Sylvia:The bees are old news, Ev. All people care about these days is how many followers they have on Instagram and if they can get their groceries delivered.
Violet:Pretty sure people still care about the bees.
Sylvia:Forget it. I’m uninviting you both.
The atmosphere at Lucy’s,lively with loud music cascading over the crowd on the dance floor, flows through me. Being that it’s the only club open to college students of all ages so close to campus, the place is packed.
I lean into Everleigh’s shoulder at the bar. The two of us are nursing drinks while Sylvia is on the dance floor. We were out there with her before needing a break, but now that we’re alone, I sense the shift in my friend’s mood.
“What’s up with you?”
Her eyes catch mine when she looks over. “What did you say?”
The music is so loud it’s hard to make out anything. I move closer to her ear. “What’s with you? You were happy but now you’re sulking.”
She shakes her head. “I’m not trying to.”
I nudge her arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Tristan and I had a fight.”
“About what?”
She nibbles her lip like she’s afraid to tell me. She shouldn’t be. I may have pulled away because of my own issues, but I’m always here for her.
“I told him that I’m tired of him picking the football team over me.”
Well, yeah, I should’ve seen this coming. One too many times, I’ve seen him put them before her; the latest instance being Fletcher’s party.
She spins on her barstool, facing me. “Am I crazy, Violet? If I am, please tell me. Am I overreacting when I walk into a partyand want him looking for me instead of laughing over the same juvenile jokes he’s heard his teammates tell loads of times?”
No.
“You’re not.”
Tristan was a part of our friend group long before he started dating Everleigh, but he’d be a dumbass to let her go, especially if the reason comes back to Fletcher and the guys. Losing Everleigh would be a loss he’d never recover from.
“Really? Because he says I am.”
“Anyone else would put you first, there’s no reason why he can’t.”
He just doesn’t want to. He thinks those guys will be there for him when he really needs them. And sure, maybe some of them will, but the one person who wouldn’t leave his side is this girl. She’s the most loyal person he could ever have, and that’s a big part of the reason why she’s still with him. If she weren’t, she would’ve peaced out a long time ago.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“What’s your heart telling you?”
“I love him, Vi. Really, I do. I don’t want to throw away what we’ve spent the last year building. That would be dumb, wouldn’t it?”
“It’d be more stupid to stay with a man who doesn’t value you, Ev.”
“Yeah, and then there’s that. I know I deserve better. Really, I do. It’s just…”
She trails off, and she doesn’t have to finish for me to understand. She’s not ready to throw away the feelings she has for Tristan. For whatever reason, she’s still holding on. She’s waiting for him to give his all.
Under normal circumstances, Tristan is a good guy. It’s why we’ve always hung around him. When he’s on his own, he’s notlike the other guys he plays with. It just so happens that he’s influenced easily when he is with them.
That’s not good enough for Everleigh.
