D. Graham - And Then What?

“Study, schmudy. You can read on the plane, on the beach, by the pool. Would you rather read textbooks in the freezing-cold Tofino rain or in the decadently warm Acapulco sunshine?”

“Good point.” I didn’t even need convincing. “Sunshine, here we come. Yes.” I did a fist-pump and leapt around my room to dump all the winter clothes into my closet. I filled a suitcase with shorts, bathing suits, summer dresses, hats, sunglasses, and sandals.

“Don’t forget club outfits,” Sophie hollered from the living room.

I grabbed some dressy clothes from my closet and opened the drawer to my bedside table to pull out the box Mason’s necklace was in. It was the nicest thing I owned and it would be one of the few times I could wear it without Trevor knowing.

“Mom!” I shouted and spun around, startled because she was already standing in the doorway, smiling.

“Are you really okay with us going to Mexico?”

“Yes. I think it will be a great experience. You’ve been working too hard at school lately and the stress has been getting to you. Here’s your passport.”

“Thanks.” I gave her a big hug. “This is so awesome. I have to tell Trevor.” When he didn’t respond to the text, I remembered that his phone was still lost. I hoped we had time to go by and see him before the flight. I skipped out into the living room and danced around with Sophie like hyper cheerleaders for another few seconds before we said goodbye to my mom and hurried down to Sophie’s car. “We have to stop by UBC on the way to the airport.”

“Yeah, I figured. So where was he the other night? You kind of left out all the juicy details when you texted to say you found him.”

“There was an emergency at school and he had to help a friend.”

“What kind of emergency?”

“A girl was drugged and date-raped. They helped find her and called the ambulance and police.”

“Jesus. Is it weird that I’m totally not surprised that’s the reason he no-showed? I hope they caught the piece of shit who did it.”

“Yeah, apparently someone at the party knew who he was. So that’s good.”

“It’s great. And you know what else is great? We’re going to Mexi-cooo,” she sang.

“Woo!”

We parked on campus and ran to Trevor’s building. We were laughing and holding hands like we used to when we were little girls. A classmate of Trevor’s named Beth—tall, with long, wavy, brown hair and a pin-up girl figure—was at the front door and just about to go into the building. I had met her at least six times before because she often sat with Trevor’s friends for lunch and she went to two football games with a whole group of us, but she always acted like she had no idea I was Trevor’s girlfriend. She turned to hold the door open for us, then smiled. “Derian, right?”

I nodded, surprised that she actually remembered my name.

“I was just going up to see Trevor. I found his phone on the floor in my room. He must have left it there the other night.”

Sophie whimpered a little as I dug my fingers into her hand.

“Here.” Beth held the phone out. “Would you be a sweetie and give it to him for me?”

I didn’t move to get the phone. Sophie finally extended her free arm and took the phone from Beth.

“Thanks. Tell Trev that I’ll see him tonight at study group. It was nice seeing you again.” Her smile was so phoney I wanted to puke.

“Okay, ow! You can release the vice on my hand now,” Sophie complained after Beth strutted away.

I stormed into Trevor’s building. Sophie chased after me. I pounded on his door with unnecessary force. When he opened the door, he was grinning, but when he saw my expression, his smile faded. “What’s wrong?”

I held my palm up to signal Sophie to produce the phone. “We ran into Beth downstairs. She was kind enough to return your phone.”

“Where did she find it?”

“On the floor in her bedroom, apparently. She said you must have left it there the other night.”

“What?” He frowned as the information sunk in. “I’ve never been in her room. I don’t even know which apartment she lives in. Did she really say I was in her room?”

“She certainly did.” I passed the phone to him. “I came by to tell you that Sophie and I are going to Mexico for a week instead of Tofino. Have fun at study group tonight.” I spun around and took long, fast strides down the hall. When I realized Sophie hadn’t followed me I turned back to give her a “come on” gesture. She and Trevor were both standing in front of his door staring at me.

“Derian, you can’t leave things like that,” Sophie called. “That whore was lying. Trust me, I know a lying whore when I see one.” She walked towards me, stood close, and whispered, “Don’t let a girl like that weasel her way in and ruin what you guys have. I’ll wait in the car. Take your time.”

After Sophie left, I stood in the hall staring at the tiles. I didn’t actually look, but I could feel Trevor waiting patiently. I was going to be gone for a week and I didn’t want things to be bad between us. I wouldn’t be able to relax if I knew that the last thing I said to him was hostile. I thought about what Sophie said. She had to handle groupies hitting on Doug all the time and she was right that I shouldn’t believe Beth over Trevor. When I eventually looked up at him, he smiled, probably because he knew I wouldn’t leave still mad at him.

He walked over to hug me. “She’s lying.”

I rested my cheek on his chest and listened to the comforting rhythm of his heart beat. “I know. But why would she lie?”

“I don’t know. She’s obviously trying to break us up.”

Lying or not lying, that part was definitely true. There were so many things testing our bond. I didn’t want it to break.

“The last time I remember having my phone was when I was at the library. She must have taken it.” He leaned back and held my face between his palms. “I won’t study with her anymore.”

The sincerity in his eyes reassured me completely. We were unbreakable. The universe could throw as many tests as it wanted at us. “I don’t want you to mess up your grades. If you have to work in a group with her I trust you.” I leaned forward and kissed him.

He pressed me against the wall and his hands slid down the side of my body to rest on my hips. “Are you really going to Mexico instead of Tofino?”

“Yeah, Sophie’s dad gave us stand-by tickets with his airline and he’s paying for an all-inclusive resort. Here’s where we’re staying.” I handed him the piece of paper that I had written the hotel information on. “I’ll email you every day.”

He leaned in and whispered, “I don’t want you to go away,” before he kissed his way down my neck.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, enjoying the soft touch of his lips against my skin. “I don’t want to go away anymore,” I whispered back and clutched his hair to draw his lips to mine.

“Hi, Derian,” Nick said loudly to interrupt our make-out session as he walked up. “Nice to see you again.” He paused and leaned in close to us, grinning. “How’s it going?” Trevor laughed and shoved him in the shoulder. “Oh, are you guys busy? My bad.” He mussed Trevor’s hair before carrying on towards their room “Don’t let me interrupt. We can talk later.” Before he disappeared through the doorway he pointed at us and made his eyebrows dance in an animated way.

Once we were alone again I kissed Trevor softly and whispered, “I love you so much.” I touched his chest. “Always in my heart.”

“I love you, too. Have fun in Mexico, but be safe.”

“Always am.” I smiled and kissed him one more time. “See ya, Maverty.”

“See ya, Lafleur.”