Page 155 of The Casualty of Us
“Repeatedly,” she snarks back before the bottle appears in my periphery. “And it sounds about as true as it did the first time.” A beat passes before she pushes. “Why are you being weird about this? Is it the stalker thing?”
“Maybe.” I give her a shrug with the vague answer and look back up to grab the bottle. “Hey, are you messing around with my brother?”
“Um, no.” She throws me an amused look before adding cheerily, “But from what I’ve been hearing, he’s definitely not lacking in the company department these days.”
“Ugh.” My nose scrunches up at the information, and I turn my head to scowl out at the crowd of Halloween partiers. “He’s being all tight-lipped about it and saying it’s not a big deal, which means it’s gotta be someone I know.”
“Maybe it’s really not a big deal,” she counters. “From what I’ve heard, it’s more like a revolving weekly door.”
“That’s even worse,” I scoff, taking another sip of the champagne. “I’ll probably end up having to make a spreadsheet with testing schedules and all kinds of shit for him with that kind of lifestyle.” Her laughter starts to fill the air before I’m even done, and I mutter weakly, “Yay me, Liz, yay me.”
“You kill me.” She giggles as my bladder gives a sudden and urgent protest to the amount of liquid I’ve been forcing it to hold for the past several hours.
I set my phone down on the chair. “Shit. I have to pee.”
“Best of luck with that.”
“Thanks,” I shoot back, passing the bottle to her and standing only to realize while looking around. “Wait…where is it?”
I’ve never had to pee here before.
“Behind whatever tree looks the best,” she supplies unhelpfully. “There’s a nice forty-year pine out there that I prefer—”
“Bitch.” I cut her off without any heat, and she immediately looks at me with concern.
“Want me to come with you?”
“No.” I shake my head, fighting off a frown and sighing instead. “No, I’ll be right back. I just want to get it over with before everyone else gets here.”
“You mean the boyfriend.”
“Not listening!” I call back, making my way through the crowds scattered throughout the old church and to the front door.
Hurrying as my bladder starts to protest the longer I’m on my feet and already looking for an acceptable location by the time the cool night air hits me. The moon and the lingering glow from inside the Ruins give me just enough light to aim for a small alcove of trees off to my right. Away from the direction most people will be coming from, thankfully. I’ll figure out the lack of wiping materials later.
I’m about ten feet from my destination when movement catches out of the corner of my eye, and it has me freezing instantly with my heart kicking into high gear and adrenaline rushing through my veins. Screaming at me repeatedly that there’s a threat as I try to find it. Brain rapidly processing the shadows I’m rolling my eyes over and looking for—
There.
Maybe twenty feet down the treeline from me.
My heart trips over itself at the confirmation, and I’m about to run back inside to beg Lisette to walk back to the dorms with me when I realize it has to be two people. Probably a guy and girl from the size and shape of them. Especially considering he’s kind of holding her—
Wait. What?
“Hey!” I shout, gut and adrenaline and screaming in my head coming together to push me hard. “Hey! Are you okay?”
I’m already taking a step toward them by the time a guy calls back, “All good! She’s just sick!”
A faint moan comes then, making my brows drop and me pause, wondering if I’m being ridiculous but—
“Ollie! Wake up!”
Nope. Fuck that.
“Hey!” I take another step and then another, squinting while coming up on them and stumbling over a rock. Trying to make out who it is. “If she’s sick, then maybe I can—”
“I said we’re good.”
