The Virgin Bet

29

Day 21 - 4:04 pm

"So, you haven't heard from him since Tuesday?" Kristie question as she stirred her hot chocolate with a spoon, watching as the marshmallows were engulfed in the swirling tornado inside of her cup. Charlotte quietly nodded her head as she stared at the steam brewing from her piping hot mug. After the Winter Social around midnight, Kristie came stumbling through the doors with the help of Andy. Early the next morning, the girls both packed up their bags and got a taxi to drive them to Charlotte's mother's house.

Kristie was left with no family when her father died from lung cancer and her mother had overdosed on her pills one night. Charlotte's mother took the broken high schooler in as if she was her own. Her mother never officially adopted her, but authorities thought that the girl ended up living with her grandma. It wasn't until they graduated and no one had custody over her did she out that she lived under Charlotte's mother's roof for the past four years. She thought of her as her own mother, but much stronger and more passionate than her actual mom.

Kristie could see the way her best friend gripped her mug as if it was her lifeline. The girl hadn't slept for days since Cole walked out on her that night. Charlotte's mother, who she called Anne, had asked her multiple times what was bothering her. Every time she asked though, she was quickly shot down with a quick "I'm fine." from her daughter.

Not a single text or call from him since the day he left. Charlotte knew that he only did as she had asked, but she didn't mean for his absence to be extended for such a long period of time. Maybe it was selfish of her to want him to come back and apologize to her, but it's all that she really wanted.

Cole ruined her whole night, and she hadn't slept well since he walked out of her dorm on Tuesday. She understood why he was so angered by Harry's presence that night, but he didn't stop and listen to her when she tried to explain that he had helped her. Charlotte also knew the hug probably threw him off, yet it was the only thing that she could rationally think to do in the present situation. With the whole mess with Becky and Cole, it seemed like anything could have happened in that moment. All she wanted was for Cole to listen to her before throwing a fist hard enough to break someone's nose at him.

It also upset her that Cole decided to leave out the tiny little detail that one of his past hookups was the woman who's only job in this world is to tear her down emotionally. Becky always made it a point to make her life a living Hell, and she didn't understand why until last night. After Dylan spilled that she was still fond of the dark haired man, Charlotte just lost it. Sure, she knew that Cole had his fair share of hookups in the past, but she didn't expect one of them to be with her. It made her physically sick to her stomach to think about, and she honestly wanted to tell Cole that she didn't want him to ever see her again. She knew that she couldn't do that though, because that would cause more problems than it was worth.

Anne walked in with a hot cup of tea before she sat down in the armchair across from the couch that the two girls had planted their butts on not  too long ago. Charlotte watched her mother put the cup up to her cracked lips and take a few sips of the tea before she set it down on a coaster. Kristie spoke up before Anne had the chance to pester her daughter with questions about her strange mood.

"This hot chocolate really hit the spot. I can't believe it's cold enough to snow." Kristie said as she looked out the window. The blinds were pulled up just enough so that they could see the bright, white snow that covered the city like a blanket. It was quite the beautiful sight, but that just meant days of staying indoors while they gave the ice on the roads time to melt. "Charlotte, I need your help dying my hair tonight." She piped up again, causing Charlotte to give her a funny look.