Lost and numb as she was about her fresh break-up, Charlotte walked around campus in a daze. The short girl had no clear direction of where to go, what to do, what to say, what to think... In fact, it was taking all of her self-control to fight back the overwhelming desire to burst into tears right then and there, without a care of who could be watching. But Lottie knew that this would achieve nothing but ask for the wrong kind of attention. She didn’t want anyone’s pity, nor did she want to explain her debacle to someone she didn’t trust in. So, eventually, the girl simply settled for taking a seat under the same oak tree she and Joey had been before the whole incident happened, thinking of who to reach out to. The answer came to her in a matter of seconds.
Taking in a deep breath, Charlotte pulled out her cellphone and didn't hesitate to text the one person who’d had her back since they were babies.
To: DariaAre you busy? Something's happened and I could really use a sister right now 😔😔😔
I'm leaning against that oak tree close to the quad.
Once the message was sent, Lottie wiped away the few stray tears that had managed to escape her eyes and stood on the lookout for her dearly beloved cousin MacKenna.
The vibration that emanated from her phone beside her on the desk made Mac jump in surprise as she waited for her international communications class to start. Was this another inappropriate text about groping? She raised an eyebrow when she saw that it was actually her cousin Lottie. She hadn’t heard from her in a hot second, both being busy on different ends of campus. So Mac’s hands almost trembled with excitement expecting piping hot tea. Instead what she read made her face fall into a frown.
To: Sailor VSure thing. I’ll be there in a minute
Normally she wouldn’t skip a lecture, but she also knew that Lottie wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. She knew how seriously Mac took her education. The problem was now how she would get out of class. Mac always sat in the front row and today was no different and her professor was getting ready to start. The short girl raised her hand and cleared her throat.
“Yes, Miss Diedrikson?” the gray man in a mustard corduroy suit asked.
MacKenna plastered the sweetest smile that she could muster
“Oh, Professor Hoidahl, I need to go to the bathroom… I’m, uh, having a visit from Auntie Red so to speak.”The older man gave her a confused look before squinting at her.
“What? You have family here?” he asked.
Mac rolled her eyes in frustration. She couldn’t believe she was doing this.
“No uh… Lady problems…” she said making a downward motion with her finger. A few of her classmates snickered and her professor let out an embarrassed grunt, turning a scarlet shade under his gray beard.
“Go on then…” he croaked. Mac nodded and gathered her things and rushed out avoiding her classmate’s stares.
When she stepped out in the courtyard yet again Mac scanned the people that were milling around and spotted her blonde cousin where she said she would be under the old oak tree. She quickened her step as she made her way over to Lottie.
“I hope this is important because my whole class now thinks I’m having a real heavy flow day….” Mac stopped in her tracks when she saw the look on Lottie’s face and the tears running down it.
“Woah, what’s wrong babe?” she asked, dropping her bag on the grass wrapping an arm around her cousin.
As soon as her cousin sat down beside her, Charlotte tightly wrapped her arms around her and started to sob on the other girls' shoulder. After holding it together, the blonde was finally succumbing to the pain of her broken heart. The presence of MacKenna gave her the safety to do so: one that was only possible through the many years of consistently having each other’s backs. Whether it was little white lies in their childhood, covering for each other as teenagers or even hyping each other up before big tests, Lottie knew she could always count on Mac.
The blonde’s sobbing went on for a few minutes, with the two girls simply standing there with their arms around each other, before Charlotte managed to put her hurt into words.
"I broke up with Joey…" she explained in between sobs, her voice muffled by the way her face remained buried in Mac's shoulder.
"I broke up with Joey and I need a place to stay because it hurts to be in the same room as her."“That’s alright. You can stay with me and the boys.” Mac didn’t really know how to react to news of her cousin’s break from her girlfriend so she just stroked her shiny blonde hair for a moment.
“What happened? Last week you guys were just fine…” she finally said, breaking away from Lottie looking at her. Mac wiped the tears from her cousin’s face trying her best not to smudge her makeup. Once Lottie had time to calm down, Mac grabbed their stuff.
“Come on,” she said, grabbing her cousin's hand and and leading them to the closest table she could find. And after had they settled down, the raven-haired girl asked,
“Seriously, what’s going on?”"I have no idea!" Charlotte wailed, almost hyperventilating while furiously blinking back tears at the pain and absurdity of it all.
"Apparently it all started because I supposedly ditched her for Kiki at the party? She tells me she was upset because 'I didn't even say bye to her’ before I ran off with Kiki-- which I admit is true. But, I mean, I've been hooking up with him for as long as she and I have been together! How is it suddenly a big deal now?!" she shrieked, wiping away the few tears of frustration that had rolled down her cheeks.
“That’s…” MacKenna paused to find a way to not seem like a bitch.
“...it?” she stared blankly at Lottie, rubbing her arm.
"That's what? Stupid?" Lottie clarified with a raised eyebrow.
"Damn right it's stupid! It's the most idiotic thing in the world!" she cried out, slamming her palm on the wooden table they were occupying.
"Oh, but that’s not all! Then we had this big argument in the bathroom, and after she was really nasty to me when all I wanted was for her to tell me what I did wrong so I could fix it, I told her that was it: that was the end of it. I did not put up with so many years of her for Joey to treat me like she did! I love her so much, Mac. Like, you have no idea how much. But it's one thing to love someone unconditionally and another to let them treat you like a doormat. I'm nobody's doormat...” she declared with conviction, but the determination in her fell as quickly as it had risen.
“But it still hurts to leave her all the same."Mac sighed and stayed quiet for a while. She had always been against the way Lottie and Joey treated their relationship. Having an ‘open’ relationship was just begging for someone to get hurt. Maybe it was just her being a prude or whatever, but… Well, obviously.
“Uh... Well, I don’t really know what to say here, Lott. I guess it is what is.” She didn’t want to rub it in and say ‘I told you so’.
“Maybe we just calm down and see what happens,” she pushed the hair away from Lottie’s face and tucked it behind her ear.
“And if you want me to hate her, I will… ok?” she bent down to look at her cousin.
The blonde tearfully nodded, offering her cousin the first shaky smile of the day.
"Thank you so much, MacKenna," Lottie said gratefully, taking her cousin's hands and gently squeezing them.
"And I'm sorry I haven't been as there for you as I should be since college started, like you just did for me. I promise I'll work hard to change that, okay?"Laughing, Mac just waved her cousin off.
“Don’t worry about it Lottie,” she smiled.
“Let’s head to the apartment, then. Do you need to stop at the sorority house first?” The Asian girl asked, standing up and shouldering her bag.
Charlotte nodded again, imitating Mac by standing up and shouldering her own bag.
“Uh huh... I might as well take advantage that Joey’s not there to grab as much of my stuff as I can,” she sadly explained. Now armed with MacKenna’s support, Charlotte linked their arms together, and both girls began their trek to the Kappa sorority house.