Piper
I sit on the sofa in the living room of my dorm, wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea cradled between my hands as a film plays on the television.
I don’t pay any attention to it.
In fact, I have no idea what’s going on.
Eleanor sits curled up in the armchair opposite, also wrapped in a fluffy blanket, but she’s not even pretending to watch. Her eyes remain fixed on the darkness beyond the window, her expression distant.
My heart squeezes.
For her, me.
For all of us, perhaps.
It seems our friendship group is doomed, and everyone is carrying their own burdens.
We’ve only been back from our holiday for a few days.
And to say I was shocked when I saw Eleanor walk out of the dormitory building on our first day back would be an understatement.
We had just started unloading our bags from the car when there she was.
She barely spoke to us then, and not much has changed since.
She keeps her distance.
Then again, so do the rest of us.
Everything has returned to normal. Or rather, our new version of normal.
The truce we formed in the Swiss mountains dissolved the moment we set foot back on Elaris Isle.
Adelaide and Octavia nearly came to blows the other day.
Ophelia has retreated into herself completely. If you asked them, they’d probably say the same about me.
And they wouldn’t be wrong.
I spend my days crying alone in my room. And when I don’t do that, I skate.
I need to prepare because, with Hunter’s father’s help, I managed to secure a place at next season’s Winter Olympics.
My heart gives a painful squeeze, but I swallow back the tears and keep my eyes fixed on the television, refusing to let a single one fall.
I’m tired at this point.
Since I came back, my phone has been blowing up. But I never check the messages, neither from my father nor from Julian.
They should probably worry me. With the amount of effort they’ve put into trying to reach me.
Yet I find I don’t care anymore.
But I have another problem. The holidays are approaching. The calendar shows December, and no matter how much I wish otherwise, I can’t escape what that means.
Going home.
Home.
As if.
And then there’s Hunter and I—
I swallow. There isn’t a Hunter and I.
My mind is quick to remind me of that every time my heart forgets.
He’s been avoiding me, which he has every right to do. And if I’m honest, I’ve been avoiding him too.
In class, he doesn’t even look in my direction.
It’s such a contrast to how things were before those damned Thanksgiving holidays.
If we happen to share a table with our friends at mealtimes, he makes a point of never meeting my eyes.
And if I’m completely honest, that worries me.
Because he was so adamant about me being his that this sudden retreat feels wrong.
It feels like he’s up to something.
Or perhaps he’s finally realised I’m not worth the hassle.
The truth is, I’m not.
I can’t escape my marriage.
And as much as he wants to fight it, it’s impossible.
It might take him time, but eventually he’ll see it too.
We’re impossible.
Doomed from the start.
Forbidden.
A scream erupts from the television, dragging me back to the present.
I glance at Eleanor again, but she might as well be a ghost.
She hasn’t said much since knocking on my door other than, “I can’t be alone with my thoughts right now, and you’re the safest option.”
By that, she meant I wouldn’t talk much or ask questions.
And I haven’t.
What would be the point?
She knows I’m here for her. If she wants to confide in me, I’ll listen, and I won’t judge.
But I don’t want to talk about my own problems either.
I’d much rather bury them, smile, and pretend everything is fine when in reality I’m falling apart.
A knock at the door pulls me from my thoughts once again.
I place my cup on the coffee table, and head for the door.
The moment I open it, Adelaide strides inside.
She doesn’t say a word. She walks straight past me and throws herself onto the sofa.
“Ah, so you’re having a girls’ night in and I wasn’t invited. I’m wounded.”
I roll my eyes and offer her a small smile before sinking back onto the sofa and pulling the blanket over my legs.
“What are we watching?” she asks as she makes herself comfortable, steals part of the blanket, and drapes it over both of us.
“A film.”
“Clearly, genius.”
Her eyes go to Eleanor, who remains motionless in the armchair as though she can’t hear a word we’re saying.
Adelaide looks at me, her face full of concern.
I offer a small shrug in return, but I suspect my expression mirrors hers. But I can’t help her.
I don’t know.
I have no answers, and Eleanor definitely isn’t going to give us any.
“You girls really are excellent company,” Adelaide says after a while.
The room falls quiet again.
“But I’ll take it. Better than being alone right now.”
The words are so quiet I almost think she’s speaking to herself.
“And I’m sure as hell not going to Ophelia when the other Bellanti is probably lurking somewhere nearby.”
She laughs, but it’s forced.
“You should stop provoking Octavia every chance you get,” I say.
“She’s easy to provoke. Not my fault.”
“You did something to make her hate you that much.”
For a split second, something flashes in Adelaide’s eyes. Something remarkably close to guilt. But it disappears as quickly as it appears, and her usual resting bitch face falls back into place.
“Moi?” She places a hand over her chest. “You wound me, Piper.”
We stay like that as the hours pass.
At some point, Adelaide changes the film and puts on one of her favourite festive romances.
I don’t complain. Eleanor much less.
My phone vibrates, and my heart immediately kicks into overdrive.
Maybe Hunter...
I shake my head and shove the thought aside before it has the chance to become hope.
Hope is dangerous.
I look at the screen.
The name staring back at me fills me with only one thing.
Dread.
So much dread.
Tomorrow you’ll come and see me. If you don’t, I will. I’ve heard you still haven’t learned your lesson. Disappointing, especially after my last visit. It seems I’ll have to raise the stakes. But don’t worry. You’ll learn.