Lola returned every night of camp, a little after nine each time. She drank her wine. Put on a brave face for her friends. I mean surely her pity party couldn’t last for long.
Did she still feel bad about what she did to me? To my life? No, she didn’t. She could spare me with this Keke bullshit. At least Keke was still alive and Bailey could still see her.
I’d had enough of it. I needed to get her back on track, change the course. It was the last night of Ladies with Passion Camp. It was pedicure and movie night. The women were going to be getting their toes painted by the staff of a local salon and then watch a movie afterward with whatever snacks they were craving. I saw no need for Lola to be there for the movie, so I came up with my own escape for us.
As the pedicure stations were being set up in the welcome hall, I went to the nail polish cart and picked out a few colors, placing them in my tote bag. I made sure to steer clear of Vonyetta, Noah, and Olivia. They had a bad habit of spotting me and asking me to do little favors for them, and I always did them because I had a reputation to keep clean with all Lola’s peers.
After collecting some cotton balls and nail polish remover, I took the back exit out of the welcome hall and made my way to Lola’s cabin.
As I approached, I saw her standing in front of our cabin, her honey-blond tresses piled on top of her head and wrapped in a white scarf, talking to one of the pregnant women.
She was putting on a façade, pretending she was okay, that nothing had ever happened. I guess it had to be that way, right? Mrs. Perfect couldn’t ever be Mrs. Imperfect. Honestly, as the week carried on, it was as if the whole fall with Keke hadn’t even happened, and it was strange to me.
How many times had she done that, Marriott? How often did she pretend things were okay, even though she’d wrecked lives? After all, none of what happened to Keke would have happened if she hadn’t ruined my life in the first place.
I passed by, making sure she noticed me. As the pregnant woman spoke, Lola glanced my way and smiled. I returned a half smile, making sure my expression was clear enough for her to notice something was bothering me. After entering the cabin and setting down my bag on the bottom of my bed, it didn’t take long for Lola to walk in after me, just as I’d expected.
“Hey, you,” Lola said from the door, giving me an apprehensive stare. “Everything okay?”
“Oh yeah. I’m fine.” I forced a smile at her, but kept an even, enthusiastic tone.
She noticed my forced smile and closed the door behind her. Her arms folded across her chest as she took two casual steps toward me. “You know, I’ve always been pretty good at reading someone. You aren’t fine. You seem bothered. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t read people worth a damn. If she could, she’d realize all her friends were garbage and didn’t have her best interests at heart. She also wouldn’t have been standing in front of the woman who was slowly tearing her life apart.
“I’m just . . . well, I guess I didn’t expect to feel so overwhelmed by all the events for Passion Camp. I also keep thinking about what happened to Keke. I don’t know. It’s like every time I go out there, I think the person who pushed her is probably looking for someone else to push. How do we know anyone here is safe?”
“Oh Ivy.” Lola sighed, unfolding her arms to place her palms on my shoulders. “I told you, you don’t have to worry about any of that, okay? I have close eyes on the camp. No one is coming after you, or me, or anyone else here.”
I nodded, but I still pretended to be anxious. “Do you think we could stay in tonight? I, um . . .” I turned and picked up my tote bag. “I grabbed some nail polish and supplies from the welcome hall. Maybe we can do our own manicures and watch a movie on your portable projector thing?” I’d watched a reality show on her projector with Arabel, who had said Lola was okay with us using it during our free time.
“Oh.” Lola pressed her glossed lips and then rubbed them together. “Well, because it is the last night, I do have to give a little farewell speech to the attendees and volunteers tonight.”
“Oh—right. I’m sorry, I completely forgot about that.” I placed my tote bag back down on the bed.