Chapter 19
Harper
Inever thought there would be a day I wanted to strangle Luke, but here we are.
He ditches me to go with Cassie to some hidden waterfall, and instead of asking me to go with them so I could see it too, he leaves me behind, wondering where my best friend disappeared.
For a bit, I thought Cassie was going to take up residence in one of the two jails in Iceland for murdering him. But no, turns out they just wanted alone time to make out in some cave with a waterfall.
I didn’t care that they ditched me at first. In fact, I was a little thankful to no longer have to witness the eyesore that is Cassie hanging off Luke. I had assumed they went outside to enjoy the waterfall, so I didn’t rush after them. I stayed behind the waterfall, taking photos, ignoring the ping of annoyance in the back of my mind, and then made my way out. I followed the same path Luke and Cassie had taken, a steep, muddy trail.
Because the path is so close to the waterfall, it was soaked and more like a mud wrestling arena. It took one wrong movefor me to slip and fall on the steps. My pants soaked through immediately, and by the time I stood up, I was covered. If the misty air hadn’t soaked me enough, the mud finished the job, making my clothes cling to me like a thick, muddy, wet second skin.
When I finally walked out from behind the waterfall, I thought Luke and Cassie would be there waiting for me, but they weren’t. I spent a few minutes pacing, looking for them without much luck. Then five minutes turned into ten minutes, and there was still no sign of them, so my anger at being ditched was replaced with panic. I started calling out Luke’s name and apparently, I started to freak out enough that a Scottish family asked if I needed help. I tried to explain the situation to them, but none of the words came out right. When they tried to ask questions, their accents were so thick my brain didn’t process what they were saying and I just stared at them like they were speaking another language.
I’d gone from grateful for their help to wanting to curl up in a ball and hide myself from their attention.
I had been nearly in tears when I heard Luke call my name. The family seemed both relieved that the person I was looking for was located and that they could walk away from me in good conscience.
There was Luke, innocent eyes like a puppy asking for forgiveness, his new girlfriend clutched onto his arm like she owned him.
When Luke offered to take me to see the waterfall, Cassie looked upset to say the least. I probably could have cooked an egg on her head, there was so much steam coming off thatgirl. I wonder if Luke would break up with her if he knew how jealous she is. He seems pretty blind to it at the moment.
A small part of me worries that it would be me he dropped. But no, we’ve both dated other people in the past, and our friendship has never been an issue. Why would it be now?
She’s beautiful. Far more beautiful than me. She has supermodel looks, with curves in all the right places and one of those soft, approachable faces with alluring eyes. To put it simply, she’s hot and she knows it. Not to mention she’s a flirt. No wonder Luke likes her so much.
She’s the popular girl who has it all, while I’m that annoying best friend he can’t get rid of.
I probably drive Cassie crazy.
“So what’s the deal with you and Luke?” she asks now that it’s just us girls.
We’re sitting on the bench waiting for him, and I don’t have any desire to have any sort of casual conversation, so I shrug. She rolls her eyes, not pleased.
Cassie runs her fingers through her hair, which is a gorgeous natural red with a slight curl to it. I’m not sure how she managed it, but the waterfall only gave her hair a light misting that somehow brings the curls to life rather than weighing them down. I feel like a wet rat sitting next to her, but she looks like someone blew mist on her to make her look sexier for a photoshoot.
I pat my own hair down, self-conscious, but what I really need to do is to wring out my hair. I wipe my hand across my face, and it comes away muddy.
Great. How long has that been there?
“We’re friends,” I say, just to please her.
She cocks her eyebrows in a way that tells me she doesn’t believe me.
“Friends who go on vacation together?” I can feel her eyes assessing me. She can’t seriously think I’m competition, can she? The wet rat versus the misted supermodel?
“Friends who don’t want their friend to pay full price for a vacation that she was supposed to split until the roommate drops out last minute.”
She eyes me, contemplating whether she believes me.
“Look,” I say. “There’s nothing going on between me and Luke. We’re just friends. Have always been friends and will always be only friends. We’ve both dated other people many times. And looks like you’ll be dating Luke. So have fun. I won’t bother you. In fact, I prefer you guys leave me out of it. I don’t want to know.”
“Okay,” she says simply.
I wait for more, but she leaves it at that. She doesn’t perk up again until Luke returns with our hot chocolate.
“Thanks,” I say, feeling grateful both for the hot chocolate and for not having to sit with Cassie alone anymore.
