I shook my head. “No, he had his back turned to me.”
“But you could see him standing or recognize his body?” she asked.
I hesitated, knowing where she was taking this. “No,” I replied. “But I’m sure it was him.”
“You can’t be sure,” she said. “In fact, I guarantee that it wasn’t.”
“Where are they?” I asked. “Rome and Alexander and Luke? Why aren’t they here?”
“Luke can’t be here unless he was invited,” she said. “Otherwise, there are no Lowers here if you noticed.”
She was taking the wind out of my sails, but I still couldn’t get that image out of my head.
“Come on, let’s get you home,” she continued when I didn’t reply. “You’ll feel better when you sober up.”
“I wish we could hit a Denny’s or something,” I said as we started walking. “I’d give anything for a Grand Slam to soak up this alcohol.”
“Dennys?” Harlow asked, hooking her arm through mine to help steady me. “I don’t think I know what that is. Is it an Upper thing?”
“Oh god, no,” I laughed. “They’re so trashy and so delicious. I can’t believe you don’t have Denny’s restaurants out here.”
It was strange, I didn’t think there was anywhere safe from the chain, but I must have found the one little corner of America that wasn’t covered in franchise restaurants and convenience stores.
“Is there anywhere we can get something to eat?” Harlow asked as we approached my dorm building. A few hours had gone by since we left for the party, and our stomachs were rumbling.
“How about we go find Rome and Luke and ask them what the fuck Alexander was doing?” I asked, half serious and definitely angry.
“Okay,” she agreed. “We’re on the men’s side of the campus anyways. Let’s go find them now.”
“Yes, now that’s what I’m talking about!” I laughed, and the alcohol left a heady feeling as I walked. Like my skull was floating a few inches above the rest of my skeleton.
It wasn’t just the sensation of being drunk. It was the support from Harlow that was doing it. It felt good to have somebody else to help me navigate this crazy, fucked up world. And it felt good to have a logical voice next to me when I wanted to lose my mind.
We were giggling again by the time we got to the other dorm building. Luke’s was like Harlow’s, roughly made without any extra embellishments, but Alexander and Rome’s looked much like mine.
“I don’t think we should go into the Upper dorms,” Harlow said. She held back, nervous like a deer before a wolf pack. Her fear was palpable, and it angered me that somebody like her should worry about being caught. She was my friend, and she should have my protection. “They’re going to boot my ass if they find me in there.”
“I’ll tell them I made you come with me,” I told her. “They won’t do anything to me, so you’ll be okay.”
“Why, though?” she asked.
“Why what?”
“Why won’t they do anything to you? Is it because you’re Alexander’s fiancée? If that’s the case, then we’re screwed if he’s banging Victoria now.”
“He isn’t banging her,” I snapped back. “I mean, fuck, I don’t know if he was doing it more than once. This could just be a one-time drunken thing at a party.”
“You’re already making excuses for him? Pathetic!” she exclaimed.
“I’m not. I’m just trying to look at the big picture.”
“Fuck it, we’re going into the Upper dorm,” she said and dragged me with her, determination making her steps forceful and deliberate. “I’m going to find Alexander’s room and pee on his bed.”
“I never did make it to the bathroom. I could do it too,” I whispered with a maniacal giggle. “Oh my god, that’s so devious. I love it.”
“I knew you kept me around for more than my stunning good looks,” Harlow replied with a flick of her hair and a haughty sniff of the air. I laughed and kept up as we walked straight through the front doors into the men’s dorm.
“I expected it to smell,” I said, looking around at the tidy, beautifully decorated foyer.