It was Friday already, and I was waiting for the rest of the group so we could all go and watch the latest X-Men movie. I still felt a little awkward about going out with a bunch of hockey players. I wondered if any of them knew I’d hated them silently earlier, before I started dating Elijah?Elijah had told me we could make it a date and sit separately from his friends, though, which made me feel so much less anxiety.My classes ended earlier in the day, but Elijah had one in the afternoon, so after my class, I ended up in my dorm room, waiting. Logan and Dana both got lucky, and they were out doing whatever, they would meet up with the rest of the group later.As I waited for Elijah, I sat at my desk and studied. Just because I was dating someone and got to go out more than I stayed in now didn’t mean I could be lax in my studies. My mom was going through a lot of trouble to pay my tuition because it was the school I’d always wanted to go to. Somehow, I wanted to pay her back, and I
I listened to my friends chattering, feeling both relieved and anxious. Relieved, because they were talking so much they were covering for the fact that I barely said a thing about the movie. I couldn’t say what it was about if I tried. Sure, there were some explosions and fight scenes, but they bored me so much that I fell asleep, I wasn’t sure how much of the movie I watched. I was lucky because Sophia didn’t take a single glance at me throughout the whole movie to see just how bored I was, but she still caught me sleeping.That right there was the basis of my anxiety. Also because Sophia was looking at me oddly instead of following the conversation. She should have wanted to, but maybe she was onto me.Shit.“Hey, guys!”I looked around at Dana’s voice, feeling relieved again to see her and Logan, probably for the first time. She could distract Sophia.“We were thinking of going out to eat before we head back,” Logan said. “Who wants to come with? Just a heads up, everyone better h
When we got up the next morning, everything was fine between us. Sophia got onto me about leaving so many marks for her to hide, but she was glowing the entire time, looking like she was trying to hide a smile even as she complained and glared at me. I was all apologetic.Then, we parted ways. And I started to panic again.Shit!Last night was enough to tell me, that Sophia would find out about my lies sooner or later. Even when she was only suspecting, I could feel her withdrawing from me. I was sure if she found out, she’d be pissed, more than I’d ever seen before, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t tell she had a bit of a temper.It was Friday, and I only had one class in the morning, so I prepared for it, then left the dorm. I met up with Logan just outside the class and suddenly had an idea. Not a bright one, but I was desperate. He hadn't even noticed me yet, this wide, stupid grin on his face as he texted on his cell. I guessed he was talking with Dana.“Hey, Logan!”He looked up fr
I pulled my cell out of my purse as I stopped in front of the hotel. I double-checked I had the right place, then walked up the front steps and inside. I looked around the lobby, but didn’t see the person I was looking for, so I made a call.“Mom? I’m in the hotel lobby, and I don’t see you. Did you come down already?”“Sorry, honey! I was a little busy with something, let me come down. Stay close to the entrance, and I’ll come to you, don’t move around, okay?”I rolled my eyes. “I’m a grown up, Mom, I think I can handle getting around just fine on my own.”“Whatever you say. Stay put.”She hung up, and I stood to the side of the entrance, so I wasn’t in the way and waited. I saw her the moment she appeared in the lobby, but I waited for her to come to me because of her earlier comment. Mom just looked amused.“Hey, honey,” she said, pulling me into a hug.I rolled my eyes but hugged her back. “Didn’t you tell me you’d be coming in a couple of weeks? You could have warned me you were
My eyes landed on the table of four, where my dad and two other women sat. The woman that sat beside him, holding his hand on top of the table looked to be in her early forties. She was pretty, with dark hair and dark eyes, and she looked familiar for some reason.“Elijah!” Dad said, looking up at me with a grin and a wave. “And we weren’t waiting for you; we haven’t been here that long ourselves. Get over here; there’s a couple someone’s I want you to meet.”I walked over, my eyes falling to the third person at the table. I’d figured out Dad’s relationship with the other woman. By the way, they were holding hands, they were obviously together. Was the girl the woman’s daughter?“So, who’s the one that I’m supposed to meet today?” I asked, meeting my dad’s grin with one of my own.“Your new step-mom,” he said. “And her daughter.”I arched an eyebrow, then looked down where they still had their hands clasped on the table, and I saw the ring on her finger.“Oh,” I murmured.I was surpri
I left the café and that hotel without a second look back. No one came after me, neither Elijah nor my mom, and I couldn’t tell whether I was disappointed or not. What I did know, was that I needed space right then, so a part of me was relieved.The hotel was a bit of a distance from the school, so I had to hail a cab. I just barely had the funds to handle it, and it would have been cheaper to take the bus, but the next bus wouldn’t be moving for a while, and I didn’t want to wait around at the bus stop until then.I didn’t know if I was going to break down or not, but just in case, I wanted to do it while I was alone.The ride back, I looked out the window and refused to think about anything. There was too much to think about, anyway, and I felt like I would go crazy if I just let it all spin around in my head. When we got back, the driver had to catch my attention to get me to move and pay up; I was so preoccupied.I nearly ran all the way to my dorm. There were a few people out and
I hadn't spoken to Sophia for the last few days, but I still felt fucking restless because of it. I saw her around campus, but when she caught sight of me, she would hurry off in the opposite direction. She was a sprinter that was for sure.It hurt, just a little bit.Even Logan was happy in his own love life, noticed when I started acting miserable. Then, he saw Sophia’s avoidance routine.“Dude, what the fuck happened between the two of you?” he asked me on Wednesday as we made our way to class, watching Sophia’s back as she hurried off a distance from us. “Don’t tell me you told her in the end, because that’s stupid of you.”I sighed. “It wasn’t that, do you think things would be like this between us? This shit doesn’t have anything to do with me. Well, I can't say it has nothing to do with me, but I’m only distantly related to it!”Logan just frowned at me. “Dude, speak English. I didn’t get any of that.”I sighed again and trudged forward. “Let’s get to class and sit down, I’ll t
I was the one that had been avoiding him like crazy. But, it was bugging me that he wasn’t making the effort to connect with me. I watched Elijah’s back move further and further away as he left the restaurant at the hotel, with me, my mom and his dad all still seated and eating.At that moment, I didn’t have the courage to reach out to him. Because our parents were there, and I didn’t know if I could control myself with all four of us seated at the same table. So, I decided to ignore Elijah, instead, but I just ended up making him mad. I didn’t think I even had the right to reach out to him, and it had hurt.I really messed up this time. It had been a few days already. I got the message from Mom telling me where they were at. They’d wait for us before deciding on living arrangements, but that was the last thing on my mind.I’d tried contacting Elijah a few times, even searching him out, and he’d ignored me. Just like I avoided him, now it was my turn to be treated badly and it fucking