Chapter 288
WILLA
The rough tree bark dug into my back, scarcely protected by the thin blouse I wore. I hardly even noticed.
Everyone had been uncomfortable enough after Lucian had kissed me, to turn in for the night. Naomi had been furious. She hadn't bothered to hide it.
Now she and Lucian were arguing. Loudly.
If I could hear them, standing as far away as I was from the camp, then the others could too. I wondered what they would say. What they would think. Not that Lucian or his girlfriend seemed to mind.
Naomi was of course the one doing most of the yelling. Lucian too didn't bother to keep his voice down.
Maybe because he knew no one else would be brave enough to even refer to their argument in his presence.
I was the one who was going to get the stares and the snide comments.
I wished I could go farther away. Maybe somewhere close to the waterfall so I didn't get to hear them. But it wasn't safe there.
So I stayed put. At least I was hidden in the cluster of trees a little way away from the camp.
"Why did it have to be her?" Naomi was all but screaming. In the still night air, her voice carried. "Why did you pick her? Why didn't you kiss me? I'm your girlfriend after all, Lucian. A fact that you seem to have forgotten. Did you do that to annoy me or were you just being stu-"
"Watch it," Lucian said quietly. "I don't think you want to finish that sentence, do you?"
Apparently Naomi didn't. She was quiet for just a few seconds and then she started again.
She sounded on the verge of tears as she said, "You don't even care how I feel-"
"I have told you to drop it, Noami," Lucian said, his voice tight. "Like you said, it was just a game. A stupid game. Nothing more. Or would you rather I kissed any of the other girls instead?"
Naomi's answer was immediate. "Yes! You could have kissed any of them and I wouldn't have minded! Anyone! Why did it have to be Willa? Both of us know how she's always all over you. You keep saying that there is nothing on going between you two. And then here you are, encouraging her. Kissing her in front of everyone." She stopped to take in a breath and then kept on, her words pouring out with hardly a second's pause. "I'm sure the whole of Worchmount will hear about this when we get back to school. What will Carmen and Lisa think? What will the school think?"
"I don't give a damn what anybody thinks," Lucian said. He sounded bored. "If you felt uncomfortable with the game, you shouldn't have played. You didn't hear me moaning about it when you did your own dares, did you?"
"Don't change the topic!" Naomi cried. "I didn't kiss any guy."
"So what if you had? If that had happened, trust me you wouldn't hear me bitching about it."
"So I'm a nag now, huh?" Naomi said.
"Your words. Not mine."
I heard something break.
"I can't fucking believe you right now!" Naomi said. "I've told you I don't ever want to see you around Willa and yet you- Hey! Where are you going?"
"Away," was Lucian's reply. "From you. I can kiss anyone I want, Noami. Anytime. Anywhere. I don't have to explain myself to you. You are not my mother."
"Lucian..." Naomi choked on a sob. "You're hurting me. You're hurting me because of her. How can you say that to my face?"
"If you are not okay with what I said, then go be with someone else. I can't deal with your drama right now."
Naomi sounded stunned when she called his name again. I heaved a sigh of relief.
Finally it was over. I would give it about half an hour or more for things to settle down before going back to my tent.
Why had Lucian not just apologized to Naomi though? With how desperate she was to be with him, all Lucian had to do was say the magic word 'sorry' and they would be back to being the sickeningly sweet couple around here.
A thought that, no matter how I hated to admit it to myself, got me really pissed.
I heard the rustle of leaves before I saw a flash of Lucian's purple shirt in the semi darkness. My sense of relief disappeared at once.
Lucian wasn't just passing by. He was headed straight for me. I straightened, brushed flakes of tree bark from the back of my blouse.
I thought of asking him how he had found my hiding spot but it was already so obvious. He must have followed my scent though for what purpose I couldn't imagine.
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