Unbreakable Ties: An Arthur Leclerc Story

Chapter 10

The flight home from Italy had been terrible, but the silver lining was that everyone thought I was hungover from the night before, believing Pierre's story easily, and therefore let me sleep. 

And I did feel sick. From the moment we had left the party I had felt nauseous, and it was getting worse, settling in my stomach like a stone. 

Charles had also seemed to be in rough shape - whether because of the amount he had drank or because he felt as guilty as I did, I didn't know. 

Regardless, I was relieved to get off the plane and get back to my dorm with Sophia.

And Sophia was exactly the distraction I needed. Her birthday was the following day, and she had planned herself a full day of celebrations around our classes, ending with a massive party at Jimmy'z.

When I entered our room, Sophia was sorting through piles of clothes on my bed and from a quick glance it looked like it was a mix of both our clothes.

"You do understand that we have two closets, not a joint one, right?" I grumbled as I pulled my suitcase though the door with me.

"Emmy! You're home! You didn't text me this morning and I thought maybe you'd missed the flight," Sophia rushed out and hugged me tightly.

"Nope. Made the flight," I said shortly.

Sophia frowned for a moment as she looked at me, "What's the matter with you? You look like shit."

"Wow, thanks Soph, that's really helpful."

"I'm serious, are you okay?"

I sighed, knowing that my mood wasn't her fault, "I'm fine. Just hungover."

"You're hungover? You're never hungover. How much did you drink? It must have been a ton."

God, why did she need to know me so well. 

"A lot of shots with Kika, almost all tequila," I lied, hoping it sounded believable since I rarely drank tequila.

"You hate tequila."

"And this would be why."

She looked at me for another moment, clearly not totally believing what I was saying, but seemed to decide not to push it. I wanted to tell her everything, I did, but I couldn't bring myself to repeat it.

"Ooooookay. Then lay down in my bed while I finish working through our outfits for tomorrow night."

She started explaining a complicated system of options she had built as I climbed into her bed and pulled out my phone to see a text from Arthur.

Let me know when you're home and safe. I think I'll be busy today and tomorrow, but I'm all clear for the party tomorrow night. Love you.

I sighed. It had only been three days since we had been on that beach in Italy. When we left, I had thought this was the start of a new chapter for us. If only I had known what was coming.

I could not get the kiss out of my head, trying to understand what Charles was thinking. I knew he thought I was attractive; he had made that clear, and I hoped more than anything that with the alcohol in his system he was following some base instinct and not acting on some sort of real feelings. I had spent the entirety of the flight replaying every interaction I had ever had with Charles, looking for signs that would point me in one direction or another. I had obsessed over whether I had said or done anything to make him think I was interested. I was fairly sure that I'd only ever been nice and polite to him, but clearly, I must have done something along the way.

Regardless, I had a clear plan of attack: stay away from Charles.

+++

The next day I stood in front of Arthur's door, waiting for him to let me in. Sophia's birthday party started in a few hours and although most of our friends were back in our dorm getting ready, I had convinced Sophia to let me come to Arthur's instead.