Someone should bottle up heartache and sell it to people with sleep disorders. I don’t know how long I’ve slept, but Kia’s gone and I awaken to a loud banging at my door.
“What?” I ask crankily.
“It’s Robin.”
Robin is the resident assistant of our floor and barely does her job. It must be important if she wants something.
“I’m still in bed.”
“Open the door, Willow.”
I crack open the door.
“What’s wrong?”
“There’s a crazy person downstairs in the lobby asking for you and he won’t leave until you come down.”
“A crazy person?”
“A crazy person who happens to be the quarterback of the Copper Grove Panthers.”
“Oh.”
“If you don’t come down and talk to him I’m going to call security. He’s causing a fucking scene, and it’s my job to handle scenes at the only all-female dorm on campus.”
“Well, I’m not coming down there.”
“Why not? He’s here for you.”
“I don’t want to talk to him.”
“You don’t want to talk to Freak Jennings?” she asks incredulously. It sounds more like an accusation than a question.
“Does that shock you?”
“Isn’t he your boyfriend or something? At least that what the campus chickens are clucking lately.”
“He’s nothing to me,” I say, but the words stick in my throat and I tear up. I was never a good liar.
Robin gives me a brief look of pity, then says,”If campus security comes, they’ll take a report and I’ll be forced to notify his coach, Willow.”
“Is that all you care about?” I shout. “Whether the great CGU football team wins or not? Who gives a damn!”
“Hey, lower your voice. I don’t care about any of it, but you obviously care about him. So, am I calling security or not?”
“I’ll come down,” I comply. “Give me a second.”
I look at myself in the mirror and wipe the tears from my puffy eyes. Because I was crying half the night, I look like a very sad raccoon. My dark circles are more pronounced and my hair is tangled.
But it doesn’t matter what I look like, I think to myself. Who am I trying to impress? I’ll tell Freak to go fuck himself and then get back to my normal routine. I’ve been slacking on my exam prep because of that lying asshole. I need to get back to my life.
My real life.
When I get downstairs, there are girls in the lobby gawking at a mound of muscle pacing in front of the double doors to our dorm.
When he sees me coming toward him, his eyes lower, and it only confirms that everything a very high Kia told me last night was true.
“What do you want?”
