acantho (pref.)

covered in spines; having thornlike characteristics

* * *

IN my sleep-induced haze, the first thing that registered in my brain was the softness of the surface below me. I also faintly recognized the distinct minty smell that was Eli. I contentedly cuddled into it, wanting to soak up those last bits of sleep.

The fog in my mind cleared, leaving me with the painful realization that Elliot wasn't here. I was just smelling the lingering scent on his sweatshirt. It was all a fantasy.

After being rejected last night, I wasn't sure if I should feel relieved or upset by it.

Stretching out the crick in my neck, I realized my father wasn't here either. The spare key, his zipped suitcase, and note on the nightstand were the only traces of him.

I skimmed the brief note, finding out that he had to go into work early—what a surprise—and that he would meet me later for the tour. He didn't apologize for abandoning me for a second time in thirteen hours, but I didn't find myself caring.

Maybe too much of my brain was focused on Eli, but I was satisfied with the shred of progress my father and I made. After all, I didn't come on this trip with unrealistic hopes of building a bridge and getting over all of the shit he put me through.

Nonetheless, last night showed that there was hope for us, but it would take baby steps. The adult-sized steps we took likely tested the fragile limits too much, making his absence for the best. A blessing in a thinly-veiled disguise, really.

After grabbing breakfast at the buffet in the lobby, I basked in the sun by the pool without interruptions. A family with young children came down, and I took it as my cue to leave. Just as I finished gathering my things, I got an incoming call.

Removing my sunglasses, I squinted at my screen to read the Caller ID. I grudgingly accepted the call and brought the phone to my ear. "Hey. What's up?"

"Hey, Char," Ben's gleeful voice came through the phone. "Nothing's up. I just wanted to check on my bestie."

"As much as I'd love to believe that, I'm calling bullshit," I said, knowing full well that Ben was a texter and only called when he wanted something. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to check up on you and make sure you're enjoying LA, but not enjoying it too much. Someone's gotta make sure Eli doesn't succeed in pushing you away."

I took a seat on the chaise lounge chair, knowing this call would be a long one. "How kind and thoughtful of you."

"I know, thank you." I could just picture him taking a grand bow on the other end of the line. "So, have you done anything exciting yet?"

"Nope. My father already ditched me, so I've been stuck at the hotel. I have my tour soon, so I'll finally break out of jail."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."

"I don't mind it. We had a good talk last night, and that was enough for me. I'd prefer to avoid the awkwardness any further interaction would bring."

"That makes sense, but he still sounds like a piece of shit to me."

I hummed noncommittally, mentally willing him to cut to the chase. I had to get ready before I had to leave in less than an hour.

"Listen, Char. I actually lied to you. I had another purpose for this call."

"You don't say," I drawled.

"Yeah, so don't hate me, but I have a special someone with me who wants to talk. It took a lot of work persuading him, so you can thank me later. Maybe give some payment, too? Have fun, and be on your best behavior! I love you, bestie, don't forget that," he said in one breath.

Before I could respond, Elliot's deep voice came through the phone.

"Hey, Char. Um, I saw on your private story—" fuck, I thought I removed him; I'd been bitching about him all week "—that you're about to go on your tour. I wanted to catch you before you made any life-changing decisions... And, uh, I sorta wanted you to know that I'm sorry."

"Can you speak up? I'm outside, and it's hard to hear you." I heard him alright, but wanted the satisfaction of hearing it again.

"I'm sorry," he grunted.

"What? My connection's spotty." They do say that the third time's the charm.

"Don't push me. I fucking said I'm sorry," Elliot huffed. Thinking I couldn't hear him, he lowered his voice and said, "There. Is that good enough? You can untie me now."

And just like that, his apology lost its meaning.

"No, you dumbass," Ben whisper-yelled. "Beg and grovel. Girls eat that shit up... Put it on FaceTime, flash her puppy dog eyes, and your most charming smile. Don't be afraid to lay it on thick, you prick."

"I can hear you, Benjamin," I said.

"Fuck," he whispered.

"Listen, Ben, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work. Tell Elliot Ash that he needs to apologize on his own, not with some half-assed apology his idiot friend forced him into."

I was about to hang up when Elliot's panicked voice stopped me.

"Wait, Char. Please don't end the call."

"You have one minute."

"Uh..."

"The clock is ticking, Elliot."

"Okay, uh, thank you... I'm sorry, really, truly sorry for being such a stubborn asshole. I shoulda been happy for you, but I had to fuck everything up. And I'm sorry for ignoring your calls last night. It was immature, and I hope you can forgive me. I love you, and once again, I'm so fucking sorry for screwing everything up." His voice cracked. "And, if you want to break up once-and-for-all, I totally get it. Honestly, if I were you, I'd break up with me. Just know—"

"No," I shouted, earning some strange looks from the people in the pool. "No, I don't want to break up. If anything, I want to end the break and go back to normal. I love you, too. These past two weeks have been so shitty."

"Great. Good," he sighed. "I'd really like that, too."

"Me too."

"What did she say?" Ben asked loudly, not even hiding his poor eavesdropping.

"We're still together," Eli said, relief shining through his voice.

"Thank fuck," Ben exclaimed.

"Lemme guess, he has another bet on us?" I asked softly.

"Based on the way he's jumping up and down, I wouldn't be surprised," he snorted.

"We need to get a new best friend."

"I call dibs on Ethan."

"Fine," I sighed. "I get Aubrey then."

"So, what are you doing right now? How's Cali?"

"I'm tanning by the pool. Or, I was tanning. "

"Can we switch to FaceTime? I wanna see you. What color bikini do you have on? Is it green?"

"Yes, it's green."

"What are you waiting for? Send pics. Now... Uh, please and thank you," he tacked on.

"I actually need to get ready in a few. My tour's in forty-five minutes. Can I call you back later? We really need to talk everything out."

"Definitely. Try to have fun on your tour, I mean it."

"Thanks. I love you, and I'll talk to you later."

"I love you, too."

* * *

Forty minutes later, I arrived on Southern Golden State University's campus. My father told me to meet him outside the Dean's Office, but he was nowhere in sight.

Slightly irritated, I decided to forget about him and do this on my own. I should have known that like an addiction, he wouldn't drop his workaholic tendencies overnight.

"Hi, I'm Charlotte Hanson. I'm here for a one o'clock tour?"

The secretary glanced up from her computer screen. "Hi. Go sit down. She'll find you soon enough."

I smiled tightly and took a seat in one of the stiff wooden chairs.

Almost twenty minutes later, a blonde girl came rushing in. After speaking to the secretary, she came over to me.

"Carly, right? I'm Maya. I'll be showing you around SGSU."

"It's actually Charlotte, but it's nice to meet you."

She nodded. "So what do you wanna see?"

"Well, I was hoping for a tour of the campus. Maybe a few lecture halls, the dining hall, and the dorms?"

She motioned for me to follow her outside. "Okay, so that's the building the freshmen live in." She pointed to a tall apartment-like building across the street. "My keycard won't let me in there, so I can't show you."

"Um, okay. Can you describe it to me?"

She shrugged. "I didn't live there. You should just get an apartment. That's what most of the students do."

"Alright," I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. "What about the food situation? Where are your favorite places?"

"I usually buy myself groceries at Trader Joe's. The dining hall isn't my favorite, but I know people who suck it up and eat there anyway."

I clenched my jaw and nodded. "Well, what do you like about the school? Do you at least like the journalism program?"

"Didn't you already get accepted? Shouldn't you already know this stuff?"

"Yeah. I live in Massachusetts, so I wasn't able to visit before applying."

"Okay, well, as you probably know, SGSU has the best program in the country," she said as we continued walking down the street. "We work closely with professionals, and a lot of our professors are famous journalists and—oh, that's Hadley Hall, by the way. Most of the liberal arts classes are in there." She pointed to the tall building to our right. It had a beautiful courtyard and huge windows that mirrored the skyscrapers around us. "Anyway, um, there's a lot of internship and career opportunities with the LA Gazette here. You won't find a better program elsewhere."

I already knew all of that, but okay. "What about student life? Sports, clubs, et cetera?"

"Well, our sports teams are Division IV and mediocre. SGSU is big on writing and sciences, so it doesn't have many athletic people... Everyone's pretty nice. You'll make friends and love it here."

"I actually don't know if I'm accepting yet."

"Uh, why not? You already got in..."

"I wanted to see the campus first. I also don't know if I wanna leave my friends and family."

"Lemme guess, you have a controlling boyfriend who doesn't want you to leave him?"

"He's not controlling, but yeah, I have a boyfriend. I don't want to leave him either."

"Girl, just pull the plug. I broke up with my high school boyfriend when I moved here. Best decision ever. He's on a Division I hockey team and a total fuckboy now. I should have expected it; college athletes are the worst," she laughed bitterly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I responded, not really knowing what to say.

"It's no big deal," she gave a dismissive flick of her wrist. "I thought I loved him, but I didn't. Carly, I'm telling you, just don't make your life choices because of your boyfriend."

"Okay, thanks," I smiled tightly, ending this conversation. She didn't know anything about Eli and me. He would never cheat or do anything to jeopardize what we have. Elotte forever, right?

Sensing my disinterest in her soliloquies, Maya started taking the tour more seriously. She brought me inside a few buildings and showed me the hottest spots to hang out.

Overall, I thought the campus was beautiful. I loved the modern architecture and the city atmosphere. The classrooms were equipped with the latest and best technology, and everything else seemed up-to-date. One of the major things that irked me was how disorganized the tour was; Maya showed up late, got my name wrong, and didn't know the answers to most of the questions I asked. Maybe she was just having a bad day, but it didn't really sit right with me.

Concluding the tour, she brought me back to the Dean's Office for my meeting with the Dean. Apparently, he was one of my father's old friends and was willing to meet with me to give additional information about my potential spot in the program.

As I got into the taxi to head back to the hotel, I instantly knew what my decision would be. It had always been a no-brainer, but I just didn't see it until now.

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A/N: Thanks for reading chapter 44! 💚
I hope everyone enjoyed yet another cliffhanger lol. I promise I'm done with them now. After all, there are only a few more chapters left 😥

QOTC: If you were Char, which school would you choose? (Also, where do you think she'll end up?)

I'm not answering to avoid spoiling it. The end result is probably blatantly obvious at this point, but I still don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone who hasn't picked up on the clues.