Simmer

Chapter 8: Gluttony

Nicholas seemed to have a secret desire to catch a cold because he was up on the roof again. She nearly slipped on the way up but Nicholas leaned down and pulled her up the rest of the way. She huffed as she took a seat beside him and she handed him the box of those chocolate-filled cookies shaped like bear heads. He offered her the box and she took one of the cookies. She preferred the ones filled with white chocolate but these were still good.

"How is Bree?" he asked.

"You're the only one that calls her that."

"I've known her since she was a baby. She will always be 'Bree' to me."

"She told me your families are close."

"Understatement. Our moms are best friends and our dads studied Magical Law together in university," he explained. "We have vacations, Christmas, and birthday parties together. The Parks are family."

"And Aubrey is like your sister."

"Little sister who sneaks me snacks." He frowned as he bit into another cookie. "And tells me that she doesn't like my girlfriend."

"Aubrey doesn't appreciate that your girlfriend is trying to control your diet and that Trish is accusing her of trying to steal you away for herself."

Nicholas made a disgusted face. "Me and Aubrey? Gross."

"She made the exact same face," she pointed out. "What are you going to do if Trish wants you to cut all ties with Aubrey?"

"She won't do that."

"Are you sure? Then why are we eating cookies on a roof of all places?"

He reconsidered and gave her a sheepish smile. "Trish can be a bit stubborn but she's not mean. I will just have to explain that Bree and I are platonic in every sense of the word."

"And if she doesn't believe you?"

"She will."

There had been a reason Aubrey was the girl in Trish's nightmare. Trish considered her a legitimate threat. Nicholas's reassurances wouldn't matter because Trish had singled out Aubrey as her biggest rival for his affections. The only way this could end was either Nicholas cutting ties with one of them or murder.

Callie considered becoming a cat burglar. She would be good at it with the many places she snuck into at this school. She appeared in Trish's room and went over to the sleeping girl. She went inside the girl's mind easier this time, knowing Trish's defenses and how to get past them already.

She weaved a nightmare. She was in a large ballroom filled with many guests. It was a wedding reception. Instead of a wedding cake, there was a huge tower of those chocolate pies Nicholas loved. The top of the cake was a miniature of Nicholas and Aubrey.

Trish walked into the reception in a wedding a gown. She watched in dismay as Nicholas and Aubrey danced to a romantic song. The guests cheered and threw chocolate pies at each other. She ran to the couple and tried to tear them apart but Aubrey pushed her away and she hit the tower of chocolate pies.

"The pies!" Nicholas shouted in dismay, falling to his knees as they fell to the floor. "Not the pies!"

Trish's father appeared. “You were always such a wasteful child. I invested so much money trying to educate you and all you did was let me down."

"Oh Patricia, what have I told you about eating sugar?" Trish's mother chided. "They're going straight to your thighs. Nobody wants a fleshy girl."

Trish tried to get to up but kept slipping and landing on the pies. Her gown was stained brown with the chocolate.

"No!" she wailed. "This isn't happening!"

The guests pointed and laughed at her and cheered, "Trish is a b***h! Trish is a b***h!"

Trish tried to get to her knees but slipped again. "Somebody help me!"

Aubrey moved forward. Trish stared pleadingly as the other girl knelt down in front of her. Aubrey smiled sweetly and offered her hand. There was a chocolate pie in it and she smashed it into Trish's face.

Trish began to cry, wailing loudly. The guests continued to chant "Trish is a b***h!" while Nicholas and Aubrey fed each other chocolate pies. Callie winced as Trish's sobs got louder. She tried wiping at the chocolate on her face which was mixing with the snot and tears.

Maybe this was going too far. Callie twisted her hands and someone else entered the reception. It was Nicholas' best friend and roommate, that handsome blond lacrosse player.

Callie had seen him in a few of Trish's memories. There were earlier memories before she got together with Nick. Trish's mind had tried to hide him from her. She found the memories anyway.

The blond lacrosse player walked over to Trish and pulled her to her feet. He wiped the chocolate and tears off her face with a handkerchief that appeared out of thin air. She looked at him like the sunrise had finally come. He took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around her.

"I love you, Trish," he said. "And you know you love me."

"But Nick(…)"

Trish turned to where Nick and Aubrey were throwing a bouquet of chocolate pies into the crowd of guests.

"He doesn't love you," the blond insisted. "Don't you see that? But I do, Trish. I always have."

"Oh, Matt." Trish sighed, her big, brown eyes watering. "You do love me."

"Forever and ever, babe."

He pulled her into a hug and they began swaying. Music started playing. The guests, Nicholas and Aubrey, and the chocolate cakes disappeared. Callie watched the couple dance for a few seconds before deciding to leave them in peace.

The War of the Snacks came to an end when Callie was delivering a box of chocolate pies to Nicholas and he declined them. She stared at him in shock. He was usually opening the box and devouring one by then. They would eat pies and they would talk about classes and the harmless gossip around school.

"You love these," she said. "You told me that this would be your last meal before you leave this earth."

He sighed wistfully. "I know but I feel bad for sneaking around my girlfriend like this. We talked about Snackgate and we decided that it's gone on long enough."

She was still holding on to the box. "You're done with sweets forever?"

"Maybe not forever but I am for now."

Panic flared through her. These sweets had been her only way to communicate and spend time with him. He ignored her before she arrived with a box of pies in his room. Even when she was standing next to Aubrey he didn't see her.

It was like she didn't exist. It reminded her too much of what it was like growing up. She had waited at the gate of Hell hoping for someone to come get her. Nobody did and certainly not her father.

That was why she was there. She needed this boy to get to her father. It didn't matter that he liked her or not. She was being an emotional i***t all because he listened to her talk and shared candy with her.

"I see," she told him, opening her bag and putting the box away. "More for me then."

He gave her a placating smile. "We'll still see each other around, Callie."

"Of course we will."

No, they wouldn't. He would be back to pretending she didn't exist. She would be back to where she started. She invaded Trish's mind and tormented her with nightmares and none of it worked.

Nicholas was never going to break up with Trish no matter what an insane harpy she was being. He was too much of a saint for that. He would hold on to this relationship as it sunk to the bottom of the sea. She wasted her time trying to make him want to walk away.

Callie needed to come at this from a different angle. She found Matthias Wood working on an essay in the library. He was alone which was a rare thing as he was usually surrounded by his lacrosse team mates and friends. Unlike Nicholas who climbed up rooftops for solitude Matthias enjoyed near constant companionship.

She looked around for possible witnesses and the library was mostly empty. This section was vacant. The librarian was too far away to see them. She threw a sleeping spell at Matthias and he slumped down on the table unconscious.

She sunk into his mind quickly and weaved a nightmare.