“I was just seeing what Autumn had planned this weekend,” he said.
Josie’s eyes widened, but she quickly composed herself. “Were you inviting her Saturday? You should come to the back to school party!”
“Oh, parties aren’t really my thing,” I said.
Not that I had ever been to a party, but I couldn’t imagine anything good coming from going to one. Ever since I could remember, my mom preached “Just Say No”. I never did anything she asked me not to do. Especially if she was doing it to keep me from ending up like them. After all, alcoholism is hereditary I’m told.
“You can ride with me; if you hate it, we can leave immediately,” Josie said.
“She said she doesn’t want to,” Liam said.
“I’ll go.” I shot daggers at him with my glare.
“Really?” Josie squealed, clapping her hands together. I smiled at her, doing my best to match her excitement. I wasn’t sure why I agreed to go. I was already regretting it.
“We can leave whenever you want,” she said.
“It’s fine. I actually plan on looking at cars Saturday anyway,” I said, shrugging.
“What are you looking for?” Liam asked.
“Cheap,” I said, shrugging again.
“I know some places nearby. I could take you,” he said. I knew he was only offering because he felt bad about earlier, but I refused to be a charity case.
“I’ll take the bus. I have to get a new phone and a few things that day. I wouldn’t want to keep you,” I said.
“It’s no problem,” he said, holding my gaze intently.
“No thank you. I’ll, uh, see you Saturday night I guess?” I said, offering a smile.
His face was unreadable as he kicked off the wall. “Sure thing.”
He was so weird. One minute, he liked me. The next minute he didn’t. I tried to shove him to the back of my mind, focusing on what I needed to do tomorrow.
Independence was calling my name.
I walked into our dorm, Josie on my flank. Our small room was suffocating me. I tore my backpack off and tossed it onto the floor before sitting on my bed. Josie sat across from me, grinning mischievously.
“What was that about?” she asked.
“Nothing, I just ran into him,” I said, lying. She looked disappointed. I could tell she wanted all the juicy details, but she knew she would never get them from me. I wasn’t a ‘sit around in my pajamas and talk about boys’ kind of girl.
“I thought something was going on there for a minute. He’s never with anyone. He’s kind of weird and moody,” she said, looking off into the distance. “I guess that’s what I get for thinking.”
Moody. I let that word marinate in my head. He was like that with everyone I saw. There was something about the way he looked at me today, and the way he was tonight, that made me want to run screaming for the hills, far away from his moody ass.
“I guess he was just being nice since I’m your friend,” I said, shrugging again, trying to figure out his moves.
She laughed. “He doesn’t care about me. We’re not friends or anything. I was just seeing what would happen if he stayed in my room for a few nights.” I was quite positive I made a face of disgust when she said that. But then again, who was I to judge anyone?
“Gotcha,” I said, not wanting her to elaborate. A pang of ugliness shot through my body. I obviously was not jealous of them. I didn’t know him. I was jealous that people could have normal human interactions, I guess. I was jealous of normal.
“He didn’t try anything. Like I said, he’s weird,” she said, laughing it off. I wished I had her confidence. If a guy didn’t want her, she thought he was weird. If a guy didn’t want me, I’d say they were a good judge of character.
I don’t know if it made me a bad person to feel relieved by him turning her down. I nodded in response, wondering if, had he been in a better mood, if he would have tried something with her. She was obviously gorgeous. I was sure she was the type of girl he was used to: bubbly, blonde, and beautiful. Everything I wasn’t.
“So, I was thinking I’ll let you borrow some clothes and help you get ready on Saturday,” she said, scanning my jeans and tee.
“I bought clothes yesterday,” I said. That was an absolute no to borrowing her clothes. Don’t get me wrong, a woman can dress how she wants. Me? Not so much. I like my clothes like I like my life: private and modest.
She looked at me nervously. “A dress? People get really into these things.”
“No, but I can get one Saturday.”
“Not necessary. You can borrow something from my closet,” she said, waving me off.
I cringed on the inside. She wore clothes that would make the devil blush. I didn’t argue with her, though. It felt like it would be a losing battle. A moody guy who kept popping up and a roommate who wanted to dress me in little clothing? Saturday would be interesting to say the least. It was better than home, though. Anything was better than the place I left.
Six
Fucking Josie.
I don’t know what I thought I would accomplish but inviting Autumn to the party that a bunch of drunk idiots would be at was not what I was aiming for. I wracked my brain, thinking of any excuse I could use to get her to not come, but I fell short. I’d already given my friends the idea that I’d slept with her. I thought I’d done enough.
This was a disaster. Therefore, girls and I do not spend more than an hour together. I wasn’t made for this kind of shit. I threw my shirt into my locker before tugging a fresh one on. I slammed it shut, the thud echoing in the empty room. The same room that brought
