Did you mean it?

Blame it on the Alcohol

Kiara woke up in the middle of the night, feeling a loss she couldn't place in the pit of her gut. She felt disgusting but believed her fever broke. She wasn't on fire at least. She looked at her phone and saw a couple unread messages.

JJ: I'm sorry I've been an asshole lately.

JJ: I hope you're feeling better.

JJ: Also don't even pretend, you're definitely sick af.

I missed you, she thinks immediately, smiling to herself. Her impulsiveness to type it out loses the battle for the response but then she remembers that self control was not there earlier. Kiara flies to her text thread with John B. Nothing.

What?

Kiara could have sworn she texted him. Not only that, but she was positive she remembered what she said. She was vulnerable about her feelings in a way that she never was with anyone. She was laying her emotional soul to John B and not only that, but she was talking about JJ. She groaned at the thought. John B was many things but observant wasn't up there on his list of characteristics. However, endurance, that was, and if he knew she was so caught up over JJ being distant he'd easily read into it and continue to bring it up until she caved. No matter how long it took.

Kiara groaned into her pillow. Wait. Wasn't she freaking about nothing? There are no messages. She didn't send anything. She let's a sigh of relief wash over her. Like waking up from a dream and being happy it wasn't real. That must have been it.

Kiara remained ill the rest of the weekend and stayed away from the chateau to spare everyone the exposure she already spread at school. Pope was especially grateful. She stayed home from school on Monday as well just to make sure she was truly better and Sarah came to see her at the end of the day.

"Hey girl, how are you feeling?" Sarah asks, handing her the assignments that she missed in the classes they shared and joining Kie on her bed.

"I think I'm on the mend," she said looking through the work sheets. "Hey, thanks for grabbing the rest of my classes, you're a life saver."

Sarah grinned, "Well I can't take all the credit, JJ got you the assignments from the ones we don't share."

Kie must have given a surprised face because Sarah cocked her head to the side, brows furrowed in confusion. "Is that weird? I thought you two would have made up by now."

"Well it's not like we've really talked," she let out. "I haven't even texted him back yet."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"He texted me he was sorry about being a dick and it sounds like he wants things to go back to normal but--"

"I'm super confused," Sarah interrupted, waving her hands to get Kie to stop. "What happened when he came over on Friday?"

Kiara rose her eyebrows and leaned forward. "What are you talking about?"

"Kie, he was on the phone with you and then basically ran out of the chateau," she said expecting Kie to remember the clear blackhole in her memory.

"No he wasn't," she said dumbstruck.

"Yes, yes he was," Sarah insisted. "The walls aren't thick, especially since one is still basically a door now. I clearly heard him ask you if you were at your house and then he said he'd 'be there in a minute' and then he just took off."

Kie's mouth was dry and she opened and closed it several times before just taking her phone out and pulling up her call log. Shit. It had been a brief phone call but he had called her Friday.