Lupo

Chapter Sixteen: No Reply

(C)Copyright SJCLewis2020

It's likely this isn't the chapter you were all hoping for...but here it is. It was written in a rush and is, as always, unedited.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was half past nine by the time Minerva got home; Darcie was sat at the top of the stairs, eating spaghetti hoops from a cereal bowl. 

"Babe, are you ok?"

Darcie only shrugged in response as Minerva shut the front door and dumped her bag and coat on the floor in the hall. 

"Is anything the matter?" she tried again, swaying slightly on her feet. "Why did you leave like that? Was it that Audrey girl? What did she say to you?"

Darcie felt anxiety flare in the pit of her stomach. Shaking her damp hair forwards in an attempt to hide her face, she dipped her cold, partially burnt toast into the bowl in her lap. "Nothing." she mumbled, shrugging again. "I'm just a bit stressed I think. I came back and had a shower and I feel a bit better now. How was the rest of the evening? Did I miss much?" 

She took a large bite of her toast and watched as Minvera began to ascend the stairs. 

"Nothing much, really." she began with a shrug, sitting down heavily a few steps below her. "Tito and that girl left not long after you - I think there might be something going on there. Then Dan was a prick as usual and after that it got boring." 

Grimacing, Minerva lent heavily against the banisters, and the old, cheaply painted wood creaked under the weight. She looked up into Darcie's face and laughed bitterly. "These uni boys just ain't worth shit! I actually can't wait to find myself a career man!" 

She reeked of gin.

Darcie forced a weak smile. Placing her half eaten dinner on the step beside her, she lent forwards and buried her face in her hands. "Can you believe that it's almost over?" she whispered after a pause. "Less than a month to go until the Diss is in.  And then like... three weeks until we're done for good."

Minerva snorted, and reached out to pat Darcie's calf. "I know." she mumbled, running a hand over her face with a sigh. "But we're in this together. You got me. You know that right? Hey, maybe we should just fuck this whole 'being an adult thing after uni' and go travelling or something? Me and you. Lets just... fuck off for a bit -what do you think?"

Hands still pressed to her face, Darcie screwed up her eyes and grimaced. "That sounds...perfect..." she sighed, crushing her lips together and willing herself not to cry again. "I mean I don't have any money to fuck off with right now, but...that would be perfect."

Her phone buzzed on the step beside her and she turned her face sideways to glance at it. The words Message from Bash blared across the screen before it faded to black again, and she felt her stomach drop sickeningly. Minerva gasped. 

"Oh my life, he is texting you!" she squealed, scrabbling greedily for the phone. "What does he want?!"

Darcie's face twisted into an ugly, anguished grimace, and she let out a high, strained laugh, devoid of any humour. Snatching her phone up before Minerva could get at it, she held it out of her reach and pinned her with a blazing look. 

"It doesn't matter what he wants. We're not going to talk about him anymore, ok?" she snapped, instantly savage, suddenly tearful, and Minerva recoiled again with a frown. "I'm so done with this now, Min!"

Minerva looked taken aback as she watched Darcie unlock her phone and delete the message without reading it. "Alright!" she exclaimed defensively after an awkward pause. "Sorry!" She folded her arms around herself and placed her chin on her knees with a petulant huff.