“I’m assuming it was a bad conversation.”
“It was . . . really strange. She was drunk. She was hanging out with these guys. They were laughing at everything she said.”
Mark was quiet, letting her sort through the emotions that read so easily on her face.
“I said dumb stuff because I was drunk. She wanted me to go away, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t feel good about it.”
Mark nodded.
“She went to a back bedroom with them. I tried to stop her. I knew she had too much to drink. I mean, who can make a wise decision when they’re toasted?”
“No one,” Mark replied.
“She said it was her choice—that she was grown up . . .” Cadence’s voice trailed off.
“It’s not your fault,” Mark said gently. “You couldn’t make her go with you.”
Cadence nodded. She wouldn’t reveal all the details she remembered: Michael ignoring her request to check up on Gracie. Twice. That made him look really bad, but then wasn’t he? She couldn’t shake the idea that he wasn’t the best friend to have. Ever. But she was unwilling to give him up. God, was she that desperate for friends? What the hell did senior year do to her?
Mark rubbed his forehead. “The protective boyfriend in me wants to say something to you that you won’t like.”
“And what’s that?”
“I wish you wouldn’t go to frat parties. They’re recipes for trouble. And Michael and Carrie seem like two people who are more focused on themselves than watching out for each other.”
“Carrie left to check up on her roommate.”
“I know. That seems nice, huh?” Mark asked.
Cadence furrowed her brows.
“But she left you, who was probably already tipsy, after she told you she’d watch after you.”
“So you don’t like them?”
“I don’t know them,” Mark explained. “I just want you to be careful. That’s all. They don’t seem like Avery.”
“No. Avery’s way more selfish,” Cadence joked.
The corner of Mark’s mouth quirked up. “Perhaps. But she’d have stayed with you.”
Cadence had no plans to make Michael and Carrie the focus of her day, but thanks to Mark, they hovered about the forefront of her brain, and she was forced to contemplate the value of their budding friendships. She didn’t know them all that well. It seemed unfair to judge their intentions so quickly, but Mark was right: they did seem to be ultra self-absorbed. She couldn’t even get Michael off the couch to check up on Gracie.
Gracie. Why did she care so much? Gracie ratted her out—betrayed her in the most vile way. No, she wasn’t responsible for the rift between Cadence and her parents, but she was responsible for something. A black eye, perhaps? A world turned upside down? That didn’t warrant an assault, if an assault did, in fact, take place, but it sure as hell didn’t warrant Cadence’s time and attention.
***
She didn’t realize she was searching the campus for Gracie until Michael pointed it out to her.
“Pay attention, Cadence!” he cried. “I’m trying to talk to you. I mean, what the hell? What are you looking for?”
And like his words were the incantation that conjured her presence, there she was—just yards away—sitting on a bench with a book in hand.
“I’ll catch you later,” Cadence said absently, and walked over to Gracie.
Gracie felt someone hovering over her. At first she ignored it, but then Cadence cleared her throat. She looked up. “You know, we don’t have to talk just because we go to the same school.”
“I know.”
“Just because you see me on campus doesn’t mean you have to say anything to me.”
“I know.”
“I see you all the time and ignore you,” Gracie pointed out.
She did? Cadence thought. This was the first time she’d ever seen Gracie, and she didn’t think it was coincidence.
“How are you?” Cadence asked.
Gracie cracked a smile. “Seriously?”
“I just wanna know how you are.”
“Why?”
“Because . . . because I remember seeing you at that frat party. And talking to you. Well, I remember a tiny bit of conversation anyway. But you got up and left with those guys—”
“I’m fine, and what do you care?” Gracie said, cutting her off.
“They were just really big guys. That’s all,” Cadence said quietly.
“I chose to go back there, Cadence. No one forced me,” Gracie pointed out.
“But you were wasted.”
“Not so much that I wasn’t aware of what I was doing.”
“But that’s not you to do something like that,” Cadence said.
“Something like what?”
“You know . . .” Cadence’s face burned. She couldn’t say it out loud. She didn’t even know what to call it. An orgy? A gang bang? Gross.
Gracie giggled. “This is hysterical, you know?”
Cadence bristled. “What is?”
“You giving me a hard time for do something bad.”
“I’m not giving you a hard time. I’m making sure you’re okay. Gosh, Gracie. Had you even had sex before all those guys?”
“Yes.”
Cadence couldn’t hide her surprise. Gracie noticed.
“So . . . you just have sex with random dudes?” Cadence asked.