Page 48 of The Casualty of Us (Philosophies of the Heart Duet #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

I stare out at the deep blue of the Atlantic from the Bettencourts’ sun deck with a drink permanently in hand and skin that had already acquired a warm glow from my daily jogs turning into a rare tan in the week since I’ve been here.

Especially since I’ve spent the majority of that time with my ass planted right here.

Munching on guacamole and earning back every damn inch of running I’ve done this summer. Quite happily.

Even with my unwanted company.

“God, you’re going to need Botox by, like, twenty-two with the amount you frown.”

I roll my head to the side, dipping it to peer at Lisette over the top of my sunglasses. “Does it look like I care?”

Cheers to day drinking.

“Not right now.” She laughs haughtily. “But I’ll check back with you in your thirties.”

Bitch.

I scowl at her, lifting my gin and tonic and using it to push my sunglasses back up my nose. “Remind me why you’re here again?”

“Because Graham has a better view from his pool, and I’ve been coming here since we were practically babies.”

Right. Because they’re vacation home neighbors. He neglected to mention that.

In fact, he’d gone to take a nap the first day we got here, and I planted myself out here.

Almost falling asleep myself with Talan and Mia playing cards and chattering away in the distance and the sun shining down on me.

Right up until Lisette had plopped herself down next to me with a bottle of Dom, and Graham had walked out with a tray of shots, acting like this was entirely normal.

And truthfully, I’d felt so fucking free in that moment that I’d just gone with it.

Taking the glass of champagne Lisette had passed over and the shot Graham had next without so much as a question.

Proceeding to gloriously puke several hours later as Lisette held my hair and Talan laughed his ass off, taking pictures to tattle with.

I had to promise my mother no more attempts at alcohol poisoning after that.

But the trend continued from there.

Lisette and I sitting outside almost all day and sipping on whatever cocktails she feels like supplying.

Exchanging snarky comments with each other as Graham either plays referee or hangs out with whatever guys from school happen to be in town.

Something about our natural hostility and bickering weirdly brings a normalcy back to my life more than anything else has yet.

So what the fuck am I supposed to do with that?

She’s not wrong about the view too.

The two-story Hamptons-style house made up of gray brick trimmed in pristine white wood is situated in the perfect spot to look out across one of the inlets of Coral Gables.

Giving us all the people-watching we could ever need to fill the silence whenever we’re not bickering as the days slide by and bring us closer to returning to school.

Plus there’s just something about a girl holding your hair while you puke that bonds you whether you like it or not.

Fuck. Fucking fuck, fuck. I hate it when people make me reassess.

“Are you taking advanced debate this year?”

“Yeah,” I sigh, turning back to the inlet and seeing Graham racing some guy who showed up earlier on the wave runners. “You?”

“After you and Hayes’s crashout last year?” She laughs again. “You bet I am.”

“Rude.” I roll my eyes, adding absentmindedly and ignoring the twist in my chest, “I don’t even know if he’s taking it again.”

“Really?” she scoffs. “Are you seriously trying to sell me that shit?”

I turn back enough to lift my eyes to the ridiculously large white sun hat she’s wearing, which somehow pairs perfectly with her red hair and matching suit. “What shit?”

“That boy would tattoo your name across his forehead if you asked him to.” She pulls a face at me. “So I think it’s safe to assume he’ll take debate again just to see you, and don’t try to act like you don’t know it either.”

I shift a little uncomfortably in the Adirondack-style chair, taking a sip of my drink and looking down to see the checkered cushion sliding against my legs.

Matching the navy two-piece I’m wearing.

Still all on display out here.

“He messed up with Josey.” I shrug, not wanting to touch the topic after my drunken midnight scroll a few nights ago. “I can’t get past that.”

“Oh, please ,” she drones dramatically, tossing back.

“So what?” And making my head whip back her way just as she lifts her brows.

“He was trashed, and you had been stringing him along for the entire semester because it might make things a little uncomfortable with your brother to actually go there.” She shakes her head at me, hat flopping as my mouth pops open at her speech.

“Give the guy a break for fuck’s sake, Fitzroy. ”

It takes me a second longer to recover than normal, but I quickly close my mouth, blaming it on the gin and scowling at her. “That’s not the only reason.”

Because not only did I finally have the time to start to unpack everything about him that I’ve shoved to the side all summer, I also finally had the space and time to do a deep dive on what exactly he’s been doing instead of the usual perfunctory headline scroll to keep track of where he’s at.

Staying up until the sun came up that night while discovering that not only had his father invited him along for their summer tour, but the drummer had apparently invited his daughter along as well.

His absolutely freaking gorgeous daughter, who was only a year older than us. His absolutely gorgeous daughter, who had been pictured with Hayes on some fan accounts that had been hidden down below the top hits. In multiple pictures.

Looking entirely too friendly for my liking.

But I can’t really say shit about that, can I?

And now…now we have this lovely stalker situation to contend with as well.

Not that I have any intention of telling him that.

Especially not after seeing Cheyenne Hills’s long black hair hanging all over his shoulders as he gave her a piggyback ride through the set. Stupid fucking rock star nepo baby—

“Whatever you say.” She rolls her eyes at me. “But I still think you’ll be happy to know that Josey shot herself in the foot with that one because I was named captain this year instead.”

I roll mine right back, lifting my drink and drolling out, “Cheers to you.”

Barely managing to get a sip in before she pipes up inquisitively.

“Hey, have you signed up for an athletics credit yet?”

“No,” I snort. “And I don’t intend to.”

Despite my summer running penchant.

No need to put myself through that for the whole year.

“You know that you do need at least a year of one to graduate.”

“I’ll take chess, that’s a sport.” I shrug, the extended silence I get in response making me glance over in time to catch her long-suffering sigh.

The look on her face says she’s really debating if I am a lost cause and calls to mind that she thrives off of everything to do with social politics, which means she probably has extensive insight on the intimate dynamics of relationships.

Insight that I currently lack. It has me squinting at her as she takes a sip of her drink, deciding it’s worth the risk and trying for casual.

“So how can you tell if two people are…ya know?”

She shoots me a side-eye before mocking openly, “No, I don’t know. Whatever could you possibly mean?”

“Fucking,” I spit out in annoyance. “Or messing around, take your pick.”

Because he’s been on the road all summer with a girl that looks like a supermodel. All while I’ve been too suffocated to keep track of anything more than making sure he’s alive and ghosting on his attempts to reach out. Fuck.

“Aw, Ophelia.” She bats her lashes at me. “Are you actually coming to me for something?”

I glare at her before looking back out at the inlet and trying to backpedal. “Never mind.”

“I might shed a tear.”

She sighs dramatically with the tease, and I suck a deep breath in through my nose before snapping. “ Never. Mind .”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” she shoots back. “I’m guessing this is about Flynn?” I purse my lips, holding my silence, and she sighs more heavily this time. “Or I can ask about the bodyguards like I’ve been dying to do for days.”

“Bitch.” I look back at her with the insult, but she just smiles wider, setting my teeth on edge but getting her way because I need help, and sometimes it’s easier to ask it from someone who won’t pull their punches. “Fine, I need you to look at something for me.”

I reach down to snag my phone from where it’s lying on top of my towel before quickly unlocking it.

Immediately tapping my photos and going to the most recent ones because receipts are everything.

I flick through them until I’m clenching my teeth by the time I get back to the first one of him giving her a piggyback ride again.

The harsh light of day and the two gin and tonics I’ve consumed not making it look any better.

I hesitate for a split second before passing the phone over to her. “Scroll through these and tell me if you think they’re fucking.”

Because I need to delegate something with everything else going on right now, and considering that I’m a virgin and she’s not, which I learned against my will two nights ago, she might see something that I would miss.

Plus she held my hair, so fuck it.

Her eyes slit as she scrolls through the collection of photos, gaze roving over them and taking her time while we both sip at our drinks before stating simply, “No way.”

“Seriously?” My brows fall with disbelief as she holds the phone back out to me, and I reluctantly take it back. “Are you sure?”

“Totally.” She gives me a nod, motioning to my phone with her drink. “So glad to know you’re as prone as the next girl to going down the rabbit hole, though.”