“See! Would I ever steer you wrong?”
“Too soon,” I deadpan.
She grimaces. “I said I was sorry! You did seem to have a good time up until after I went to bed. Maybe it was being around Andrew’s toxic buzzkill vibes that made you sick.”
I roll my eyes. “After our conversation yesterday, do you think being around Andrew is going to make me feel sick?”
“It might,” she claims hopefully.
I finish my burrito in silence while I reflect on last night’s events, trying to remember all the details.Am I missing something?I can’t think of anything that happened between Andrew and Angelina. I’m fairly certain I remember everything before she went to bed. It’s after that last shot that things get a littlefuzzy.
I hear footsteps before I see Angelina and Andrew briskly walking back to camp. Angelina looks a little teary-eyed. I glance at Rebecca, sharing a curious look with her, and then turn my gaze toward Andrew. His face is completely expressionless. I’m so used to being able to read him, but I can’t now. It’s driving me crazy.
Angelina comes out of the tent a few moments later with her pillow under one arm and sleeping bag under the other. Andrew reaches out to help her grab her stuff, but she presses past him, opening the rear door of the truck and tossing her things in by herself.
Andrew looks visibly uncomfortable as he scratches the back of his head. “I’m taking Angelina home. I’ll be back in a little while.”
He hops into the driver’s side and backs out of the camping spot before I can even process his words.
“What the hell just happened?”
Her disbelief is apparent. “I was right.”
“Why do you look so surprised if you think you were right?And how do you know you’re right? Maybe Angelina had a family emergency.”
She huffs as if to sayYou’re so simple-minded.“Did you not hear him call her Angelina? That’s a clear sign something is off with them. She was crying, and she looked pissed at Andrew. I don’t know how else to prove it to you, but I’d bet you twenty bucks he broke up with her just now.”
I know this news should make my heart leap with joy. I care so much for Andrew, and I know Angelina was not right for him. Even so, my stomach flips.What happened to break them up so suddenly?
I stammer, “You… You don’t think Andrew would be so callous, do you?”
She narrows her eyes at me. “What are you talking about?”
“Couldn’t he just wait until the camping trip was over rather than breaking up with her and sending her home early? She must feel so ridiculous for coming out here and getting broken up with.”
“That’s not callous. That’s Andrew being his thoughtful self. I thought you knew him better than that.” Her words cut me. “Andrew wasn’t feeling things anymore and didn’t want to waste any more of her time.”
I find myself staring at my red palm as I think about Rebecca’s insight. I guess she’s right, but I still feel bad for Angelina.This isn’t your fault. You did nothing wrong.
With that last thought, all of my memories come flooding back, Andrew taking care of me when I was sick. Me begging Andrew to stay in the tent with me so I wouldn’t be left alone.How embarrassing! Oh no, I hope Angelina didn’t get mad at him for leaving her alone in the tent for an hour. That’d be such a silly thing to break up over.
The look of unease must be apparent on my face because Rebecca interjects my thoughts. “You are not responsible for breaking up Andrew and Angelina. They weredoomed from the start.” She laughs devilishly. “We can ask him all about it when he gets back, but for now, we should be relishing in the fact that they’re done.”
“Wethinkthey’re done,” I add quickly, trying to tamp down my growing excitement.
“You and I both know they’re done. We should be singing from the rooftops. Although, I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get to Meredith Blake her ass.”
I burst into laughter. “Alright, so how do we celebrate?”
She smiles broadly. “With more tequila.”
I immediately frown and begin to protest when she erupts into laughter. “I’m kidding! We will keep you far away from tequila until at least college.” She winks.
Andrew gets back about an hour later and finds Rebecca and I down at the water. Immediately, when I see him, I notice the gloom he carried this morning is gone. He seems like his usual laid-back self, maybe even happier than normal.
“What took you so long?” Rebecca calls out to him. She sits on an inflatable flamingo raft, sipping canned lemonade with her giant pink sunglasses perched on her face. Iconic. She’s got her phone perfectly situated in the cup holder so she can control the music drifting off the dock from her portable speaker.
Andrew holds up a tub of something in his hands in response. “I stopped for ice cream at the little shop down the street. You guys better hurry. I’m going to eat it all by myself in the next five minutes, so it doesn’t melt.”
