Rory’s POVI wanted to disappear in my apartment. I still had not completely recovered from my emotional upheaval with Needy. I finished class and started to feel really stressed.She had been going out of her way to avoid any kind of connection or contact with me, not that I blamed her. I still felt guilty and horrible, and I tried to focus on what Scott had told me: our relationship wasn’t wrong. The situation was just handled poorly. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I couldn’t even bring myself to go to work, but my professor had asked to speak with me after class and it was an interaction I couldn’t avoid. After class, I sighed and went along with her to her office. I slouched down in the seat across from her and waited. I wondered if she could see how out of it I felt. She sat down carefully and crossed her arms over the table. She looked at me sympathetically, and I knew I was about to get bad news. “So, I’m really sorry about this Rory, but it’s come to my attention th
Rory’s POVWhen I saw Eva and Scott together, I felt a sharp pain. Scott pushed her away and walked toward me, but I had already turned to leave.“Rory, wait! Rory, please stop and let me explain!” Scott called after me as I started walking away. I didn’t want to listen to him, though. I couldn’t stop the tears anymore and I couldn’t process anything else that was happening. I wasn’t sure there was anything that Scott could say that was going to make me feel better. I walked outside and hoped that Ben would still be there. I didn’t want to wait for an Uber and risk having Scott catch up to me. But as I pushed open the door, I saw that his car was no longer there. I texted him immediately and then started to pull up the Uber app in case he didn’t respond in time. “Rory!” Scott screamed, pushing the door open. “Please just leave me alone. I don’t want to hear what you have to say, Scott. If you want to be with her or anyone else, that’s your business, but I can’t deal with
Scott’s POVI couldn’t stop thinking about Rory. I wanted to see her or call her, but she had made it clear she needed some space. It took all I had to not call her again. Everything felt so much harder without her. I started throwing myself more into my work and getting somewhat obsessive about it. I started scheduling meetings and spending more time on the phone. I felt for a while that the phone was glued to my ear. “Damn it, Jack. I don’t care about the numbers. I’m telling you this isn’t going to fly. You need to do something about this!” I screamed. “Come on Scott, I’m doing the best I can here. Cut me some slack!” “No, that’s not good enough! The presentation is due on Friday! I can’t show them this,” I shouted, vaguely gesturing to the layout in front of me. “You need to figure this out and fix this!” “Scott, please!” “I don’t want to hear it! Just take care of it!” I slammed the phone down on the receiver and collapsed back in my chair. I opened up the files o
Rory’s POVI felt even worse than I had when I first started staying with Zoe. I came back to the apartment in tears and threw myself on the couch. “Rory, are you okay? What happened?” Zoe asked, putting away the last of the dishes. I waved my hands out dismissively. “I went to the hospital to see Scott. He really appreciated it, but it was hard knowing the situation. We had a really awful talk about what we do and where we go from here.” “What did you decide?” she asked. I shrugged. “Nothing really. We are going to keep taking a break but we haven’t decided anything. We won’t decide anything or talk about it again until Needy is better and we are sure she won’t try anything again. I am just so depressed. I know we need to take a break but this is so hard,” I cried. Zoe comforted me, and I felt a deep sense of guilt and self-blame for everything that had happened. I was worried about Needy's injuries, and I didn’t even know how long I cried or how long we talked. I only re
Scott’s POVThe moment I stepped into the club, people stepped out of my way. There was no point in saying anything to me because I was on a mission and wouldn’t be stopped. Casting my eyes around the open space within the club, it wasn’t hard to find her.I pushed through the dancing intoxicated crowd and headed toward the tables near the dance floor. I spotted her friend Zoe first. I narrowed my eyes on her. Was it her idea to push Rory into the arms of another man? I walked with more determination now. I watched as Zoe found Rory on the dance floor and whispered something into the ear of the man she was dancing with. He was an attractive man and I wasn’t surprised that Zoe picked him, but it made the jealousy in me rage higher.I moved up and took Rory by the arm, trying to pull her away from the man.“Scott, what are you doing here?” she demanded."Is that why you didn't contact me?” I asked, staring at the young man. “Two months! Dance with different men every day and enjoy
Rory’s POVAfter we met at the club, our relationship became more relaxed. For the past few days, we'd been hanging out just like before.Without classes, we had more time alone together, so we happily spent entire days in our room, eating, cleaning, and being intimate, just like many ordinary couples.One day, after taking a shower, I stood in front of the mirror, applying body lotion.Scott kissed my bare shoulder while running his hand over my still-naked body. “I wanted to ask you something,” he whispered. I turned to look at him now. I was certain my face was still flush from our previous activities. “What is it?” I asked.He started to look sheepish. “Sunday is my birthday and well, I was planning on having a party Saturday night. I’d really like to bring you as my date… as a more official announcement of our relationship.” He kept his eyes locked on mine, anxiously awaiting my reply. I couldn’t help the huge smile that spread across my face. “Thank you!” I threw m
Rory’s POVI wasn’t sure what to do initially, but when Eva screamed and started coming toward me again, I scrambled to my feet and punched her square in the jaw. For a moment I felt like I had broken my fingers, but the adrenaline rushing through me took away that feeling fast. Eva stumbled backward but caught the back of my hair before I could get away. “Let go, bitch,” I cried out, reaching back and trying to peel off her fingers. I turned and kicked as hard as I could. I wasn’t sure where I hit her, but Eva let go and fell to the floor. I started running but she grabbed my ankle and pulled me back down. I hit my chin hard on the ground, rolled over, and kicked up into her stomach. I scrambled to my feet and raced away from her back into the hall. Needy was spewing more hate and other things on stage while Scott kept trying to get the microphone from her. Needy, ignoring the objections, shouted loudly on stage.“I'm sure everyone here is familiar with our school's top st
Rory’s POVI felt sore all over. I knew that Eva had tossed me around, but I didn’t feel like I should be so sore. I opened my eyes and realized I was in the hospital. I sat up quickly and saw Zoe sleeping in the chair next to my bed.“What happened? Why am I in here?” I asked. Zoe opened her eyes and came to sit on the side of my bed. “Hey! How are you feeling? You passed out on the road and Scott rushed you to the hospital. They said you had a small concussion from the smack to your head and that your stress levels were off the charts. They’ve been in and out checking on you. Do you want me to call a nurse?” I pushed myself up more and cringed from the headache that was forming. “No, that’s okay. Where’s Scott?” I asked. “I’m sure he’ll be back. He went to deal with Eva and Needy, something about Needy being on lockdown, and I think Eva went to jail for assault,” Zoe answered. “Are you serious?” I asked, feeling surprised and somewhat relieved. I felt better knowing that