Page 86 of The Other Side of Green

She pointed at me.

“Exactly.”

It had been two days since I’d been back on campus and the silence stretching the distance between New Orleans and Boston had never been greater.

“Still not heard anything?” Eva tipped her head upside down and then stood back up, grasping her hair onto the top of her head and swirling it into a bun.

“Nope.”

“I’m sure one of them will turn up here eventually.”

“Yeah…” I stared off into the distance. If they hadn’t killed one another.

“So last chance… come to the party. Everyone wants to see you.”

I winced. Nobody wanted to see me. What they wanted to see was the reason for all the uproar. And when they did, they normally looked at me like they expected more. A hell of a lot more.

Lectures had sucked. Everyone had their attention trained on me, and well, let’s be honest, just because I’d caused a stir, it didn’t mean I knew any more of the answers than I had a couple of weeks ago.

“Still not heard from your mom?” Eva probed. I knew she meant well, but she was currently running through my greatest hits of heartbreak.

Of course I hadn’t heard from Mom. She hadn’t run out of Gram’s cash yet… and I guess she no longer saw me as a cash cow.

“No.”

Eva grimaced her lips into a line. “I feel awful going out without you again.”

“And I’ve told you, I’d feel awful if I went.”

Happy with her hair and giving her mascara a careful swipe under her lashes, she grabbed her purse.

“Don’t have too much fun,” I goaded. “I’ll leave the Advil by your side of the bed.”

She blew me a kiss. “This is why you are my best friend.”

Her words made saltwater sting my eyes.

“Whoa, why are you crying?”

“Nothing.” I brushed at my face.

“No. Really, what is it? Shall I not go out? It’s just a small thing; only a few of us having a drink.”

“It’s fine.”

Eva folded her arms. “I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

I shrank down into my shirt, pulling at the sleeves. “Just no one has ever called me that before.”

Her face softened and she, “ahhhed,” walking over and wrapping me in her arms and squeezing me tight. “I don’t know who you’ve spent your life with Lyra, but you’ve got me now.”

“Thanks.” I laughed and swiped at my nose.

“Get some sleep. I’m sure Jack or Luca will speak to you soon.” She squeezed my shoulder and headed back toward the door.

I wished I had her optimism. I had a bad feeling I wouldn’t be hearing from Luca for a very long time.

Once Eva had left, I’d flicked through some catch up notes from English Lit. Thankfully, I’d missed the lectures on Milton’s ‘Paradise Lost’. I probably couldn’t deal with that level of angst right now.