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The Kappa president had absolutely hated missing her favorite new sister’s birthday party, but it had been unavoidable. As president of a sorority, Lucy had obligatory duties and functions, including meetings that were scheduled at the most inopportune times, like during Maggie’s birthday party. There was no where else that Lucy would have rathered been but that damned stupid Greek Council had declared a mandatory meeting that all Greek Life Presidents be present for, and thus she’d only been able to put in an albeit too brief appearance at the Vera house, speaking to Maggie for less than two minutes, offering apologies and promising to meet up for lunch the next day, Lucy;s treat of course. It had been agreed upon, and it had graced Lucy with a smile on her face as she’d reluctantly left the party.
The following morning, she’d hummed around the house. She’d told herself that it didn’t mean anything more than her and Maggie’s friendship and sisterhood had been cemented. There was the extra boost of Parker having been nowhere in sight and that his name had not been on either of their lips for weeks. With him out of the way, Lucy and Maggie could be what they should have always have been. The best of friends. Sisters Nothing less. Maybe more than Lucy was willing to admit that she’d wanted from the moment she’d seen the freshman walking across the quad.
The joy and giddiness that Lucy had been filled with, had struggled to contain, when the pretty bubbly girl had stepped inside the Kappa Tau Kappa house during a Pre-Rush Info Session, was something she’d never experienced before. And she’d been able to excuse it away, just as she had in the moments, days, weeks, months since she’d met, shaken hands with Margarita “Maggie” Vera for the first time.
None of that mattered now, not while she sat in the cafe just outside of campus, waiting for her protege to meet her for their belated birthday lunch. Lucy had so many plans for their afternoon! First their low key, low-cal, super nutritious lunch, followed by a few hours at her fave spa, mani-pedis, facials, body wraps, and massages. Then a couple hours of shopping, then dinner, ending with drinks and dancing, all on Lucy’s dime. Nothing but the best that she could give Maggie. Always the best for Maggie.
Lucy glanced around the cafe and checked the time on her phone again. Maggie was late. By twenty-six minutes. Lucy took a deep breath then let it out slowly before sending a text to Maggie, letting her know that she was already there. Five more minutes passed without a response. “Hey, girl, you okay?” she sent. Another either minutes and nothing. Lucy let out a sigh and dialed Maggie’s number. It rang and rang and rang. Finally, voicemail. “Hey, Margarita, it’s your fave, Lucy, here. Just wondering where you’re at. You’re running a little late, and I’m just starting to get a little perturbed and slightly worried that you’re not here yet. It’d be great if you could shoot me a text, give me an update about where you’re at or how long you’ll be.” Her voice trailed off and she ended the message.
She tried not to seem desperate, checking her phone and sending messages to Maggie via various social media platforms, hoping and waiting for an answer. It made her feel slightly better that there was NO activity coming from Maggie. But it made her feel extremely uneasy. Almost sick to her stomach. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. As aloof as Maggie had been in the past…. No, Lucy knew that something was wrong. It had to be, if Maggie was not responding to her because she certainly wasn’t ignoring her. Girl code and everything. Even if that Code hadn’t applied when it came to Parker for Maggie. This was different. Things were different now. Maggie cared for Lucy now. Lucy meant something to her. Lucy had been there when Parker had been MIA. That meant something. Even if it didn’t mean the same thing to Maggie. Even if it shouldn’t have meant anything else to Lucy.
After another hour had passed, Lucy finally let the anger and disappointment overtake her. Why did she bother to keep giving Maggie chance after chance when clearly the younger woman didn’t care or appreciate them or her? She’d done everything to give Maggie every chance possible and what thanks had she been given? Maggie had picked Parker over her...over Kappa. And only after Parker had broken Maggie’s heart had she picked Lucy and Kappa. But then Parker had come running back to Maggie, with puppies, and she’d chosen him, yet again. And Lucy had been left waiting in the wings. Always there, always waiting for Maggie Vera. Well, no more. Lucy was done waiting for the youngest Vera sister, who clearly didn’t and never would appreciate how much she meant to Lucy. Not that she’d been waiting for such anyway. Because she hadn’t been.
Suddenly, Lucy heard a sob break through the air and she noticed a girl from her Econ class rising, tears in her eyes, hand over her mouth, head shaking. “There was a fire at the Vera house! There’s nothing left of it! Professor Vera’s daughters all died in the inferno!”
There was an uproar of murmurs and cries, tears. Lucy glanced around. Through the windows she could see how the news was affecting other students. It hadn’t quite hit her yet. The words and what they meant. She’d just seen Maggie the night before. They had plans. For right now. In this moment. Maggie wouldn’t have missed them. She wouldn’t have. Maggie would have been then…. She would have been there...if she could be….
A sob caught in Lucy’s throat as she pushed her chair back, her vision blurring with tears as she tossed money down on the table to pay for her latte, before she rose and managed to make her way outside.
Lucy couldn’t catch her breath, she could barely see, could barely walk, and before she knew it, she was standing before, and then on her knees, in front of the smoldering remains of what had been the Vera House. There was little left. Blackened debris, smoking, burning embers. What they said were the charred remains of Maggie and her sisters already have been removed from the scene.
A cry tore from Lucy’s throat as she sobbed, surrounded by members of Kappa Tau Kappa, her sisters seeking comfort from each other, when all she wanted was to wrap her arms around Maggie Vera, their now lost sister. The one that she’d loved more than any other. And always would.