The Perfect Ruin

by Shanora Williams

  My second mission would be to have a moment alone with Lola to bond. Both of us out in the open, sharing stories and confiding in each other with no one else around. That wasn’t going to happen unless I conquered mission one, though, and that was to get Keke the hell out of my way.

  There was no way in hell Keke was going to lose her place to me. She’d have her head so far up Lola’s ass during camp that it would take a miracle to wrench her out.

  * * *

  The day camp began, I left my apartment in a flash. I didn’t want to be in that run-down place any more than I needed to be.

  When I left, Julius was sitting on the stoop, his loose hair pulled up in a half ponytail. I hated when he did that to his hair. It made him look too feminine, and I liked masculine men. Sometimes I was sure he wore his hair that way just to get a reaction from me, seeing as I’d mentioned how much I’d hated it once before.

  I stepped around him. “Did you get my text?” I asked.

  “Yep,” he said, taking a drag from his joint.

  “And you got it done?”

  “Yep.” His tone was nonchalant. “And for the record, I’m not your fucking errand boy. You don’t know what I had going on. Next time give me a few days’ notice before you come to my door demanding shit from me.”

  “Oh, shut up, Julius. You got something out of it, didn’t you?” Just as I asked that, his eyes drifted down to my bare legs; then he stood up with the joint and looked me in the eye.

  “It was straight,” he mumbled, then he turned his back on me and went up the stairs to his apartment.

  I rolled my eyes and walked to my car. Julius was extra. Yes, I’d had sex with him in exchange for a favor, and no, I didn’t feel good about it, Marriott. It is what it is.

  I arrived at Lola’s house twenty minutes early so we could ride to Passion Camp together. I took my bag out of the trunk as soon as I pulled up and walked to the door. Georgia answered.

  “Hello again, Miss Elliot.”

  “Hi, Georgia.” I gave my head a bob and walked past her when she stepped back. I didn’t have time for her and her weird looks today.

  “Mrs. Maxwell is in her office. She told me to send you up when you arrived,” Georgia said after shutting the door behind me. “You can leave your bags here. I’ll have them placed in the SUV.”

  “Thanks.” I walked down the corridor, where the furniture looked crisp and dusted, the wall tables polished, and went up the stairs with the flair of confidence. I knew every room—had studied this place so much, it was engraved in my brain. This was my time to shine and really get cozy with Lola before camp started.

  I found the double doors to Lola’s office, remembering them from when she gave me the official tour of her home, but before I could knock, I heard voices.

  Brows dipping, I knocked, and Lola sang for me to come in. I pushed one of the double doors open and Lola was standing beside her desk, laughing.

  And seated in Lola’s desk chair was Keke.

  Fucking Keke! I swear, Marriott!

  I gritted my teeth before giving a tight-lipped smile.

  “Oh, hi, Ivy!” Lola rushed my way, wrapping her arms around my shoulders to hug me. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing your gorgeous face. You remember Keke?” She gestured back at the so-called bestie.

  “Of course she remembers me!” Keke stood from the chair with all her arrogance in tow. She had on a sundress and wedged heels. For a first, Lola wasn’t wearing a dress. She had on a white tank tucked into army-green shorts and a pair of Nikes.

  “I do.” My smile was forced. I had to remember I’d only met Keke once, but after watching her Instagram like a hawk, I felt like I’d seen her every damn day and knew her like the back of my hand. “I didn’t realize we were supposed to dress up.” I threw shade. All the shade.

  “Oh, um, we aren’t,” Lola said, then glanced at Keke’s shoes, as if embarrassed for her. “But that’s Keke for you! She loves to dress for any occasion. I told her she was crazy wearing those heels on day one! There’ll be a lot of walking and moving around.”

  “I have backup flats.” Keke laughed, but I didn’t miss the way she cut her eyes at me.

  “Well, don’t worry. We’re going to have fun, especially because we’ll all be riding together to the church.” Lola looked at me. “You guys can get to know each other before the swarm.”

  Ugh.

  “You know, I’m so thankful,” Keke said with a voice full of bogus compassion. “I can’t think of any other way to spend this week. I’ll miss Bailey, though.”

  “Who is Bailey?” I asked, pretending I had no clue.

  “My daughter. She’s four.” Keke picked up her phone and unlocked it, then walked to me to show me a photo of her daughter. She didn’t need to show me her daughter for me to see what she looked like. I knew exactly how she looked.

  It always annoyed me that people just posted pictures of their babies online. Were they not aware of predators? Stalkers? Pedophiles? Someone could have been fondling their dick to the thought of her daughter’s chubby little cheeks, as Keke liked to call them.

  “Isn’t she so gorgeous?” Keke’s voice sliced through my thoughts.

  “She is! So adorable!” Her daughter was gorgeous, but giving Keke any sort of compliment grated on my nerves.

  “Look at you two, hitting it off already,” Lola said, grinning from ear to ear. “I love it.”

  I don’t.

  Lola flipped her wrist to check the time on her rose-gold Cartier wristwatch. “Okay, we have forty-five minutes to get to the church. I don’t want to get stuck in the Miami traffic, so let’s have some of the coffee and bagels downstairs in the dining room and then get a roll on, ladies.”

  Keke walked past me, sashaying her hips as she left the office. Lola walked beside me, giving my shoulder a squeeze before we could walk out. “I hope you don’t mind Keke riding along with us,” Lola murmured when Keke was out of earshot. “Her car was giving her trouble, so I picked her up this morning.”

  “No—I don’t mind at all. She seems like good company.”

  “Okay, good. I don’t want you to feel like I didn’t want us riding alone or anything.”

  “No, I get it. You have to look out for your friends. I would have hated if she missed camp.” That couldn’t have been any further from the truth. Did I always lie this effortlessly with you, Marriott?

  Here’s the truth: Keke’s car was giving her trouble because I had Julius pull a few wires under her hood last night. What kind of person leaves her car unlocked in Miami? She was such a dumb, oblivious bitch.

  I knew where she lived because I’d followed her home from her flower shop one day. She always closed at five thirty, and I made sure the time aligned with my schedule before the trip so I could follow her.

  I assumed Keke would get so caught up with getting her car started the morning of camp that she’d miss the bus to get there, but no, she called Lola, who swooped in and rescued her. Not that I didn’t expect Keke to show at camp, but her having a setback would have paved a golden runway for me with Lola.

  Our bags were already in the SUV when we walked out of Lola’s house, so we climbed in the car, and of course Keke took the passenger seat.

  She was now talking about how she had to renew her gym membership soon. I wanted to slap a hand over her mouth. She talked too damn much! All it would take was a tight grip around the back of her neck and a quick shove forward for me to slam her face into the dashboard and shut her up.

  But I had to be nice, even if I really wanted to strap duct tape over her mouth.

  Lola drove to the church, all while Keke chatted her head off. Lola could hardly get a word in edgewise, and I had no idea how it didn’t drive her crazy, considering she liked talking about herself just as much.

  When we made it there, I lurched out of the car and out to the humid Florida air, escaping Keke’s chatter about how expensive day care was for her daughter. She was the one who decided to have a dam
n kid. She needed to shut the hell up about it already and deal with the burdens of it.

  We carried our bags to one of the charter buses, where two men were working to store the bags. I handed mine to one of the men and then met up with Lola. Two more women had gathered around her, and I knew on sight—and from stalking Lola’s social media—that they were Arabel and Faith.

  Arabel had shoulder-length, relaxed hair with blond highlights. She was just like Keke, in a dress and heels, only her heels were a bit shorter than Keke’s and seemed a little more comfortable. The diamond on her ring finger screamed I’m married to a millionaire.

  Faith was an average-looking woman, nothing spectacular about her. She was on the chubby side, with too much makeup and long, black hair that I knew wasn’t hers.

  I remembered these women from a photo on Lola’s Instagram. They’d met at a book club and bonded over some romance novel they really loved.

  “Arabel, Faith, I want you to meet Ivy. She’s the young lady I told you would be rooming with us at camp.”

  Arabel took my hand and shook it. “So nice to meet you, Ivy! I saw the shoot you did for the charity shirts—love them, girl! Lola gave me a little sneak peek!”

  I smiled. “Thank you.” I didn’t get a damn sneak peek. I glanced at Lola, who simply smiled, like the comment Arabel had just made meant nothing.

  “I loved them too,” Faith said, giving me a lukewarm smile. I could tell she didn’t like that I was staying in the cabin with them.

  Despite Faith’s halfhearted compliment, she and Arabel were two women I felt I could actually deal with. Even though they were looking at me like I was some stray, adorable cat, at least they weren’t completely snobby and codependent upon Lola, like Keke. These women seemed more concerned about themselves—in fact, they probably didn’t give a damn about this charity but were around for show and to support her cause.

  “Say cheese!” A camera shuttered as we all turned, and Xena was there, her black camera in front of her face. She’d changed her hair, and had fresh black-and-pink-ombré braids now.

  “Xena!” Lola waved a playful hand at her. “I told you to hold it until we get to camp, girl! That’s where all the fun will be!”

  “Don’t even worry! I have so much space on my memory card for the week. We’ll have so many good pictures this year! Oh, hey, girl!” Xena rushed my way, hugging me with one arm, her camera in the other.

  What do you think her reaction would have been if I’d accidentally knocked that expensive camera out of her hand? Bet she wouldn’t run to hug me anymore, and I would be cool with that. “I’m so happy to see you!” Xena went on.

  I told myself to be nice. Be the chill girl who went with the flow. “So happy to see you too!” I said back, with as much enthusiasm as possible. I swear, I wasn’t going to be able to take much more of this. I am not a people person, Marriott.

  When it was time to board the buses, I released a sigh of relief. I made sure to stick close to Lola, but as we walked up the steps of one of the buses, Keke lightly bumped against me and stood in front of me, thinking I wouldn’t notice, but I did.

  That was strike two now.

  Strike one was her talking too damn much in the car.

  Lola took a seat in the very back by the window. Keke excused herself as she brushed past a few volunteers in purple shirts to get to the back and took the seat right next to Lola.

  I took the seat on the opposite side, by the window. I still needed to appear independent—like I didn’t want to be in Lola’s way, but still garner enough attention from her so she could check in with me here and there.

  Faith took the seat next to me, and Arabel sat in the aisle in front of Keke.

  “I swear, that girl isn’t gonna let Lola breathe all week,” Faith mumbled, rolling her eyes.

  I glanced at her, but her focus was on Keke, who was already talking Lola’s head off and moving her hands animatedly.

  I laughed. “Lola’s probably used to being around her.”

  “No, honey. Trust me, she isn’t. No one can get used to someone so self-absorbed. Plus, we can all tell she uses Lola, but Lola is too damn nice to see through her crazy mess. Lola loves to pick up strays, honey. Oh—no offense to you or anything. I’ve heard good things about you.”

  I straightened my back. I guessed I’d read Faith wrong. Just like me, she could smell a bad fish from a mile away, and she considered me a stray to Lola. In her eyes, I was a moocher. I wasn’t really a part of Lola’s world.

  Bitch, please. She would see.

  She gave me a kind smile, and I relaxed—only a little.

  “You seem like a nice girl who could be spending her summer doing something else. How’d you get into volunteering for the charity?” she asked me.

  “Oh well, I’ve always been interested in Ladies with Passion. I actually told Lola my story, and told her how I found the charity inspiring for young mothers and wished I would have found this foundation a few years ago.”

  “Aw, that’s sweet. It’s always good to know we have charities like this, right? Makes women feel good. You know they have a story night every year at camp. Lola sets up sparkling juice and we light a fire, and those who are interested tell their story for others to hear. It’s inspiring. If you tell yours, I’ll be looking forward to hearing it.”

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

  She turned when Arabel asked her for something, and I took it upon myself to stick my earphones in my ears and look out of the window. I wasn’t in the mood to make friends with any of Lola’s entourage.

  My only focus was Mrs. Maxwell, but with these women in the way, it was proving to be difficult. They were lucky I didn’t mind a good challenge.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  We arrived at camp, where the cabins were made of thick, brown logs and a mixture of palm and live oak trees surrounded each one. After everyone was off the bus, we were directed to the main hall, where we picked up name badges in the cafeteria and were offered water bottles.

  Noah, Olivia, Vonyetta, and two other women were sitting at a table in the hall when we arrived, greeting people and ready to sign them in. Volunteers signed up at one table and picked up their blue volunteer shirts, while the pregnant guests took up another.

  After I collected my name badge, I took a sweep of the main hall. For it to belong to a camp, it was pretty damn fancy. Seafoam-green walls, sparkling, waxed floors, and picture windows that revealed the outdoor scenery.

  Of course Lola dearest wasn’t going to settle for some average place to camp. There still had to be some luxury involved. “Glamping” is what people call it, you know? Never knew it was a thing until Lola mentioned it during the volunteer meeting. I could only imagine how the cabins looked inside.

  I looked at the front table, and Lola was chatting with Noah and Vonyetta. I realized then that it was going to be tricky getting Lola alone this week. How naïve of me. The only times I was going to catch her was in her cabin, or between activities.

  We were all escorted to an outdoor stadium, where the seats were made of smooth logs. To my surprise, they were handing out blue pillows to the guests so they wouldn’t have to sit on the hard wood. Everything had a touch of Lola to it, from the blue name badges to the pillows.

  I grabbed a pillow myself and went to the front row, and as we all settled in, Lola and Vonyetta stood up front and welcomed everyone with wide smiles, chipper voices, and microphones in hand.

  I felt someone looking at me and glanced over my shoulder. Keke was looking my way. She put on the fakest smile for me, batted her fake-as-hell eyelashes, and turned away. I rolled my eyes, focusing on Vonyetta, who was talking about camp safety.

  I guess I could say the first day wasn’t so bad. Lola was so busy with the camp rangers, and Noah and Olivia had my hands deep in the volunteer stuff, which I actually found enjoyable.

  They had me helping the expectant moms design onesies for their babies. I was certain the onesies would never be put on the babies because of all
the hot glue we had to use and the way the permanent markers leaked through the fabric, but it was entertaining for the time being. It would make a good keepsake for the moms.

  I overheard Keke being sent to help get the paints ready for belly painting in the room next door. I saw her walk around a corner thirty minutes after the first round of activities had started. She’d changed into clothes and shoes that were more comfortable, and I laughed. Why she’d even worn a dress and heels astounded me. It wasn’t like she was going to find a man among this sea of pregnant women.

  When dinner rolled around, I found Lola sitting at the back of the cafeteria. She waved at me, and I was glad she’d spotted me. The seat beside her was wide open, and praise the heavens, Keke was nowhere in sight.

  “I’m so happy to see you.” Lola breathed out as I approached.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, laughing a little. She seemed anxious.

  “Oh yeah. First days are just really overwhelming. Some of the women get feisty about where to sleep, shower—all that.” She took a sweep of the cafeteria with her bold, hazel eyes before focusing on me and asking, “So, how are you liking camp so far?”

  “Oh—it’s amazing. I love it.” I bit into my bread roll. I had to give it to her. The food looked and smelled good. It wasn’t basic camp food. We had gourmet meals. Tonight’s dinner was almond-crusted salmon or buttered cod, with roasted vegetables and yellow rice.

  “I can see why so many people fight for a spot to attend,” I said after chewing a bit. “Helping with the onesies was fun, and I could tell the ladies enjoyed it a lot.”

  “Oh, yeah. Onesie decorating is a good one. Tomorrow you’ll be helping with the second round of belly painting, right?”

  “I am. I’m looking forward to it.” I took a bite of salmon. “Do you plan on doing any of the activities?”

  “Well, I’ve been helping here and there, but I’ve mostly been floating around to make sure everything is running smoothly.” She shrugged. “I’ve found that when I stay out of the way, though, the moms are more excited. Vonyetta mentioned something about staying out of the way last year, so I decided I’d take a few steps back. Truth be told, I wasn’t going to stay here this year.”