Vanilla And Cocoa

Chapter 24 "Plan B"

My mom frowned at me from the doorway as I wiped Merissa down with a wet cloth.

Her fever stayed in the low 100s but I wasn't taking any chances.

Cameron sat in my chair in the corner of the room and played on his phone, possibly trying to ignore the tension. Merissa coughed and whined causing me to rub her back soothingly.

My mother sighed. "I'll go put on some soup."

I nodded, not looking at her. She left and Cameron visibly relaxed. "I thought she was going to kick me out."

"She still might so I'd advise that you should be on your best behavior." My lips tilted up, tiredly.

Cameron huffed and stared up at the ceiling. "This is fucked."

I hummed my agreement and absently ran my fingers through Merissa's hair, whispering. "What do I do?"

Cameron was quiet for a moment. "I don't know but, maybe, you should start by telling your friends about what happened today if they don't know already."

My shoulders slumped in defeat. "They're going to hate me."

"I doubt it." Cameron said.

"No, you don't get it. Zay warned me that this could possibly blow up in our faces but I was so naive. I thought that I could fix it so easily."

Cameron stood up and sat beside me on the bed. "You were trying to help."

"And I didn't!" My eyes welled up with tears. "I didn't do anything to help. I made it worse. I took Merissa from her home today. From her home, Cameron," I gripped his shirt sleeve as if willing him to understand. "You didn't see the look in their eyes. I can't believe I-"

Cameron gripped my shoulders tightly. "Destiny!"

I flinched. "Now, you listen to me. This is a fucked situation, alright? But it is not your fault. Everything has risks. All of you knew that, shit, Justin most likely knew that when he figured out what you guys were doing. This is not your fault."

I chewed on my bottom lip. "What am I going to tell her? What is Justin going to do? I just ruined his life."

"Hey, no offense, but from one best friend to another, shut up." He said blandly.

I looked at him in disbelief. "What?"

He smiled at me and squeezed my shoulders one more time. "Don't think about that. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

I eyed him. "We?"

"Yeah, we. I'm not going to let you wallow in your self pity when you're clearly having a crisis. So, if it takes me and the ratty crew to get this resolved then we've got you." He said, grinning.

Merissa coughed again and my hand resumed running through her hair. "I- Thank you," I sighed. "Can you call them?"

Cameron rised from the bed and stretched. "Right away."

I closed my eyes and sent a prayer to whoever might be listening.

Please help us.

-

"I told you."

Izzy glared at Zay. "Shut up. We all agreed to it."

Drew spoke from his perch on the couch. "She's right. We all agreed so we all need to deal with this together."

Zay frowned. "Deal with it? What can we do? We used all that we have."

Orlan rubbed his free hand over his face, his other hand clutched in Chris'. Cameron sat opposite to them with me. "Have we? I mean, this is getting to the point where we can't play nice anymore."

"Play nice? Orlan, this isn't a game." Izzy scowled.

Chris looked up with a tired disapproving look. "Izzy, it's a saying. Chill out."

"Guys, what the fuck?" I said loudly and they went silent.

"We are going for each other's necks like animals. This is not us. This situation is not ideal but this is where we're supposed to be uniting instead of dividing," My tone softened. "We can do this."

It was silent again before Zay spoke up. "Then what do you have in mind, princess?"

I ignored his patronizing nickname and met Cameron's gaze briefly before looking away. "I'm going to take care of Merissa for awhile. I think we can agree she doesn't need to be in that house right now," I paused, leaving room for someone to speak. No one did. "You all need to continue Justin your support. I don't think he's very stable right now. So, it'll be best if-"

"Someone stayed with him." Chris finished for me with a hint of a smile.

"I elect Zay for that. Too many people would make him feel cornered." Drew stated.

The others agreed and I looked at Zay for confirmation. He shrugged. "He's my best friend. I'll do anything."

"Destiny," Orlan started. "If you need any help, you can tell us. That's what friends are for."

I nodded slowly and smiled. "Thank you. I will."

"We can also take turns picking Merissa up from school, if you want. I'd imagine rushing from school to pick up Merissa would make you feel too much like a young mom for comfort." Cameron joked.

I rolled my eyes. "I can handle it but it would be nice."

My mom appeared out of the kitchen for the first time since she gave Merissa her soup and sat down. "So, I'm responsible for somebody else's kid for awhile? Is that what I'm hearing?"

I met her gaze strongly. "No, we're all responsible for her. Just until we figure things out."

She nodded. "You planning to balance school, babysitting, and school drama on your plate?"

"Well, if you take school drama off of the plate-" Drew started but shut up when she glared at him.

"Ms. Vasten," Orlan said, clearing his throat. "I'd hate to interrupt but I get that this is a lot. I mean, you have to watch all these strange ass kids-"

"Hey!"

"-sit in your living room and try to figure out what to do with our friend who is living a shitty life. Destiny's right, this is less than ideal but we will and can do what we need to make sure this works. So, if you could, have faith in this odd group of 17 and 18 year olds. Please."

My mom's lips twitched up into a small smile before dragging out a long sigh. "It seems like I have no choice but to have faith in you. But," She narrowed her eyes at us. "if things get out of control, I'm shutting it down."

We all thought about what those words hinted at for a moment. "Thanks, ma."

"Whatever," She stood up and smiled at us. "Who's hungry?"

There were cheers in the living room as Zay rose from his chair. "Can I get something to go? I'm going to drop by Justin's house while I can."

"Oh, yeah," Izzy said, standing up. "We all should go. Destiny, you coming?"

I smiled weakly and shook my head. "I highly doubt he wants to speak to me right now. I'll just...stay here."

Cameron squeezed my shoulder sympathetically. "I'll stay, too."

"Nobody asked you, Cam." Drew said.

They stuck their tongues out at each other like children and I had to stifle a laugh. "You guys should get going."

They all said goodbye as my mom all handed them something to eat. It seemed like fruit from where I was sitting.

After they left, Cameron brushed my shoulder with his thumb. "You going to be alright?"

I shrugged and laid my head on his shoulder. "Maybe."

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PLATONICALLY!!!

News Update: I fucking hate myself

Jk, I love myself too much lmao

Did I already use Skinny Love on this story? Whatever, idc