And Then What?. D. Graham R.

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.”

      Nick poked his head back out into the hall. “Bye, Derian.”

      “Bye, Nick.” I kissed my fingertips and blew it towards Trevor. Nick pretended to catch it, which earned him a body-slam into the wall.

      “Okay, I give up,” Nick choked out.

      Trevor let him go and they both stood grinning at me. I shook my head and waved before I took the stairs two at a time. I jogged to the car and flung the door open, which startled Sophie. “Sorry I took so long,” I said breathlessly.

      “Was it worth it?”

      “Definitely.”

      “All right, Mexico, here we come.”

      “Wooo!”

       CHAPTER 5

      I was too excited to read my textbook as Sophie and I waited at the airport gate to see if we could get on the next flight. I people-watched and made up stories in my head about why they were travelling. A young guy kept looking at a picture in his hand and smiling longingly, so I decided he was flying to meet a woman he met online. A woman whose eyes were red as if she had been crying typed on her phone the entire time she waited. I decided she was the oldest sibling and her father had died, so she was trying to arrange everything for the funeral. I also saw a family with two little boys. They looked like twins, but one had no hair and his skin was pale. He seemed weak and leaned his head on his mom’s shoulder. The healthy-looking one stood at the windows with his dad and pointed at an airplane that was taking off. I decided they were going to their grandparents’ cabin because it was the sick one’s dying wish. It reminded me of Mason and his twin brother. Cody had died of cancer the same year my dad died. Mason’s mom once told me that Cody’s dying wish had been to go fishing at their grandparents’ cabin, and seeing the boys in the airport made my eyes tear up.

      “What the hell?” Sophie asked when she noticed I was getting choked up.

      “I was just thinking about something sad.”

      She was about to ask me what it was when her dad walked up to us. He looked handsome in his pilot’s uniform. “Hi, Dad.” She stood and hugged him.

      “Are you girls all ready for some fun in the sun?”

      “Yes. Thank you so much for the tickets, Mr. Sakamoto.”

      “You’re welcome. Make sure you stay close to the resort. There have been some travel alerts for some of the surrounding areas.” The loud speaker announced our names and asked us to go up to the front counter. “Sounds like there’s room on this flight. I better get to my gate too. I’m off to snowy Montreal.” He hugged us both and warned, “Be safe.”

      “We will. Love you, Dad.”

      Sophie and I skipped up to the counter and got our boarding passes for the last two seats on the flight. Once we were boarded and settled, Sophie stuck her ear buds in and flipped through a magazine. I took a textbook out of my carry-on and placed it on my lap. As I watched the ground crew load up the last of the luggage, I had a vision. I was on my knees praying for Trevor. Then it ended. That was it. Weird.

      Sophie pulled out one of her ear buds. “Everything okay?”

      “Yeah.” I turned to stare out the window again.

      “What did you see?”

      “Nothing that makes any sense, since I’m not even religious.”

      “If you saw the plane crashing, you should tell me now.”

      “I don’t think that’s what it was.”

      “You don’t think? Great.” She moaned and put her ear bud back in.

      It was insanely hot in Acapulco. My jeans stuck to my legs the minute we stepped off the plane. If I had spotted a pair of scissors I would have cut them into shorts right there in the airport. I didn’t see any scissors lying around, but fortunately the shuttle to the resort was air-conditioned.

      The five-star resort was massive and gorgeous. It had four restaurants, six pools, a nightclub, a bar every twenty feet, and it was right on the beach. I could hear the waves crashing from the open-air lobby. Sophie threw around tips to the shuttle driver, the older man who handed us a cocktail as we arrived, and the