“Who the hell is this at this hour?” I mumble.
“Erica, open the door now.” I hear Jared’s voice boom on the other side, and he sounds pissed.
Why would he be mad at me when I gave him an out by leaving?
I’m in my tank top and booty shorts when I answer. He looks out of breath, with his white t-shirt and jeans wrinkled from when he tossed them on the floor. His leather jacket no longer on him with disheveled hair and wild eyes.
He pushes through the door and locks his eyes with mine. Jared closes the door with his foot and pulls me to the wall gently. I gasp when his lips crash to mine. He aggressively kisses me like I’m his drug and he needs to feed his addiction. It’s as if he’s claiming my mouth.
I whimper in his hold as the kiss becomes more dominating, more passionate, than I’ve ever been kissed. When he pulls back he looks at me and his hands grip my face softly.
“You leave when I tell you to leave, don’t ever do that again,” he murmurs, and I nod because that’s all I can do even though I should tell him to stay the hell away from me. I can’t bring myself to say those words.
“Good,” he says and kisses the tip of my nose, then walks out of my dorm room without another word. My legs are weak and I feel lightheaded, but in the best possible way. Butterflies continue to soar around in my stomach. Looking out the window, I watch him leave and think to myself, what the fuck am I doing?
That night I did end up sleeping like a baby.
Start of a New Day
The next morning I awoke with a smile on my face. I feel satisfied and different about what happened last night. Maybe he does care about me? I know I like him perhaps more than I should. I realize we just met, but I feel an instant connection to him already. If I see him today I’m going to tell him that it can’t happen again. There are people after me, and he can’t get mixed up in my shit. There is no room to be selfish.
I’m starving but I have no time to eat before my first class. I get dressed quickly and make my way towards campus.
Dressed comfortably in my fitted, long sleeve, black shirt and fitted blue jeans I make my way to my first class. I am studying psychology. I find the human brain fascinating and want to learn more about it.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I smile when I see it’s my mom.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hey, sweetie. How is college life so far?”
“It’s actually been quite interesting so far.” I smile.
“Oh yeah? Have you seen that boy from the diner again?” she queries, and I can almost see her smile from here. Yes, I told my mom about Jared at the diner, so she knows all about him and how wonderful Darla has been to me.
“Maybe…” I giggle, and she laughs with me.
“Oh honey, how I wish to be your age again.” She huffs and we talk for a couple more minutes. She seems happy. She has a couple of interviews today so I hope something comes up for her.
As I walk through campus I feel good so far about the start of my day.
I make my way into my class.
There are about twenty people here already. I take a seat in the middle and pull open my laptop that I made sure not to sell because I knew I would need it.
More people start to gather inside the school and the classroom is now full. A shadow emerges over me and when I look up I see it’s a blonde girl, giving me a dirty look. This is just great.
“Erica, right?” She sneers and I meet her eyes, showing her I’m not intimated in the least when in fact I couldn’t feel more inferior. She is dressed like she’s going out for the evening, and I want to sprinkle some ugly dust on her and run.
“Can I help you?” I retort, and she narrows her eyes at me.
“I’m Stephanie. You need to stay away from Knox; he’s mine, not yours.”
“I didn’t know he was anyone’s property, I’m sorry. Are you his girlfriend or something?” I say in the most sarcastic tone I can muster. If she is, I will feel like this biggest slut on the planet. My stomach starts to churn at the thought.
“I may not be his girlfriend yet but I’m the one he always comes back to, so stop right now before you get hurt. Poor girl.”She laughs and everyone follows, making my face turn cherry red in embarrassment and anger.
“Get the hell out of my face before I make you regret your next words,” I threaten, standing up and facing her, not backing down.