- Jacob -.When I wake up, I see Natalie is not around, and I am late. I can still manage to reach home by 8:30 and leave for school after that.Damn. Another late slip.The door opens, and she comes in with a pile of clothes in her hands. “So fucking finally… someone did the laundry!” I say, amused. “Yeah…” she grins, placing the clothes on the bed.I grab her arm and yank her towards me.“Were you touching yourself?”“When?” she asks innocently.“You know when!” I say, pulling her closer.“I don’t know what you are talking about,” she says, her lips dangerously close to mine.“Yes, you do…” I grab her boob and squeeze it a little. She gasps.A knock on the door stiffens both of us.“Should I go into the bathroom?” I whisper.“No. That’s ok,” she says quietly and opens the door. A girl almost burst inside the room, but Natalie blocks her way.“Why aren’t you ready?” She asks.“uhmmm… I am going home today…” WHAT!A smile forms over my lips realizing I will get a few more days wi
113. Confused - West - . It’s for the first time I have ever been alone for this long. Single is the word, I guess. I tried to convince Riley, and I tried hard. But then I realized she can be God damn stubborn when she wants to be. In the next few days, a few things happened… Subtle, but enough to put me on edge and I felt it was better to leave her alone. “What happened to your girlfriend?” Caleb had asked. “None of your business!” He chuckled. “I know you guys broke up.” He shoves my personal information in my face to show me he keeps tabs on me. His tactics are getting old and have little effect on me. His requests to keep his precious packages secured in my house have increased. I have an inkling he is trying to set up a business for himself. I just hope he doesn’t drag me in his mess. “You must miss her in bed.” “Don’t push me Caleb.” I warned him. He shrugged. “If you are not dating her, I guess it’s an open pass for me-” I punched his face before he could complete his
114. That Day – Three weeks ago – - West - . When I reach home, I stiffen to realize someone is inside. Alfred is usually out at this time and doesn’t come back until late at night. I open the door carefully and see Riley sitting by the kitchen counter doing her schoolwork. She still has the keys. “You are late,” she says. I blink at her. She turns and raises her brow, expecting an answer from me. It makes me smile. “I didn’t want to come back to an empty house.” I admit. That damn call from Spain has messed up my head today. I am not sure how I am feeling exactly. “What are you doing here?” I ask as I notice a cake box, some flowers and a tiny gift sitting on the counter next to her bag. Considering the way she snapped at me in the parking lot, I am sure it’s not for me. “Bought these for Mom’s birthday… “ She says then asks after a pause, “Do you remember who else’s birthday it is today?” I sigh. She is here to pick up a fight. That day when she saw the pics… She was t
–Present Day–- Natalie -.Nowadays, I spend my time with Riley as much as I can. Sometimes we style each other’s hair while watching movies. Sometimes we paint. I suck at it.Sometimes we bake. She sucks at it. I can see her mood improving a little every day. I have been convincing her to go to prom with us.“Norris would love to take you as his date.” I tell her as I realize that she is thinking about the date, or maybe West.She isn’t angry with him. Maybe she had been telling the truth all along. There was no sexual assault. It doesn’t make sense though.She shrugs. “Okay!”“Really!” My eyes widen.She laughs. “Yeah why not..”I have to make sure Norris isn’t taking anybody else.Sh*t Sh*t Sh*t!Once we exhaust all our options to pass our time, we go out cycling. I take her to the campsite by the lake, where I spent that night with Jacob. We sit there for hours and I tell her stories of college campus. I tell her about my hot coach and how Jacob was green with envy when he met
115. Make it work - Jacob - . We both lay on the floor in my closet, our limbs tangled in each other. “We should go to bed… “I say, sighing heavily. “No..” She whines. “I don’t want a sore back again, Natalie.. “ We have been laying here for the past hour. She hugs me tight with determination so I cannot get up. “This is not fair! “ I grumble. “You got a nice little mattress called Jacob… What about me?” She giggles and gets up. “I have news..” she says while grabbing my T-shirt to wear. I look at her, and she drops the bombshell. “Dad asked you to join us for breakfast.” Ahh fuck… “I knew this was coming…” I sigh. I cannot keep sleeping with his daughter while avoiding him altogether. “Don’t worry…” she says in a fake sympathetic voice, “I told him not to push you around this time.” That makes me laugh, and she grins back at me. “It’s not a pleasant experience to fall on your bum.” I tell her while getting back into the room. “How would you feel if my family aske
116. When she went missing - Trigger Warning - Implied Rape- West -.Everything is dark and blurry…Pungent smell of blood and urine is all over the place. I can hear someone sobbing. I blink repeatedly, trying to focus. Dread sets in my heart when I realize it’s Riley.How? What happened?I know it’s her.I am trying to think and turn my head to look for her. I heard her scream.Fuck!They got hold of her… My head is throbbing as I conclude the obvious
117. Epilogue—A Year Later—- Jacob -.My phone pings for the third time, and I roll my eyes. Jeez.. Have patience, girl! I pull out my phone and check it anyway. Just to be sure she doesn't have some surprising news at the last minute. My-Impatient-Girlfriend: ‘Where the hell are you?’Me: ‘Almost there… your building’s security guard is slow.’Damn Slow…I am here to see her and right now we are on a timer. According to Natalie, we only have 20 minutes left. I hate being on a timer, but I am desperate too. As soon as the guard lets me into the building, I make a run for her dorm-room.18 minutes…I have raced through this building many times. But this time I am too late. Two more minutes to see her. Time is too short today.“Oh wow! Hey Jacob…”I wince at hearing her voice. I turn and wave at Ira.“I… will see you at lunch! Bye!” I say without stopping for her.She laughs and yells at me, “I don’t think you will make it this time. "Yeah, mock me. I turn and smirk. “Oh I will, I a
Epilogue - II.- Natalie -.“She will probably sprinkle holy water all over in there,” Jacob quips as we walk out of my room. It makes me giggle.He is probably right.I never knew she was so devoted to her religion when I came here for a runner program last year.She is nice.. But too rigid sometimes.I try not to judge her, but she judges me all the damn time.“I wish I could rent an apartment,” I say ruefully. He hums and rubs my back.Jacob has his own Two-room apartment he shares with Norris, whereas I had nobody to share the rent. Ira and Riley wanted to stay on campus as it’s much cheaper and with travel costs in picture there was no point spending money elsewhere.We walk towards the restaurant to meet Ira and Riley for lunch. They are roommates now. I feel jealous as fuck sometimes.”How is Riley doing?”“She is good.. mostly good… She finally started seeing this guy who was following her around for the past two months,” I hope something works out for her. I am glad she is