“I need to talk to you,” he said.
I glanced behind me, and then shook my head as a warning. “Now is not a good time, Parker. It’s a really, really bad time, actually. Travis and Chris got into it at lunch, and he’s still a little raw. You need to go.”
Parker eyed Travis, and then returned his attention to me, determined. “I just heard what happened in the cafeteria. I don’t think you realize what you’re getting yourself into. Travis is bad news, Abby. Everyone knows it. No one is talking about how great it is that you’ve turned him around … they’re all waiting for him to do what he does best. I don’t know what he’s told you, but you have no clue what kind of person he is.”
I felt Travis’s hands on my shoulders. “Why don’t you tell her, then?”
Parker shifted nervously. “Do you know how many humiliated girls I’ve taken home from parties after they’ve spent a few hours alone in a room with him? He’s going to hurt you.”
Travis’s fingers tightened in reaction, and I rested my hand on his until he relaxed. “You should go, Parker.”
“You should listen to what I’m saying, Abs.”
“Don’t fucking call her that,” Travis growled.
Parker didn’t take his eyes from mine. “I’m worried about you.”
“I appreciate it, but it’s unnecessary.”
Parker shook his head. “He saw you as a long-term challenge, Abby. He has you thinking you’re different from the other girls so he could get you in the sack. He’s going to get tired of you. He has the attention span of a toddler.”
Travis stepped around me, standing so close to Parker that their noses nearly touched. “I let you have your say. My patience has run out.” Parker tried to look at me, but Travis leaned in his way. “Don’t you fucking look at her. Look at me, you spoiled shit stain.” Parker focused on Travis’s eyes and waited. “If you so much as breathe in her direction, I’ll make sure you’ll be limping through med school.”
Parker took a few steps back until I was in his line of sight. “I thought you were smarter than that,” he said, shaking his head before turning away.
Travis watched him leave, and then turned around, his eyes searching mine. “You know that’s a bunch of bullshit, right? It’s not true.”
“I’m sure that’s what everyone is thinking,” I grumbled, noting the interest of those walking by.
“Then I’ll prove them wrong.”
· · ·
As the week wore on, Travis took his promise very seriously. He no longer humored the girls that stopped him on his way to and from class, and at times he was rude about it. By the time we walked into the Red for the Halloween party, I was a little nervous about how he planned to keep the intoxicated coeds away.
America, Finch and I sat at a nearby table while watching Shepley and Travis play pool against two of their Sig Tau brothers.
“Go, baby!” America called, standing up on the rungs of her stool.
Shepley winked at her and then took his shot, sinking it into the far right pocket.
“Wooo!” she squealed.
A trio of women dressed as Charlie’s Angels approached Travis while he waited his turn, and I smiled as he tried his best to ignore them. When one of them traced the line of one of his tattoos, Travis pulled his arm away. He waved her off so he could make a shot, and she pouted to her friends.
“Can you believe how ridiculous they are? The girls here are shameless,” America said.
Finch shook his head in awe. “It’s Travis. I think it’s the bad-boy thing. They either want to save him or think they’re immune to his wicked ways. I’m not sure which.”
“It’s probably both,” I laughed, giggling at the girls waiting for Travis to pay them attention. “Can you imagine hoping you’re the one he’ll pick? Knowing you’ll be used for sex?”
“Daddy issues,” America said, taking a sip of her drink.
Finch put out his cigarette and tugged on our dresses. “Come on, girls! The Finch wants to dance!”
“Only if you promise not to call yourself that ever again,” America said.
Finch jutted out his bottom lip, and America smiled. “Come on, Abby. You don’t wanna make Finch cry, do you?”