Page 72 of Us in Ruins
Margot backtracked toward his concierge kingdom, the chest-high desk he perched behind, where he rested a lazy chin on his knuckles.
“Hi, Giuseppe,” she said, smiling sweetly. It didn’t quite reach her eyes, but Margot couldn’t make herself care right now. She’d already cried so much on the train home that they’d probably be puffy into the next millennia.
“Margot Rhodes,” he said, holding a cardstock sleeve between two fingers the same way someone might brandish a stinky gym sock. “This came for you.”
Ordinarily, Margot’s heart would have hammered in her chest at the thought of a courtier delivering mail, but tonight? She knew it couldn’t be IRL Bridgerton.
Margot leaned closer, inspecting the envelope as Giuseppe slid it across the desk. It hadn’t been stamped, just addressed to her in a neat penmanship that she’d know anywhere.
“I don’t want it,” she said. She’d heard everything she needed from Van.
Giuseppe lowered his head, unamused. “I don’t care. It is yours.”
He pushed the envelope until it rammed into Margot’s fingertips, where they rested on the counter. She groaned but grabbed the letter, muttering a “thanks” and turning back toward the elevators.
Margot Rhodes, Van had written on the brown envelope. Underlined once, a little ball of ink at the end like he’d pressed too hard. She dangled the letter over the trash can. Was there anything he could say to repair the trust he’d broken? But if she didn’t read it... The thought of being plagued by not knowing what he’d said for the rest of her life was worse than knowing and hating him for it.
As she scooted into the elevator, Margot slid her fingernail beneath the envelope’s flap.
Margot,
If you’re reading this, it means you were right and girls do like handwritten letters. Otherwise, I’m certain you would be content to ignore me for the rest of your days, but you have proven me wrong time and time again, so perhaps this will be no different.
I originally sought to complete the Vase of Venus Aurelia as I had done everything for as long as I can remember: alone. You made certain I wouldn’t. Never have I met someone as brave or tenacious or strong-willed as you. Venus may have cursed my heart to stone only so that you could chisel it out and make it beat again.
Although you may not wish to see me again, please know that my apologies are earnest, and I would like to finish this as we began. Together. You’ll know where to find me tomorrow.
With all my heart,
Van
The elevator dinged at the third floor. Margot moved forward without looking up, eyes glued to Van’s words. She read and reread it, analyzing every loop, every letter, every mark of punctuation. Her feet led her down the hall, but her mind was busy decoding each sentence and searching for hidden, backstabbing meanings.
When she walked into her room, the only light came from Suki’s laptop, where she lay on her bunk, probably watching another Netflix reality dating show. She pulled out an earbud. “Your aura is blue.”
“I’m sure it’s fine.” Margot deflected whatever conversation that was about to be. She couldn’t help but notice the obvious lack of icy remark from their third roommate as she slid Van’s letter onto her bunk and flipped on the overhead light. “No Astrid?”
Suki shook her head. “She’s off running around with her secret admirer. Won’t tell me who it is. Keeps harping about how we need to be having intellectually stimulating conversations, not gossiping about boys. As if I don’t know about the Bechdel Test.”
Margot dragged her massive suitcase out from underneath the bed and flopped its lid open. Her carry-on from the Rome trip had been deposited by the door, but that could hardly hold the myriad of outfit changes she’d packed for the summer. Most of which would go unworn. A shame. A new flight confirmation was coming from her dad any minute—she might as well get a head start on packing.
“What are you doing?” Suki asked, dangling off the bed.
Margot held up the wad of laundry in her hands. “Uh, packing?” Isn’t it obvious?
“You mean unpacking? We basically just got here.”
“I’m leaving,” Margot said.
“Like, to do another secret mission?”
Margot’s mouth opened slightly and then closed. She frowned, trying to decide on the right words. “I haven’t been doing secret missions.”
Suki closed her laptop and ditched her earbuds entirely. “Has anyone ever told you you’re a terrible liar? You and Chad have been disappearing left and right. I know a secret mission when I see one. Plus, after you two bailed and missed attendance at the dig site this afternoon, I told Dr. Hunt you’d started your period and Chad went to buy you another pair of shorts from the gift shop.”
“Thanks?” Margot said, uncertain whether fictitiously bleeding through her pants was something to be thankful for.
“So, what’s the truth?”