3 Conjuring (7 page)

“Well, I don’t see that happening any time soon,” Aric r
eplied. “I’m relatively happy, so you should probably look elsewhere.”

Jessica wrinkled her nose disdainfully and then turned around and left with Laura.

“I don’t like her,” Kelsey announced.

“I don’t think she likes herself,” Matilda replied. “Why else would she act like that?”

“Probably because Aric is so hot,” Brittany interjected matter-of-factly.

Great. Here we go.

“Speaking of,” Brittany turned to me. “You and I need to have a little talk.”

“Paris already informed me of what you want to talk abou
t, and I really don’t care.” I flipped my blonde hair over my shoulder.

“You don’t care that I’m going to date Will?”

Aric looked interested in her announcement, suddenly sitting up straighter in his chair.

“Nope.”

“Well, good,” Brittany said. “Because we’re going out Thursday.”

And the hits just keep on coming.

The next week was a blur.

Between classes and Aric I didn’t have a lot of time to think, which was probably a good thing for Brittany. Now that we had put our most recent spat behind us, Aric and I were back on the same page, and that pretty much meant we were together every chance we got. We didn’t spend every night together, but we did try to see each other at least a few minutes every day.

“I can’t believe they actually went out,” I lamented t
o Paris as we walked back from our final class on a Friday afternoon. “It just boggles the mind.”

“Well, it was a week ago yesterday and I don’t thin
k she’s heard from him,” Paris replied, closing her eyes briefly to soak up the sun that would soon be in short supply as fall descended on mid-Michigan. The fading sun gave her pale features an otherworldly look I found appealing.

“What makes you say that?” I asked, although I was t
rying to pretend that I really didn’t care.

“She’s been rushing to the little notepad next to the telephone to see if there’s a message waiting for her every day when she gets ba
ck from class,” Paris said. “I don’t take that as a good sign, do you?”

It was a good sign for my sanity. “Wouldn’t he just call her on her cell phone?”

“Brittany is convinced that her cell phone has started dropping calls – even before they’re actually made apparently – and that’s why she hasn’t heard from him,” Paris explained.

“And what did you say to her?”

“I told her she was probably right.”

I rolled my eyes. “So you lied?”

“I didn’t lie,” Paris countered. “I just let her think what she wants to think.”

“You lied.”

“Oh, I totally lied,” Paris agreed.

“So you think it’s done?” I tried to keep the hope
from creeping into my voice. I didn’t want Will, but that didn’t mean I wanted Brittany to have him.

“No,” Paris shook her head.

I felt my heart plummet to my stomach. “You don’t think it’s done?”

“Not even close,” Paris said. “I think he’s out to make
you jealous, so he’ll actually step up his game and not slink away from it.”

“Why wouldn’t he call her then?”

“Because he doesn’t really like her,” Paris replied. “He’s not going to call her until he can set something up that he’s sure will upset you.”

“I think you’re giving him too much credit. Maybe he
actually likes her.” Stranger things have happened – like the Kardashians being considered “stars.”

“Maybe he does,” Paris replied sagely. “Maybe I’m totally wrong.”

“Maybe.”

“I’m not wrong,” Paris said. “You know I’m not wrong.
You’re just trying to act all humble – which isn’t like you, by the way.”

“I’m not acting humble.”

“You’re acting humble.”

“I am not.”

“Why are you arguing with me? Oh, wait, you want to pretend that Will isn’t still interested in you because you don’t want Aric to get all worked up. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stuck out my bottom lip petulantly.

“That is it. I knew it.”

I blew out a sigh. “Fine. That is it. Things between Ari
c and me are really good right now. Really good. I don’t want him to fly off the handle and beat the crap out of Will. That’s just going to force me into a situation I don’t want to be in.”

“But you admit that Will still has feelings for you
? And how good are we talking? Between you and Aric, I mean?”

I ignored her question about Aric. She was obsessed with our sex life
. It was starting to get a little uncomfortable. I couldn’t help but wonder if Mark was coming up a little short in that area. “I don’t think he still has feelings for me,” I said finally. “I think he has nostalgia for what we used to be. He looks at his life and how bad it is and he remembers a happier time and I just happen to be in that happier time. He convinces himself that I’m what he needs to get back to that happier time, so he then convinces himself he still has feelings for me. He doesn’t really have feelings for me, though.”

“That’s some convoluted logic,” Paris mused.

“That’s my story and I’m sticking to it,” I replied stubbornly. “Why else would he be dating Brittany? It’s like he wants to emotionally flog himself or something.”

“That’s a nice image – but you could be right.”

“Of course I’m right.”

“You’re not always right,” Paris reminded me.

“Close enough.”

Now it was Paris’ turn to roll her eyes. “So, do you think you’ll start speaking to her at some point? Maybe some point soon?”

“Nope.”

“Nope?”

“Nope.”

“Zoe, by freezing her out like this you’re just reinforcing
the fact that she’s getting to you.” Paris was trying to manipulate me into her way of thinking.

“Well, she should be happy her little campaign worked then.”

“It’s making it hard on me, though.”

“You’re the one who decided to live with her.”

“I know, but I was mad at you when I made that decision and ... .”

“And now you’re seriously reconsidering the wisdom a
ssociated with that decision,” I replied knowingly.

“I don’t believe Brittany is a bad person.”

“Do you believe Brittany is a good person?”

“I think Brittany is a confused person.”

“We’re all confused people. We’re in college. It goes with the territory.”

“Yes,” Paris sighed. “Brittany is more confused th
an most, though. She’s just so buttoned up that she can’t help but lash out occasionally. And, since you’re the one who’s mean to her so often, she tends to lash out at you.”

“I am not mean to her,” I argued vehemently.

“You’re mean to her,” Paris said. “I don’t think you always set out to be mean to her, but she frustrates you to the point that you can’t help but be mean to her.”

“That’s her fault then, not mine.”

“I hate it when you get like this,” Paris grumbled.

“Then why did you bring up Brittany?” I countered.

“Because I hoped you would be the bigger person.”

“Did you just meet me?”

“Okay, maybe hoping you would be the bigger person is stretching it too far. Can’t you just ease up a little? Just a little? It would make things so much easier on me.”

“Why?” I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “What is she saying about me?”

“Nothing,” Paris said hurriedly.

Somehow, I didn’t believe her. “Tell me what she’s been saying about me.”

“Nothing worse than you’ve been saying about her – actually, not nearly as bad,”

Paris replied. “She just thinks you’re being irrational.”

“You don’t date your friend’s ex.”

Paris raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Laura dated my ex and you took her side.”

“Laura apologized and knew she did wrong,” I countered. “And she didn’t date your ex. She got drunk and made out with your ex. You had a right to be mad. However, it’s not like she’s still seeing him. There’s a difference.”

I was almost sure there really was a difference, and it
wasn’t just that this time it was happening to me.

“I forgave Laura,” Paris pointed out.

“You haven’t forgiven her,” I scoffed. “You’ve decided not to overtly hate her. It’s not like you talk to her.”

“My mom doesn’t want me to.”

“Your mom doesn’t want you to do a lot of things and you still do those. The problems between you and Laura are different, I get that, but that doesn’t mean that my problems with Brittany aren’t viable.”

“So, you’re saying you’re not going to lighten up on her?” Paris looked pained.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“Fine. Be stubborn.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

I decided to change the subject.

“You want to have dinner with Kelsey and me tonight?”

“Just the two of you?” Paris asked.

“Yeah. Matilda and Laura have later stuff going on
and Kelsey wants to eat early because she has a lot of studying to do. She’s a math major. I guess they get a lot of homework. Anyway, I told her I would eat early with her.”

“You two seem to have hit it off,” Paris mused.

“She’s not as bad as I thought,” I admitted. “I think she just takes a while to warm up to new people. She’s actually really smart and really dedicated to her school work.

I’m hoping it will rub off on me. So, do you want to eat with us or not?”

“Sure,” Paris said after a beat. “I could eat.”

“Cool. I want you to get to know her.”

A HALF AN HOUR
later the three of us were seated at a table by the window enjoying Friday’s pizza bar offerings. Paris and Kelsey were happily chatting away, and I was glad to see that the two of them were starting to hit it off. It was strange, but when I reflected on the past week, I realized I had spent more time with Kelsey than with Laura.

“So, you’re going to keep punishing Brittany?”

“Huh?” I glanced over at Kelsey and found her staring at me questioningly. She repeated the question. I frowned in Paris’ direction but didn’t deny Kelsey’s query.

“I’m going to keep punishing her until the day I die. Or, mo
re preferably, the day she dies.”

“Told you,” Paris sighed.

“I agree with Zoe,” Kelsey countered. “You don’t go after someone’s ex-boyfriend.”

“See.” I stuck my tongue out teasingly at Paris.

“Yes, but Zoe doesn’t want Will. She has Aric. Why would she want Will?”

“She doesn’t have to want him to not want Brittany to have him,” Kelsey countered.

“Brittany should show a little loyalty.”

“Agreed,” Paris hedged. “But Brittany is boy crazy.
She doesn’t mean to be such a pain.”

I raised my eyebrow.

“Okay, she doesn’t mean to be a really big and purposely hurtful pain,” Paris ceded. “She really thinks she’s in love with him.”

“Matilda is boy crazy, too,” Kelsey pointed out. “
She would never go after an ex-boyfriend of mine, though. She’s not that disloyal.”

I fixed Paris with a hard stare. Paris finally gave in and held up her hands in defeat.

“Fine. I get it. I’ll continue to suffer.”

“Better you than me,” I said. “This past week has been great without her.”

“She’ll force the issue at some point,” Paris said sternly. “You know that, right?”

“I can’t wait,” I replied grimly.

“I can,” Paris muttered.

I looked up when I saw Laura and Matilda approaching
the table with trays in their hands. A glance at the clock on the wall told me that they were earlier than I had originally expected. “Hey,” I greeted them. “I didn’t think you guys would be done for another hour.”

“Why didn’t you wait?”

Laura’s question took me off guard. There was a level of recrimination in her voice that I hadn’t quite expected. “Kelsey needed to eat early,” I offered. “You knew that.”

“But I thought you were going to wait for me.”

Why was she so upset?

Paris exchanged a wary look with me but she didn’t chime in.

“I’m sorry,” I said, honestly confused. “I thought we had agreed that Kelsey and I were going early and you and Matilda were going later.”

“And I thought you were waiting for me,” Laura pressed angrily.

I glanced at Matilda, who was standing a few feet behind Laura and watching the exchange. Her dark eyes were strangely unreadable. “Were you under the impression we were waiting?”

Matilda looked surprised to be put on the spot. “I
can’t remember exactly what we said.”

Kelsey turned to her. “Are you upset we didn’t wait?”

“Well,” Matilda hedged. “I don’t think upset is the right word. I guess I was just surprised that you two went without us.”

“I didn’t mean to just ditch you,” I said honestly, search
ing Laura’s face for clues. “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

Laura must have realized that everyone in the immediate area was wat
ching us, because she wiped the hurt look off her face and replaced it with a half-hearted smile. “It’s not a big deal,” she said quickly. “It’s just ... we just got our wires crossed.”

Laura plopped her tray down on the table and slid into an open chair
. I was still watching her worriedly when she glanced up.

“Really, it’s fine. I probably just have PMS or something.”

“Probably.” I glanced over at Kelsey, only she wasn’t looking my way. Instead, she was focused on Matilda, and the look she was shooting our fourth roommate was not one of friendship but suspicion.