There was a battle royale, though, when it came to the apartment that they’d found. I wanted Cody to move in right away; they wanted to wait until after the wedding, which, even with all the rushing, wouldn’t be for months. I put my foot down and declared that I would not let Jess and Alexis back in if they didn’t relent, which was a fair compromise if you ask me.
In the end, I got exactly what I wanted, an apartment big enough for the four of us. As it turns out, Troy isn’t even Jess’ boyfriend; just another blind my family had put in place to fool me. I’ve been teasing Jess about making it in Hollywood ever since I learned the truth about that. She probably took lessons from mom.
We’d made up with Cody’s help, and after mom’s story about her best friend, I didn’t feel as betrayed as I had been when I first learned that the person I thought was my friend was actually my keeper. Nothing really changed, though, we just fell back into the same routine, and in fact, Alexis and I grew closer now that I knew she wasn’t really a stranger.
I even forgave her for lying about wanting to join the stupid sorority only to get me there at mom’s request. Mom is stuck on sororities for some reason; she still insists it’s one of the best parts of the college experience. I have yet to see it, but whatever.
The only dark blemish on an otherwise perfectly good week was Jeff. I’d forgotten long ago that he even existed. Since Cody or one of his guys are always around when I’m going and coming to class, the only time we’ve interacted was during sessions which weren’t easy since I’ve avoided sitting anywhere near him since the first time I realized he was interested in me.
But for some reason, once word about Cody and I getting married started spreading, he’s been hanging around more often. The last straw was when he ran up to me in the hallway and put his arm around me. I was a bit annoyed, but he’d laughed it off as a friendly gesture, and I’d let it slide.
But now, he seems to make disparaging comments about my relationship every chance he gets, and his sneers and glares are getting uglier by the day. I was beginning to wonder if maybe I’d missed something because his reaction was so out there for someone I hardly knew.
I didn’t mention any of this to anyone, though, and in fact, was finally breathing easier since the whole Susie thing got started. She was no longer on campus, as far as I knew, though she wasn’t supposed to turn herself in to start her sentence for a few weeks. A concession the judge had made, I guess, in good faith because of the senator.
We hadn’t heard a peep out of her, my car was back, and things were settling back to normal with the family gone. We’re set to move into the new apartment in a few days, which has everyone psyched, including Cody’s teammates, because there’s more than enough room for everyone to hang out together without feeling crushed.
There was even talk of having a housewarming party, which I was to have no hand in since my last party had ended in disaster. That was the joke started by either Steve or Chad, but they weren’t too far off the mark, so I decided to let them live and not let Cody pound them into dust when he heard it.
Cody, my Cody, has been a rock throughout this whole ordeal, and the fact that he lived through my family and still wants to be with me just makes me love him more. I was feeling pretty good about myself, all things considered.
I hadn’t even completed one full semester in college yet, and already I’d found myself the perfect husband, one that my family approved of and without even trying. Not only that, but Cody’s dad was on the mend thanks to dad’s efforts which were something I’d secretly been worried about. We still had a ways to go, but so far, things were looking much better, and at least for now, he was out of the woods.
Now instead of just me going out to meet his parents, there was talk of the whole family getting together in a couple of weeks, which I’m no longer terrified about. “Hey baby, what schemes are you plotting now?”
“Who me? I’m not; I’m looking for furniture for the new apartment.” Actually, I was looking for a set of gaming chairs that would go perfectly side by side.
I’d only just learned that there were females playing that game he likes so much, and they team up sometimes. Since I’m not good enough yet to be his partner without making him lose his stats, I plan to stick close lest I find myself another Susie.