I let out a small gasp because, well, that was so sweet.
“Will you send me a text so I’ve got your number?”
“Sure.”
“Promise? Will you do it as soon as we go?”
I don’t know why he needs it, but I’m not going to argue with him right now. I want Bradley out of here. “Yes. Promise.”
“Then, I’ll text you later.” As I walk him to the door, he leans down and gives me a light kiss on my cheek. “Talk to you soon, Pixie,” he whispers in my ear.
“Night, Alex.”
As he leaves, I shut the door and turn around to face Brooke. She’s glaring at me. What’s new? I cross my arms and wait. I know something is coming.
“What?”
“Oh, I don't know. I’m at a complete loss. Has something happened to the space-time continuum? I just can’t figure out how you have two guys fighting over you. You!” she scoffs. “You’re fat!”
In my experience, girls like Brooke are predictable. All they have going for them are insults and hurtful remarks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have anyone fighting over me. Well, Bradley is hanging on to something, but I don’t know why. What I don’t get, Brooke, is why you’re still hanging out with Bradley.”
“I’m not hanging out with him,” she snipes. “I just don'tcare enough about any of this to give a damn about him or about you. It’s perplexing that he’s trying so hard to win you back. I mean, did you even question why a guy like Bradley wanted to date you? It didn’t cause any alarm bells to go off in that fat head of yours? You can’t possibly believe that someone of Bradley’s caliber really wants to be seen with you.” Her scowl turns into something much more sinister. “I’ll tell you why he was with you. It’s because you're his ticket to getting a job at your dad’s law firm. Not to mention, you’re going to make it super easy for him to make partner in record time.”
I’ve thought about our relationship a lot in the last twenty-four hours. He used to do everything he could to avoid being seen with me, except around our parents. I had already figured out that he thought marrying me would get him a job, but I hadn’t gotten to the partnership part of the equation just yet. It all fits, though.
But Brooke isn’t finished. “The truth is, Stella, you disgust him. He told me he was dreading the time when he was going to have to see you naked and have sex with you.”
Okay, that hurts. A lot. Deep down I know that guys aren’t attracted to me, but I thought Bradley was the exception, that he really cared about me and loved me. He knows how insecure I am. I figured he was sensitive to my feelings.
My thoughts are interrupted when she says, “I don’t know what game Alex Emerson is playing with you, though. but believe me when I say, you are not his type either.” She’s silent for several seconds. I’m not sure what’s she waiting for. “Well, aren’t you going to say anything, or are you just going to go into your room and eat your feelings? That’s what you do, right? Eat your feelings?” She snorts, and it’s as unattractive as her personality. “You must have a lot of feelings.”
In a surprising twist, Brooke’s offensive words don’t make me cry. Nope, they make me angry. I want to tell her to go fuck herself, but that’s not the way I was raised. Instead of engagingwith her anymore, I walk toward my bedroom, but before I enter, I turn to Brooke. “You know, I don’t understand why you’re so angry and hateful and why that hate is directed at me specifically. I can’t imagine what made you the person you are right now. Were you abused psychologically? Beaten? Abandoned on the side of the road as a child? Raised by wolves? I just don’t get it.”
I don’t know anything about Brooke, but I suspect that her life was not filled with tragic moments but with a lot of overindulgence by her parents. Brooke is a bully, a mean girl, and a bitch. There’s nothing I could ever say to change her now. “The thing is, Brooke, I don’t care enough to try to figure you out. That ship has sailed. I just plan on avoiding you from now on, and I hope you can do the same for me. I’ve only got to live here a month, thank goodness. While I’m here, I plan to spend that time focusing on other things––not on you.” I don’t wait for a response. I just walk into my room and shut the door. Leaning against the door, I sigh with relief. Living with that woman is so dang stressful. No matter how much bluster I show, the truth is I’m not up for dealing with her for a month.
That’s when I hear her yell, “Fuck you!”
Nice.Real nice.
I collapse onto my bed. It’s been one awful day—no, it’s been two terrible days. Tomorrowhasto be better. That’s my new mantra. Tomorrow will be better! Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I stare at it. Then I hear Alex’s voice in my head.Promise me you’ll text me.
“Shoot.” Before I overthink it, I search my contacts for his name. I laugh when I see what he used for his contact name. “Alex Emerson, Football God.” He’d put his number in my phone yesterday, and this will be the first and probably only time I’ll bother him.
Me:Hi Alex Emerson, Football God. This is Stella Matthews, average girl.
Yeah, sounds lame, I know.
Next, I decide the only thing that will actually make me feel better about all of this is talking to my best friend. It’s strange, we only live across campus from one another, but it feels like miles. In my contacts, I press Lily’s name. When she picks up, I start talking, and I don’t stop until I get to the last thing Brooke said to me as I shut my door.
“Holy shit, Stella. Poor baby. I can’t believe the crap that’s been going on over there. My life is boring compared to your drama.”
“I wish my life were boring. Trade ya.”
“I’d trade you on some of that but not all of it. Bradley is a grade-A asshat. You know I’ve always felt that way about him.”
Lily has known Bradley as long as I have, and she’s always thought he was a self-serving whiner. She doesn’t restrict her censure to just Bradley though. She has extended it to include his entire Northwestern University Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. According to Lily, ΣΑΕ is the douchiest frat on the planet. Seriously, if you google “douchiest frat,” Sigma Alpha Epsilon was listed number one byRolling Stonemagazine. No joke.
“I know. I… well, I was just hopeful. You know I’m a dreamer. I prefer to see the good in everyone until they show me otherwise.”
