Page 25 of Eat. Prey. Love.
My Friends
“Coco? It’s me, Dolly.”
There’s no answer and everything is quiet, but I told Felix to go ahead and scoot. Cori is the most sensitive of my tiny friend group and I know she’s been hurt more than a few times in the past. While the thought of two guys has filtered it’s way through the echelons of pred society since I started high school, two women together is somehow still looked down on as weird or uncomfortable to witness. I don’t get it because hot people are hot people and my girl Coco is a curvy goddessin supe form.
Frowning at the internalized homophobia that runs rampant in this world, I lick my lips. Maybe that schtick is why Cori is so upset… Giselle’s exit is less about our affiliation with trouble and more about appearances. Rufus’ explanation of her last minute change of heart seemed off to me. Not all pred parents are as nasty as Lucille and my departed father. They may not be awesome, but I can’t believe that Cori’s girlfriend wouldn’t know their relationship would be a huge issue from the jump.
“Cori, you have to let me in. I’m worried about you. Ru-Ru is, too, and we’re not going to let you go through this alone.” The silence is deafening and I wrinkle my nose, deciding to use another tactic. “You can’t leave me here in the hallway alone. I already sent Felix packing.”
I’m not above being a little manipulative if it means I can check on my friend.
The door opens to a makeup-less, messy, miserable looking polar bear shifter who glares at me as if she’d like to skin me alive. “That wasnotfair.”
I cringe. “I know, but it’s true. I knew you’d let me in and I really did send him away a few minutes ago. If I texted one of them to come get me, you know how insane they’d get. This is a new place full of new and old enemies, Coco. None of us is safe, according to Farley.”
She sniffles and nods, moving to the side as I come further into the room. It’s obvious how upset she is by how barren the space is still. A room Cori and Rufus share should already be blindingly blinged out, piping in hot tracks while they dance to the beat. Instead, it’s full of suitcases and boxes that have yet to be touched. The only sign Cori did anything is the blanket and pillow on her bed where she’s been curled up with tissues.
Turning back to my friend, I gesture to the bed. “Come on, girl. Sit down and tell me what happened. Ru-Ru was annoyingly vague and Fitz made me promise to give him details so he can suitably punish the chick who stole your sunshine.”
“No!”Cori shakes her head, curls bouncing around her reddened face. “I mean, I love that he wants to get vengeance for me, but… I can’t send people to attack someone for a choice they had every right to make. It doesn’t feel right.”
I frown, not sure I agree with her statement. Giselle had ample time to tell Cori she wasn’t coming along and she didn’t woman up and say so. Instead, she strung her along until the last possible second and then refused to discuss it. That’s not how healthy relationship work—at least, from what the guys have taught me—and I don’t like cutting her slack. This wasn’t about setting reasonable boundaries or some untenable core belief mismatch.
Cori’s girlfriend chose the easy route, which makes her either a coward or a hypocrite.
“Coco, I get that you care about her and I respect that you want to be the bigger person.” I give her a crooked smile. “But that doesn’t always get you the closure you need. We know ignoring the Heathers unless they directly provoked me only gave them an entire year to torture me. I didn’t want to stoop to their level of crazy and it almost got me kicked out of Apex.”
Her eyes widen and her lower lip trembles. “You think Giselle might… strike out at me? Why would she do that?Shebroke it off with me. And it wasn’t because I did anything wrong, except be a girl. At least, that’s what I got out of what little she texted.”
I’m going to kill the bitch myself if that’s really why—that’s a Drew promise and as Lucille says, ‘our word is your blood.’
Taking in a slow, calming breath, I walk over to the bed and sit down. “She might if the whole ‘I can’t be gay or I’ll get disowned’ thing is a ruse. I just don’t know her well enough to make assumptions. Did Rufus spend more time with you two or….?”
Cori’s head dips and she shakes it again, wiping her nose on her sleeve. I hand her a tissue, waiting until she’s ready to continue. Something about her attitude is making my gut churn, and I hate it. I know Cori wouldneverdo anything to hurt me or our rag-tagfamily, but she’s far too kind hearted. Shemighthave shared things she shouldn’t have with a girl she thought was her endgame. The silence is deafening, but I hold my tongue as she figures out what she wants to say.
“Giselle was the first girlfriend I’ve had who I thought was ‘real.’ I trusted her, which is why she was allowed to be at our table during the Yule Ball, and why she was coming on Farley’s plane.” My friend pads over, sitting across from me on the bed as she looks at me with an earnest expression. “I didn’t tell her anythingreallysecret, but I definitely shared some things I worry about now.”
Fury races through my veins at the defeated look in the bear’s eyes and her wilted posture. Cori Bouvier has been the colorful light I needed from the minute I ran into her and Rufus again on my first official day at Apex. The possibility that some chick used her to get information on me and my men, then tossed her aside like a used Kleenex makes me want to take out a small city.
If this is true, she deserves a visit from Fitz as much as Todd did.Hell, I might even join him.
“Coco, what kind of things did you share with her?”
She shrugs and flops backward on the bed, looking up at the plain ceiling. “I don’t know, D. That’s the problem—it was such a whirlwind and… everyone was busy. You were dodging killers and dealing with the professors. Rufus dove into the triplets like he wanted to get lost in their fucking ocean. I was lonely and Giselle was so… perfect.”
“Too perfect?” I ask softly. I hate to make her doubt herself and everything in the world, but she’s not wrong. This last minute escape screams ‘set-up’ and we need to figure who the fuck put her up to it.Thosepeople I’ll let my crazy tiger deal with, for sure. How we’ll address Giselle is an issue for later when my friend isn’t so raw from the heartache. She might change her mind after we do some digging.
Aubrey might enjoy a bar-be-que, come to think of it. We could have a violent family outing. Nice.
A long sigh echoes in the quiet and Cori whispers, “Maybe? I only had stupid closeted bitches to compare it to. My frame of reference isn’t extensive and I was so damn excited.”
“Okay,” I say, scrambling internally to word my next question without making her cry. “When you told her things, was it just… normal conversations as you went about your day? Or maybe were all your secrets shared alone when you were…. intimate?”
Her eyes fill with tears and I wince. I really thought I’d asked as gently as I could, but knowing whether this girl was a honey trap depends heavily on how she got Cori talking. A fresh rounds of sobs shudder through her and I lean back on my elbow so I can pat her head gently. I wish Rufus was here; he’d ask things bluntly because he’s a bitch. Cori would snark back, but she would know he wasn’t being mean because they’ve been friends for a long time.
I just feel like a super fucking asshole and I’m sure I sound like one, too.
“Oh, Coco, I’m sorry,” I murmur. “It’s…. We need to know what happened and it won’t be any easier later on. I’m trying not to rip the bandage off too hard.”