Page 25 of Captured Love

I’m blaming it on the alcohol, but I forgot about that part. The night she met the love of her life, who broke her heart. Now by some weird twist of fate, they are back together and happier than ever.

His only flaw is that he’s teammates with Knox.

“Asher's a good guy,” I say, trying to steer the conversation into safer waters. “I'm glad you two worked things out.”

Isla gives me a small, grateful smile. “Yeah, me too. It was rough for a while, but sometimes you just need to grow up a bit to see things clearly, you know?”

I nod, though I'm not sure I do know. Growing up has only made things more complicated for me. But I'm happy for her. For them.

The line inches forward quicker than I thought, to be honest. Isla shifts from foot to foot impatiently. “So how's... everything?” she asks, and I know she's really asking about Knox without wanting to come out and say it.

“Everything's fine,” I lie. “I’m operating on just vibes and alcohol at the moment.”

“That’s a whole mood. Oh thank fuck.”

I look up and notice that we are at the front of the line and the bathroom door just opened. Isla almost sprints inside, and I quickly follow behind her, making sure to close and lock the door behind us so no one walks in on her.

“You know,” she hiccups, and I try my best to contain my giggle. “This reminds me of Asher going down on me in my parents’ bathroom the evening of the team bonding event.”

It takes everything in my drunken brain to not turn around and stare at her because of her bizarre statement. It came so far out of left field that I feel as if I missed the last thirty minutes of our lives and only just recently tuned back in.

I busy myself by looking in the mirror, pretending to fix my hair. “Isla, that was so random, and that’s saying something coming from me. Too much information,” I say, though a part of me is curious about why she's bringing this up now.

“Oops, just drunken thoughts said out loud. My bad.” I hear the toilet flush and turn to see Isla washing her hands, swaying slightly from side to side. She catches my eye in the mirror and gives me a smile. I decide I should probably empty my bladder too since I’m already in here.

“I’m starting to get a headache,” Isla says. “It’s probably a good idea that I head out.”

“You mean we head out. You’re staying with me tonight to get away from Tessa, remember?”

“You’re right,” she hiccups again. “I forgot. Let me text Asher to let him know we’re fine and that we are headed back to your room.”

I finish up in the bathroom and Asher ends up calling Isla as we are headed out of the party. He almost came down to walk us back to my dorm, but Isla managed to convince him that just talking to us was more than enough. I’m glad she was able to because the alcohol is wearing down my initial burst of energy,and a wave of tiredness is starting to creep in. I close my eyes for just a second as we are walking and silently pray I don’t trip over anything.

When we get to my dorm, Isla collapses onto my bed and I chuckle because it looks anything but graceful. I shut the door quietly and slip off my shoes, happy to finally be back in my sanctuary. By the time I turn on the lamp near my bed, Isla is already half asleep, her phone still in her hand.

I tiptoe over and gently take the phone from her, setting it on the nightstand. “You need water,” I whisper, but she just mumbles something incoherent and rolls onto her side.

I figure she’s good for right now, but water would do us both a bit of good. As I grab my ID to head to the vending machine on the main floor, I notice a white envelope on the floor near the door.

What the hell?

I bend down and pick it up, thinking it must be something about an event Crestwood is hosting. I turn the envelope over in my hands and find my name on it. Our school would be going way out of their way to personalize each envelope that I’m sure everyone in my dorm got.

Then it dawns on me. Most of the mail we get from the school ends up in our mailboxes at the campus center. So who is this from?

I slide my finger under the flap and tear it open, half expecting a glitter bomb or some ridiculous prank. Instead, there's a single sheet of paper inside, folded neatly. I pull it out and smooth it open, squinting to read the words on the page due the activities I just partook in.

Selene,

I'm sorry.

I know that doesn't make up for anything, but I needed to say it. I messed up big time when I treated you like you were nothing. You have every right to be mad at me, to hate me even. But I hope you can give me a chance to apologize in person. Maybe a chance to make things right with you.

- Knox

I find myself staring at the paper and then looking around my room to see if there are any video cameras set up because there’s no way this is real. I make my way over to my bed and sit down on the edge, confused beyond belief. An apology from Knox? This can’t be happening. I take a moment to analyze the letter and realize that he didn’t apologize about the incident with Lucas. Looks like he isn’t sorry about that.

“What's that?” Isla mumbles, her eyes still closed but her senses apparently sharper than I gave her credit for in her current state.

---