Chapter Eleven ~ Word Count

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Thank you to AuroraWalker356 for the graphic above 💗

Comment of Chapter Ten goes to ladymacbethian!

also, I've uploaded a playlist of some of the songs I listened to a lot while writing, but I also wanna make one made up of the songs you guys think fit the story too! go visit the chapter (part 2 of the story) and add any songs, I can't wait to update it with more ❤️ ...I'm also already writing bonus chapters to post at the end for y'all because uploading to you guys is so fun!

Felix adjusted the aperture of his lens, scrunching his left eye shut and biting his lip.

"Hey," I said, startling him. He was perched on the handrail of the deck we'd eaten on last night, his camera pointed to the ocean.

"Hi, Josie." He pointed the camera to me, hesitating before twisting the focus and the shutter sounded.

I poked my tongue at him and sat on the outdoor sofa. It was strange seeing the beach house in the morning light. After hearing parts of Felix and Cole's conversation, I'd heard the floorboard creak and retreated back to the bed, waiting to hear Felix's footsteps return. But I hadn't. He'd never returned, and I'd fallen asleep sometime before the sun had risen.

"Where did you go last night?" I asked. I could hear Poppy and Jada laughing from the kitchen and the aroma of coffee as they prepared breakfast. Cole had been sitting on the counter on his phone as I'd walked past.

"I'm really sorry about that," he said, grimacing. "I should have said something. I wanted to take pictures this morning, at sunrise. I didn't want to wake you when I got up."

I nodded, but red flags planted themselves in my mind. He'd snuck off to talk with Cole, but what did that mean? I was already mentally preparing notes for Penelope.

"Did you get anything cool?"

Felix joined me and started flipping through photos on his camera to show me. He did take photos at sunrise.

"These look amazing," I said. He'd captured dolphins playing in the bay and dew glistening on the saltbush surrounding the house. "Aren't you tired?"

He shrugged. "Worth it."

His hands intertwined with mine and he leaned forward to place a kiss on my forehead.

"Gross." Poppy was holding two mugs of steaming coffee and passed them to each of us. Felix winked at her. Jada and Cole followed with mugs of their own.

            "So what are we going to do today?" Poppy asked, tucking her feet beneath her and kneeling on the deck.

            "Boardgames?" Jada suggested.

            "I need to finish my essay. We should go home, there's no power here, anyway," Cole said.

            Jada's face fell, and I couldn't help mirroring her. Returning home was the last thing I wanted to do. I knew Seb was still trying to convince me to go to his house for dinner, and the idea of parting from Felix was starting to make me feel hollow.

            "Can't you do it tomorrow?" Poppy asked.

            Cole shook his head. "We have nothing to do here. We can send someone out to fix it and come back some other time."

            I was surprised. I didn't expect Cole to want to end the get-away so soon.

            "What, have you got hot plans tonight?" Poppy asked, challenging him with her gaze. I could tell the twins warred like this often. She had a cunning look on her face.

            "No, Poppy." Cole's jaw pulsed, and his bright blue eyes looked dark.

            "You suck," she said. "Ever since Penelope's been gone you've become such an asshole."

            Nobody spoke as Poppy narrowed her eyes further.

            "Lay off, Pop," Felix said after the silence had continued for an uncomfortable amount of time. "He's right. We need to get the power fixed."

            "This isn't even your place, Felix! You don't always need to stick up for him, he can defend himself. God." Poppy sat up, discarding her coffee and storming inside.

            "Twin things," Felix muttered. But he rose to his feet as if to follow Poppy inside.

            "Don't," Jada said. She stood instead. "You'll only make her angrier."

            "She's been such a bitch lately," Cole said, kicking his feet up onto the table as Jada followed his sister.

            "It sounds like she's stressed," I said, though I wasn't sure I could add much in the way of reassurance.

            Felix squeezed my hand. "Let's pack up the car."

            The drive home felt like an eternity. I was sitting between Felix and Poppy on the back seat, Felix snoring softly into my shoulder and Poppy angrily texting who I assumed was Ella on her phone. Jada was in charge of music, opting for background songs that weren't enough to shift the dark mood in the back seat.

            We should Skype. I have some stuff for you, I sent to Penelope, making sure nobody could see my screen.

            Once I'd Ubered back from Penelope's house, I curled up in bed and wrote down everything I needed to cover, from Cole not wanting to talk about her to Felix and Cole's eavesdropped conversation. I was still worried she wouldn't be satisfied with the information I gathered. Would she realize paying me this absurd amount wasn't worth it?

            With uncertainty, I scrolled through the few other replies I'd received the day I'd showed interest in Penelope's PA job. Maybe someone else would take me for some mediocre job. Maybe if I got out now, this whole dating Felix thing could actually be serious. Maybe I'd actually be a part of their friend group.

            But, I'd lied to them. I was in too deep now, and it was too late. And besides, they didn't know the real Joselyn, the one who was hiding a ton of dirty secrets.

            I finally heard from Penelope on Sunday. She sent a message asking if I was free for a call—she usually just called anyway—and the next thing I knew she was slinging me a billion questions as I waited for my washing at the laundromat.

            "Ugh this is so confusing," she said. "Are you certain they aren't onto you? Or maybe Cole's just being extra careful trying to make sure whatever he's up to isn't traceable. They might not trust you."

            "I'm not sure," I said. "I'm worried about Felix. He's pretty quick to defend Cole, like he's covering for him. But then when we're together it feels like he..."

            "Oh, Josie, you don't think he's falling for you, do you?" Penelope said. I could hear the condescending air to her voice. "Felix isn't like that. He likes to try girls on and then put them back on the rack. It doesn't take much for him to get bored. He's a heartbreaker for a reason, he's always been."

            I wonder if Penelope had ever witnessed for herself just how charming he could be. But then again, she'd known him for much longer than I had. She had probably seen it first-hand.

            "Yeah, I know," I said. "I just don't think he's pretending."

            "Don't be too quick to assume Felix's intentions. But anyway, it bothers me he and Cole are hiding stuff. It sounds like Poppy is pissed at him too. Poppy and me have always been close, I wonder if..."

            Her voice trailed off.

            "Do you think Poppy would tell you if something was wrong?" I asked.

            "That's what I'm worried about," she said with a long sigh. "He's her brother, after all."

            On Monday morning I called Seb on the way to class. Immersed in polite small talk, I almost thought I'd gotten out of it. Almost.

            "So are you coming around for dinner?" he asked.

            I sighed. It was so easy to forget about my old life until I was confronted with the one piece tethering me to it. Sebastian.

            "I don't know. I'm pretty busy..."

            "You promised me."

            "Yeah, I know. Are you sure Remington is okay with it?" I hoped he wasn't. Sebastian's fiancé hating me was one of the few things allowing me to keep my distance.

            "Of course. We both miss you."

            Knowing Sebastian my entire life meant it was easy to tell he was lying. It was almost like he didn't even try to hide it anymore.

            "Look, Seb, I'm at campus now. I have to go—"

            "Wait, we need to plan—"

            "Bye!"

            I was feeling oddly excited to reach class, a bounce springing my step as I thought of greeting Felix. We'd texted all Sunday, comparing music and art and TV-series. I almost couldn't wait to see his mussed hair and crinkled eyes and hear the flirtation in his voice as he challenged me over my seat.

            I took the usual one at the back, making myself comfortable and crossing my legs. I was wearing a black overall dress over a long-sleeve white turtleneck, definitely an edgy look compared to the things Poppy and Jada wore. But I was starting to not care about Penelope's guidelines to blend in. She'd made them seem so superficial and exclusive when this all started, but after spending Friday night with them, and more or less dating Felix—I was starting to think otherwise. Maybe they'd actually like the real Joselyn.

            My thumb found the unlock button on my phone and the next thing I knew I was scrolling on Instagram, flicking through my feed's social media masquerade. Felix had posted some pictures from the weekend, scoring thousands of likes without even a single hashtag. The bright beach settings contrasted the dark mood the rest of his feed captured.

            I stopped scrolling when I saw Cole's name. He'd posted a picture. A picture with Penelope.

            So proud of my girl.

            Naturally, thousands of likes were pouring in. Penelope had posted the lipstick kiss emoji and her comment alone had eight-hundred likes. I bet that'd impressed her—Cole publicly reassuring everyone their relationship was A-Okay.

            "What are you looking at?"

            I couldn't hide my screen in time. Felix had taken the seat next to me, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and was now looking in.

            "Oh, uh—"

            "That's Penelope," he said, as if I didn't know.

            "She's so pretty."

            Felix snorted quietly before the others piled in the seats beside him. But his hand didn't lift from around my shoulder, and I leaned in for a long lecture.

            After my last class on the other end of campus—an elective I was filling with beginners German—Felix texted me to ask if I wanted to meet him and the others at Beanz. There was an essay due for our accounting class, so it wasn't out of the ordinary, but still. It felt unnatural to be going to hang with friends rather than catching the first bus home. Friends. Could I even call them that?

            I ignored the nagging text left on my phone from Sebastian and made my way across the quad, glad the sun had brightened what was becoming a sullen campus filled with dead leaves and wet grass.

            Felix greeted me with a wide smile and slid his notes away from the space beside him. I waved in greeting at the others, Jada and Poppy scrolling on their phones and Cole with his head in his hands.

            "I swear to God I am dropping out."

            "C'mon man," Felix said. "You're what, one-hundred words off?"

            "Try one-thousand."

            "Uh-oh," I said, pulling out my laptop. I'd finished the essay over the weekend, once we'd arrived home and I had nothing to fill my time.

            I knew Cole obviously struggled, and his friends tried to help him, but I wondered if there was more to it than that. He obviously had issues going on with Penelope, was that messing with his grades? Was there someone else in the picture?

            I watched as Felix started reading over Cole's work and the girls peered over his shoulder. I took out my notes from today and started writing them into my laptop, watching over the screen as the four of them spoke in fast whispers over Cole's shoulders.

            A few hours passed, and in that time I'd bought Felix a coffee to repay him and Cole had managed to write another two-hundred words. I was growing tired, and I wanted to listen to a new album on the way home. I started packing up my things.

            "Heading off, Josie?" Poppy asked, giving me a friendly smile.

            "Yeah, I should go..."

            "I'll drive you," Felix said quickly, coming to his feet.

            "Uh—"

            "You catch the bus, right?"

            My cheeks turned pink.

            "It's dark, I'll drive you."

            I stood there frozen for a moment before I could make my mind and lips connect again. "Um, okay."

            Felix said bye to his friends and we made our way to the parking lot on the other end of campus. Even if I had a car, I couldn't afford the huge parking fee for leaving it here throughout the semester. I kept thinking over and over that I'd have to strategically enter Penelope's apartment and then Uber back to my own. It'd make my trip three times the usual length. But, what could I do? Tell Felix I lied?

            "Did you enjoy Friday night?" he asked, turning up the dial on the radio so it hummed some kind of jazz to accompany the drive.

            "I did," I said. I forgot to filter my next words, slipping into the ease of pretending Penelope Aldgate didn't exist. "I like the others. Poppy and Jada are really nice."

            Felix gave a throaty laugh. "Yeah, they're great. Cole is cool, too. He's just going through some stuff."

            "I get it," I said, but I didn't. That was the problem.

            He pulled up outside of Penelope's house and killed the engine.

            "Well, thanks for the ride," I said, giving him a grateful smile. It felt awkward, the silence suddenly all that surrounded us as we looked at each other in the dark. I could almost see the flirtatious smile on his silhouette.

            "Do you want to hang out for a bit?"

            Suddenly the swelling feeling in my heart faltered and it sped up double speed. "Uh..."

            "I don't have to stay long—you said you didn't have plans tonight, right?"

            It was true. I'd let slip that since I'd finished the essay, I'd finally binge the latest Stranger Things season on Netflix, but that wasn't exactly an excuse to stop him from finding out that I did not, in fact, even live in this building. I bit my lip. Then another—terrible—idea sprung to mind.

            "I actually do," I said quickly, wringing the strap of my handbag in my lap. My voice was stuttering a bit—I wasn't even sure of the words even after I'd spoken them. "I'm having dinner with my brother."

            Felix looked surprised, but not exactly disappointed. That's when I put two and two together. My buffer.

            "Do you want to come?"

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