The Story of Us Read online

  I can’t help it; it stings a little. So I gather my stuff and move up a row too. I sit right next to him. “Stop calling me princess. Stop irritating me on purpose. Stop flirting. And maybe we can be friends, for Drew and Hailey’s sake, if nothing else,” I offer.

  “Well irritating you seems to come natural to me. I don’t even have to try, so I’m not really sure how I can stop.”

  “C’mon, Craig. You know what I mean.”

  “Fine,” he agrees. But I can still feel the tension rolling off of him. He’s still mad at me. What the hell did I ever do to him for him to be mad at me?

  The professor walks in before I can address the issue with Craig. I hadn’t even noticed the classroom filling up. The professor is a small, middle-aged lady, with dark hair and glasses. The first thing she does is instruct us to move the tables and chairs into a u-shape, rather than lined up in rows like they are now. We all get to work adjusting the classroom. She tells us we’ll have to do this every day at the start of class, because she wants a more intimate feel, where all of her students can see their classmates. Then she hands me a stack of papers and tells me to take one and pass the rest along. I take the first one in the stack and hand the rest to Craig, who is still sitting beside me. She explains that the class is mostly lectures, broken up by speaking days. On the speaking days, we’ll be responsible for standing in front of the class and reciting an assignment. The first speaking day, we’ll be allowed to read our assignment off of a piece of paper. The second speaking day, we’ll be able to use note cards, only looking down when we get stuck. And the third speaking day will be completely from memory. Our final exam won’t be an assignment at all, but rather just speaking in front of the class about anything of our choosing: talking about our favorite book or movie, debating an argument, soliciting people to join a team or activity, reciting a poem, anything. The class wouldn’t seem that hard at all, if it weren’t for my fear of public speaking. I don’t understand why a public speaking class is even a requirement. You can’t graduate college if you can’t successfully stand in front of a crowd and speak? I know plenty of successful people who would cringe at the thought of public speaking. But nonetheless, it’s a core requirement at WSC.

  When the professor releases us, I look over at Craig to see him bolting out of the classroom, off to his next class, without even turning in my direction. Friends. Yeah, right.

  I stop at The Grind before heading back to my dorm. It’s not as crowded as yesterday, probably because most people are in class right now. The girl Craig hooked up with the other day is working behind the counter. Instantly, I can tell she doesn’t like me. Between her and Craig working here, I should seriously look up another coffee shop in the area. When I get back to the dorm, I realize no one’s here and it’s kind of nice to have the alone time. I sprawl out on the couch in the common room and turn on the T.V., channel surfing until I get to an old episode of Saved By The Bell, one of my favorite shows when I was in Junior High. I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but I wake up to Hailey and the twins all coming back at the same time.

  “You’re the only person I know who can fall asleep while drinking coffee,” Hailey teases, noticing the coffee cup still in my hand.

  “What time is it?” I ask, sleepily.

  “Two-thirty. We’re all gonna go grab some lunch. We just came back to see if you wanted to come too, since you weren’t answering my texts.”

  “Yeah, just give me a minute to wake up.” I stand and stretch, trying to get rid of the heaviness that sleep brings.

  In the cafeteria, I meet Julie’s boyfriend David, who just stopped by to visit. He goes to a college about twenty minutes away. Evidently they were high school sweethearts, so it amazes me that they didn’t decide to go to the same school like Hailey and Drew did. I guess they thought twenty minutes apart wasn’t that bad. After lunch, Hailey takes off to meet Drew and I go back to the dorm to get ready for cheerleading practice. I don’t see Hailey again until the next morning when we’re both waking up at the same time because it’s a day that we have the same classes.

  “What time did you get in last night?” I ask her.

  “Late. I fell asleep at Drew’s and didn’t realize it until Tyler woke us up.”

  “I was worried. I mean, I know you’re a big girl and I’m not trying to be all motherly or anything. But, wouldn’t you be worried if I didn’t come back to the dorm until early morning? We don’t even know 10% of the people here. Anything could happen.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll try to check in next time?”

  “Okay. Did Drew at least walk you back?”

  “Yeah, he did.”

  “Good.”

  English Lit and Algebra go just as smoothly as yesterday’s classes, since there’s no actual work yet. The professors just hand out the syllabi and read it off, going over specific assignments we’ll be responsible for throughout the semester. It’s nice having Hailey with me and I almost wish we scheduled all of our classes together after all. After lunch, though, she takes off to be with Drew and I get ready for cheerleading practice again. After practice, she’s nowhere to be found and not answering my texts again. I know I seem like a paranoid mother, but I literally sigh in relief when I hear her come in around eleven o’clock at night. This goes on for the next few weeks and I contemplate confronting her. On one hand, who I am to tell her what to do? She’s in college now and she has the freedom to be with her boyfriend as much as she wants. If I say something, she’ll probably just think I’m jealous of her spending more time with Drew than with me. But on the other hand, maybe I do worry that Drew is all she cares about lately; that he’ll distract her from having a real college experience. Plus, colleges aren’t necessarily known for being super safe at night.

  I finally work up the nerve to say something when we’re sitting around the common room with the twins one night. They’re having an argument over Ashley’s need to keep their dorm room neat and organized, while Julie leaves things laying around, claiming she doesn’t have time to pick up every day. Hailey looks over at me and smirks, because honestly it is kind of funny how they’re bickering like an old married couple.

  “Hail?” I ask.

  “Yeah?” She’s still suppressing a smile.

  “Don’t get mad, okay? But I think that maybe you’re spending too much time with Drew. You leave to be with him every afternoon and I’m usually sleeping when you come back to the dorm late at night, sometimes early into the morning. Doesn’t Tyler get weirded out that you’re there all the time? And it’s not really safe late at night either…”

  “Val, he’s my boyfriend. Of course I want to spend a lot of time with him. But I think I’m still making time for you too. We have lunch together almost every day. We have the same classes every other day. I usually don’t even see Drew until you go to cheerleading practice. And Tyler doesn’t mind. Besides, a lot of the time we’re not even in the dorm.”

  This surprises me. “Where are you then?”

  She sighs like she doesn’t want to tell me. “The library,” she reluctantly tells me.

  “The library?” I ask in disbelief. Why would that be a secret, I wonder.

  “Yeah, the library. I’m helping Drew with some research.”

  “For a class?”

  “No. Just some personal research.”

  I give her a look that shows I’m skeptical. I don’t know what she’s getting at, but it all sounds a little fishy to me.

  “Okay, look, I doubt Drew wants anyone to know about it, so I didn’t want to say anything, but we’ve been researching his family.”

  “I don’t understand. He reunited with his mom. I thought he didn’t really have much family around other than her?”

  “He does on his dad’s side.” She pauses, noticing my confusion. “His biological dad’s side,” she clarifies.

  “Oh,” I say, a little stunned. I know Drew never knew his biological father, but I also know that he passed away. I never thought about
the rest of his family on that side. “Why now?” I ask.

  “I don’t know. His mom mentioned something I guess, and he got to thinking that maybe he had grandparents or aunt and uncles, maybe cousins, in the area. It’s important to him and it’s a big decision to reach out to anyone he finds. I’m just trying to be supportive. I love him, Val. And he needs me right now.”

  “Oh.” I’m not sure what I can say to that. I get it. It makes sense why she wants to be there for him right now. “Okay, I understand then. I just get nervous with you being out so late and I guess I just kind of miss you not being here at night too. I still don’t know many people here and the twins are so close that sometimes I feel like a third wheel. Maybe I just need to find some single girlfriends to keep me company.”

  “You make it sound like we’ll never hang out again. I’m still here. I’ll always be here for you. I’ve just been a little preoccupied. Let’s plan to do something fun this weekend,” she offers, “Just us girls.”

  “Okay, yeah. That sounds great.” I smile brightly.

  “Mani-pedis? Dinner? Movie?”

  “How about mani-pedis, dinner, and a party?” I ask, knowing it’s a long shot. I doubt Hailey will want to go to a party without Drew.

  She presses her lips into a thin line. “What party?” she asks, skeptically.

  “I heard there’s a big party Saturday night at the Hansore House and I kind of wanted to check it out, but I didn’t want to go alone.” The Hansore House is a fraternity house on campus. I’m not even sure if they’ll let us in or if you need to be specifically invited, but I overheard some people talking about the party in my history class and I thought it sounded like fun.

  “I wouldn’t want you to go alone either, Val. That’s not safe at all. You never know what could happen. I’ll go with you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. What are friends for?” she smiles, but doesn’t sound overly thrilled.

  Chapter 5

  It’s a perfect day. Hailey and I sleep in until late morning, get ready, and then grab some lunch at the pizza place before we head out for our mani-pedis. She fills me in on the new friends she’s met in her Monday/Wednesday classes. I fill her in on the cheerleading girls and all their drama. I havn’t gotten particulary close to any of them, other than Ashley and Julie, yet. But I still hear all of their gossip and bickering. By the time we get to the restaurant for dinner, it’s already after eight o’clock and we can’t figure out how the time has slipped past us. We splurge on an expensive dinner. After dinner, we go back to the dorm to drop Hailey’s car off and walk over to the Hansore House.

  The whole street is packed with people before we even get up to the house. How is this party not broken up yet? It turns out, we don’t need to be invited at all. It seems like the whole college has an open invitation and I wonder if there’s anyone who’s not here.

  “Did you tell Drew you were coming here?” I ask Hailey as we walk past people on the porch while heading into the house.

  The music is so loud inside, she has to yell for me to hear her. “Of course. He said he might show up. I told him I was here with you though, so if he comes it’ll be to hang with his friends.”

  “You don’t have to not hang out with him if he’s here, Hail,” I yell back.

  “I know. But I don’t want to leave you alone here either.”

  “You make it sound like I need a babysitter.” I huff with frustration. I’m beginning to feel like a charity case, like she has to hang out with me.

  “No. I know. But I want to. This is girl time. Our time.”

  I ignore her because she doesn’t sound very convincing. It sounds forced and I wonder if she’d be having more fun with Drew. I start to feel guilty for dragging her here at all. “Do you want to leave?” I ask.

  “No. Of course not. We’re here to have fun, Val. I need this girl time just as much as you do. Now, c’mon, let’s get some drinks.”

  She pulls my arm and I walk behind her through crowds of people, following her until she comes to a stop. I look at the keg in front of us and before we can even ask, we’re each handed a red solo cup full of beer. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but I take a sip. Before I know it, I’m asking for a refill. Hailey and I walk out into the crowd and bump into Tyler.

  “Hey,” he greets us, smiling. He looks genuinely glad to see us and I can feel my mood lightening.

  Before I can even respond, I feel a bump from behind and I’m jolted forward. Tyler grabs my arms to steady me and we both laugh at the awkward encounter. I look up at him and he looks back, staring straight into my eyes. I inhale the smell of his cologne and savor the moment. When I look over at Hailey, she raises her eyebrows in suggestion so I turn away quickly, hoping Tyler didn’t catch her expression too.

  “So how are classes going?” he asks me, releasing my arms.

  “Good. Not too hard yet, just really time-consuming. I have so much homework and I’m exhausted by the time cheerleading practice is over.”

  “I know the feeling. I’m dead after football and it’s only gonna get worse. Same with the workload. Maybe we could help each other study?”

  “What classes are you in?”

  Drew and Craig walk up to us before he can answer my question. Tyler and Drew greet each other with a fist bump while Craig only nods his head and then turns to me.

  “Hey princess.”

  I can see Tyler scrunch his brows in confusion over Craig calling me ‘princess.’ I want to do something to assure him that Craig is nothing to me, but something stops me. I can’t explain it, but I can just tell that Craig is more sullen than usual. It was only one statement, one hello. But he doesn’t have his usual smirk and his voice is flat. I can see the weight of the world in his eyes. Something’s wrong. So instead of giving him a hard time, I reach my arms up around his neck and hug him tightly. I normally wouldn’t do this. Not only because it’s Craig, but also because I’m not normally so brave. But I think the beer is taking effect and seriously messing with my better judgment, so I don’t think it through. Somehow, I just know something’s not right and that he’s upset. Suddenly nothing else matters. I just want him to be okay. So I embrace him without trepidation. And he grabs a hold of me with a need that tells me I’m right, something’s definitely wrong.

  “You okay?” he whispers in my ear, giving me chills.

  I loosen my arms so I can look at him, but he doesn’t relax his grip right away, so I wait. A few moments later, I feel his grip loosen and I lift my head up to look at him. “I’m fine. Are you okay?” I counter.

  “Right now,” he says, rubbing my arms and gesturing to our closeness, “I’m more than okay.” But it still doesn’t sound right. There’s no pep in his voice. No usual smirk. He’s so serious. With any other guy, the sincerity would be romantic. But, with Craig, it feels almost sad. It’s just not like him at all.

  I lose myself in the feel of him for a moment. He looks down at me with sleepy bedroom eyes and I have a fleeting urge to kiss him. But before I allow myself to really think about it, I’m suddenly very aware of our closeness and I begin to realize how bad this must look to anyone else watching. I pull back, away from Craig’s grasp, and look around hastily. Tyler’s talking to Drew, but he keeps looking up from their conversation. I can tell he’s trying to figure out what that was and I can’t blame him. I’m still trying to figure it out too.

  “Princess, c’mon…” Craig urges, lightly latching his hand in mine and gesturing for me to follow him.

  I quickly pull my hand away. “I’m actually gonna get another refill,” I tell him as I walk away. I make my way past a small group of people and head over to the keg about fifteen feet away. When I get to the keg, I finally allow myself to look back. Craig is still standing there, just looking at me, while everyone talks and dances around him. I can feel his eyes burning into me, so I turn back to the keg and hold out my cup. I need to focus on something other than how sad he looks. This serious side of Cra
ig Morgan is just temporary. If I allow myself to be with him tonight, whatever’s bothering him right now would be gone tomorrow and he’d be back to his normal self, trying to pick up every other girl he can.

  “What was that?” Hailey says, scaring me half-to-death. I didn’t even realize she followed me over to the keg.

  “What was what?” I ask, playing stupid. I know exactly what she’s talking about, but I don’t want to admit it because I’m not entirely sure what that was myself. I take my newly-filled cup and walk through the crowd, not waiting for Hailey to re-fill hers.

  Why didn’t I just keep talking to Tyler? I was in a great mood ten minutes ago, before I saw Craig. Now, I’m in a sour mood and I’m not even sure why. I can’t even blame Craig because that was all me. I reached out to him. In front of everyone. And now Tyler probably thinks there’s something going on there when there isn’t. Craig isn’t serious about anyone, never mind me. I just thought I saw a vulnerability in him and it caught me by surprise. But that’s not who he is. I might have even imagined it. I probably wanted to see something in him that just simply isn’t there. And just as I’m thinking that, I catch sight of him again. But he’s not looking at me anymore. He’s with that girl who works at the Grind, Tiffany. The same girl he admittedly hooked up with before. They’re tangled in each other’s’ arms and it’s like a car wreck; I want to look away but I can’t. So I watch as his lips graze hers and then they’re making out. I know I don’t want to be with a guy like Craig Morgan, so I can’t explain why it feels like someone just punched me in the stomach. I feel physical pain coursing through my body. Why am I letting him affect me like this?

  I walk with purpose, keeping my distance from everyone I know. I walk from one room to another, until I’m standing outside on the porch of the Hansore House. I feel the sting of the cold air, unusual for early September, so I wrap my arms around myself as I look around. I’m only wearing a tank-top with a sheer black shirt over it. At least I opted for jeans and heels instead of the skirt I was originally going to wear tonight. I can feel the goosebumps on my arms as I rub them, trying to create warmth.