fate of their relationship was sealed last month.
“He wants you to go to Duke,” I say, stuffing my hands into my pockets. I lean back against the wall directly across from her.
“Well, that’s not happening.”
Obviously, or I wouldn’t have to be making a trip to Savannah in the next few months, per the contract.
Elizabeth’s eyes raise to meet mine. The light from the sconce nearby brings out a warmth in them that I’ve never seen before.
“How do you know all of this?” she asks, breaking the trance.
“He uh…He told me about it earlier. Said he wanted to wait until after the holidays.—.”
“That asshole!”
“—because he doesn’t want you to be alone.”
Her mouth opens a handful of times, trying to find the right response, but nothing seems like the right thing to say.
“Look, I just thought you’d want to know.”
“Oh, that was very considerate of you, Josh. Thanks a ton.”
“Don’t shoot the messenger, okay?” My hands raise. “Just because you’ve been freezing out your boyfriend—”
“I have not!”
“Might want to tell him that. Seems to me his resolve is dwindling with all the girls throwing themselves at him up north.” Way to go, Josh. You were supposed to keep this subtle. You were just supposed to warn her, not tell her everything. “Look, I just wanted you to know. Figured you might want to beat him to it.”
I turn on my heel and head back the way we came, but I don’t expect her to follow me.
Elizabeth grabs hold of my sleeve, turning me back to face her. “Why do you care if William is going to break up with me, huh? It’s none of your business. Just because there’s a piece of paper saying I’m going to eventually be your wife doesn’t make my life any of your business.” She shoves that red nail into my chest again. “Do us both a favor and—”
I clasp my hand around her fingers and we step back simultaneously until her back hits the blue-and-white striped wall. “Let’s get one thing straight. The day we signed that paper, anything to do with you and your life did become my business. You may not like it—hell, I may not like it—but we’re stuck together for the foreseeable future.”
I watch her throat swell as she swallows whatever she was going to say moments ago. Her eyes drop down between us where our hands are trapped between our bodies, with no space to breathe between us. When her eyes return to mine, they’re darker than they were seconds ago, and I don’t hide the fact that my gaze flickers between her eyes and her lips.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Don’t, Josh. Don’t do it. This is not how you want to start this. She’s still with William and she doesn’t even want you. You’re not the one she wants. It’s just the heat of the moment.
End the conversation right now.
Her voice is barely above a whisper. “Josh—”
“Do us both a favor and don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” Taking a step back, I drop her hand and my body instantly lacks the warmth of hers.
Her pupils are blown wide, the realization of what just happened crosses her face, and I turn on my heel to get the hell out of dodge. “You’re such an asshole!”
“Whatever helps you sleep better at night, Sugar.”