Chapter 40 – Thomas
Chapter Forty
Thomas
Clover’s friend emits a dramatic yelp when she sees me. She puts her hands on her hips and shakes her head.
“What the hell is this? What’s going on? Hi, Thomas.”
“Hi.”
Kola makes a disapproving harrumphing noise and then turns her attention back to Clover, who appears to be handling things well.
“We didn’t have sex.”
“Huh? Who said y’all had sex,” Kola says, wrinkling her nose.
Okay, perhaps she’s not handling it as well as I thought. I’d better step in.
“It’s a logical assumption,” I inform Kola. “We slept in the same bed last night, one might assume–OW!”
Clover’s loose elbow finds my torso and I want to double over in pain. I’m still healing from her previous bruises.
“Y’all slept in the same bed?!” Kola screeches.
“Can you quiet down?” Clover hisses. “That’s not the most important thing. Sylvia’s in trouble.”
“I know that!” Kola says. “But you surprised me. Damn. Y’all caught feelings huh.”
“We did not catch feelings,” Clover responds quickly.
“Catch feelings? Is that like… code for STDs?”
I groan loudly as Clover elbows me again.
Kola gives Clover a funny look, but Clover simply shrugs and continues talking about Sylvia.
I can’t blame her – mostly because I think any other subject will lead to her brutalizing my torso further.
She’s cute when she’s angry. Like a soft, squishy, warm ball of rage.
Ha. I rather like it, but if I told her that, she’d only beat me to a pulp.
Why do I feel like a lost pup around her? Fuck’s sake…
Clover explains everything about last night and then she leans in to whisper to Kola, “We need to find out who did this to Sylvia and we need your help.”
“Girl, you know I love a good game plan. What about the white boy? Is he in on this?”
“I’ll explain about Thomas,” Clover answers hurriedly. “We shouldn’t talk about this in public.”
“We go to a boarding college,” Kola points out. “Everywhere is public. There aren’t any secrets at the Fox Academy.”
“Breakfast then?” I suggest. Clover has a set of my car keys. She can drive. Kola rubs her stomach and pumps her fists.
“Yes,” she says. “My first off-campus breakfast invite. Do you know anywhere that does fried chicken?”
“Fried chicken is not breakfast food,” Clover says. “But they do love frying shit up here. Thomas?”
“You’ve got the keys, babe.”
I say the word babe a little too quickly. Clover glares at me, but Kola makes a dramatic noise.
“Oooooo. Did he just call you babe?”
“It’s a figure of speech,” I mutter, suddenly embarrassed.
“He’s an idiot,”Clover says. “And if he calls me babe again, I’m going to slice his balls like beets.”
“Damn girl.”
“Uh huh,” Clover says, staring straight at me. “So don’t try me Thomas.”
Why is she so impossible? Why does kissing her feel fucking heavenly but when we’re apart, she loathes me. How can she let me kiss her like that when she clearly hates my fucking guts?
I don’t care. I just want to head to breakfast. We plan with Kola until visiting hours at the local hospital.
We have an hour before classes to see Sylvia and all of us have run out of excuses to keep skipping.
It’s impossible to skip class when you’re the tall one anyway, so I try not to make it a habit.
I think being quiet will allow me the luxury of going unnoticed, but that’s hardly ever the case.
Outside the hospital, Kola and Clover argue about what they’ll do if the nurses don’t let us in.
“I’ll pinch her butt,” Kola says. “Then you run around her and let me in through the back door. Perfect distraction.”
Her plan contains its flaws, but I’m too worried about Syl to concern myself with their plans.
If the nurse won’t let me through, I’ll push my way through.
My hair feels like a fluffy untamed mess and with her friend right there, I don’t want to try getting too close to Clover. Well, I want to. But I know better.
The nurse, luckily for her bum, allows to see Sylvia.
“She already has a guest.”
A guest?
When Clover opens the door, I peer into the room. Sylvia has multiple guests, apparently and I recognize one of them, although Clover and Kola don’t. They both gape at the strange (to them) man standing over Sylvia’s bed.
“Amina and Crispin’s flight arrives shortly,” Sylvia’s guest says. “They sent me here because I was nearby. Hello, Thomas.”
It’s been months since I’ve seen him. We’re not close, but we attend the same parties. Our parents know each other.
“Theo. Hi.”
“Er… I suppose you’re Sylvia’s friends?” Theo asks, his cheeks turning bright red as he turns to Clover and Kola.
“Who the heck are you?” Kola asks.
“Friend of the family,” Theo says, grinning. “Sylvia’s sister sent me to make sure she’s okay.”
“Is there any legitimate way for us to verify that?” Clover asks.
Theo turns to me. “Well, er… I sort of know Thomas Bainbridge?”
Kola and Clover turn towards me with accusatory looks on their faces. Clover’s fist clenches and I know I’ll have to dodge a punch if I give her an answer she views as unsatisfactory.
“Yes, he’s Amina’s fiancé’s cousin. Theodore Hargreaves.”
“Does Sylvia know you?” Clover asks. “Because her sister didn’t send you here to watch her sleep, I’m sure.”
Theo looks absolutely terrified of the teenage girls. I get it. Clover and Kola have sharp tongues. Not my place to defend Theo. He’s a grown man.
“I’ve been visiting Ben and Libs,” Theo says. “Amina only sent me because I’m nearby. I promise, I wasn’t watching her sleep, just looking after her.”
He turns pink. Really pink, which makes his blond hair stand out all weird. Stupid bastard. He stuffs his hands in his pockets. There’s something strange about Theo now. He doesn’t smell like marijuana, like normal. Hm. I dunno. Maybe there’s something else, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
“We’ll just wait for Amina’s sister, then,” Clover says. “Make sure you aren’t lying.”
Theo turns a brilliant shade of red.
“Sure,” he says. “Brilliant.”
* * *