“They need to fix some of those lights on the trails, too,” I added.
“We don’t have anything to do with that maintenance, but I agree with you.”
“Thank you, officer.”
“Here’s my card. Call me if something else happens. She didn’t give us a lot to work with. I didn’t even get a copy of the email.”
“I know,” I said, feeling bad as I took the card. “Thank you.”
“Just doing my job.”
I waved then walked outside, expecting to see Jocelyn. She was nowhere in sight. Instead of rushing off to find her, I went to class a bit early. Austin sent a text on the walk over, but I didn’t answer. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore.
TWENTY-FIVE
Brooke
After classes, I went to the apartment to check on Jocelyn. She was sulking on the couch when I walked in.
“You okay?” I asked as I set my backpack down near the door.
“No,” she said. “I’m afraid to go out.”
“You should call off work for the night.”
“I already did. They don’t believe me either.”
“What did they say?”
“They’re giving me the day off, but they laughed at me. I’m about to lose my job there, I think.”
“You can’t let that happen,” I said. “If I move out at the end of the semester…”
She stood up and cut me off, saying, “Don’t move out on me. Please. Not now.”
“We both know this isn’t working out. You’re a good friend, and I don’t want to end up hating you because we lived together too long.”
I rubbed her arm a moment.
“Can you think of anyone who would do this to you? Anyone who would want to hurt you?”
“Just one.”
“Leave him out of this. Austin had nothing to do with it.”
“You’re going to be okay,” I said.
“How do you know?” she snapped.
“You know what? I’m going to call Austin’ roommates. They’re always with him.”
“They’ll just lie for him.”
“Maybe, but I’m going to ask them.”
“I’m going to lay down.”
She stood and walked out of the living room. I wondered if I should call Austin or just go over to his house? It wasn’t far away, and I hadn’t seen or talked to him since the night before. Damn, he was right. All we did was fuck or fight.
I took a deep breath then got to my feet. A minute later, I was out the door and walking toward Austin’ house. I was going to get to the bottom of this by the end of the night. Part of me wanted to believe Jocelyn, but she’d lied one too many times before.
On the way over, I saw Trey walking toward me from the other end of the block. Before I could cross the street to avoid him, he raised a hand and called out. What now? I thought as he came closer, stopping when he reached me.
“Hey, Brooke.”
“Hey, Trey. How’s your knee?”
“Better. You going to see Austin?”
I nodded.
“Hey ya know, I just wanted to apologize for how I acted at that mall that day. I was a total ass. I was just embarrassed I guess. I need to relax sometimes.”
This was a change. “It’s not a big deal, we all have our moments.”
“Cool. I’m on my way to class, but Austin’s hanging out with Teddy and Brian. I’ll see you later maybe.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
After a wave, I continued on my way, before walking up to the porch, I stopped on the sidewalk and looked in the living room window. The only thing I saw was the flickering of a television screen.
I would just go back home and tell Jocelyn he denied it. She could take care of her own problems. I didn’t need all this craziness, especially after my midterm grades.
No matter how hard I tried to justify walking away and saying goodbye to Austin once and for all, I was not able to resist his magnetic pull.
He had power over me, a fact that excited and terrified me at the same time. Previous to meeting him, I’d had the next six years of my life planned out.
Now, I wasn’t sure where I stood one day to the next. He had given me plenty of wonderful moments, but not everything had been a walk in the park. I had to know the truth, decide once and for all what we were doing.
I sighed then stepped toward the porch. The door opened before I reached it. Austin walked out laughing with his two other roommates behind him.
“Hey, Austin.”
He stopped laughing and turned his attention to me. Those brown eyes so deep and dark stared at me as I stood there feeling awkward as hell.
“Hey, Brooke. What’s up?”
“We need to talk,” I said.
He frowned.
“What now?”
Oh boy. Here we go…
TWENTY-SIX
Austin
When I saw her standing at the bottom of the steps, something inside me said it wasn’t going to be good. She shuffled from one foot to the other.
“Can I come in? It’s getting chilly.”
“We were on our way to Marticello's, but sure…”
“It’s important,” I said. “At least I think it is. I’m not sure anymore.”
“Go ahead fellas, I’ll catch up with you.”
“We’ll wait inside, take your time,” Teddy said.
“Are you going to invite me in?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. Depends why you’re here.”
“Did you or did you not write a threatening email to Jocelyn?”
“What?”
She moved toward me, “Listen I know you were pissed about what people were saying online. You even told me you thought it was her. So what did you Austin? Think this would shut her up?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“We went to the police. She thinks you sent her a threatening email. Harassing her. The cops thought it was serious too.”
“She said it was me? And you went with her? You didn’t stop her? Or ask her if it was someone else?”
“I’m not taking anyone’s side except my own.”
“It would be nice if you took my side.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, first Jocelyn spreads lies about me online, and now she’s saying I threatened her? What a load of bullshit.
We made eye contact.
“Jocelyn said…”
“You know what,” I interrupted. “Screw Jocelyn, and her next level crazy. As for you, Brooke, I expected so much more. I thought we had something real.”
“We did, we do, it’s just…”
“It’s just what? You still think I’m some playboy jock? You haven’t heard anything I’ve said these past couple months, have you? Always judging. I didn’t do shit to your roommate, not that she wouldn’t deserve it. Brooke, you’re being blind. Figure your shit out, and don’t call me until you do.”
She pushed my chest with her arms then walked off the porch. As she stormed down the walkway toward the sidewalk, Trey appeared from the other direction. He walked across the yard to the porch.
“What’s going on here?”
“I’m fucking done with her,” I said, blood still boiling.
“I’ll take her off your hands if you want,” Trey said with a laugh.
I rushed forward, throwing my body against his without even thinking.
“Whoa!” Teddy yelled, rushing over from inside the house, clearly he and Brian were watching.
Trey wasn’t a wimp. He wrestled back, both of us holding back but still being aggressive as hell. Teddy ran over and managed to pull us apart.
“Fuck you, bro,” Trey snarled, trying to get around Teddy.
“Yeah, fuck you!” I yelled. “I’m sick of all this shit.”
“Damn,” Teddy said. “Is there a full moon or something tonight? Everyone is going bat-shit crazy.”
“Why the hell are we fighting about some chick?” Trey asked.
“You know, I’m n
ot sure.”
I found myself falling for Brooke in a big way, but her believing everything Jocelyn said? I was fucking over it. All of it.
I offered Trey my hand. He shook it, gripping almost as tight as me.
“Bros before hoes,” he said.
“She’s not a hoe…”
“You know what the hell I mean, man.”
He pulled me closer and gave me a bear-hug. I felt Teddy patting my back.
“Is a woman worth all this?” Teddy asked.
“No,” I admitted. “But she’s no normal woman.”
“Obviously,” Trey said. “She’s playing games with you. We need to get in the zone for the next few games. Coach is pissed at us for losing last week.”
“Yeah…”
Whether I enjoyed admitting it or not, he made sense. I pushed Trey away then turned and saw Brian standing on the porch looking lonely.
“Get over here, roomie. We’re doing a house-huddle then a night of drinking and brotherhood.”
“Fuck yeah!” Trey yelled, getting into it.
“Football forever,” I screamed into the night air, not caring if Brooke heard me.
She had probably made it back to her own apartment. Let her deal with that nutty roommate of hers. I put my arms around Teddy’s shoulder and headed to the porch.
Inside, we played some old school Beastie Boys at full volume – Fight for Your Right to Party. I didn’t want to drink any alcohol, but a group of guys could have fun without drinking.
I was sure of it.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Brooke
Austin called the next morning and invited me to breakfast. He sounded hungover, and sorry. I agreed to meet him, but walked over instead of letting him drive me. We both needed to say we were sorry. We both needed the truth.
“So, what are we going to do about the Jocelyn situation?” He asked after we ordered.
I smiled at the word “we.”
“Well, I should move out right away, but I have nowhere else to go. And I feel sorry for her. She’s not going to be able to come up with the money to break the lease.”
“Is your name on it?”
“Yeah, but I’ve got some money saved up. I can pay a few months to get out of there, but I still don’t have anywhere to go.”
“You could move in with me?”
“And Trey and your other roommates? No thank you.”
He laughed.
“They’re not that bad.”
“It’s going to be a big enough adjustment living with you.”
“Oh, yeah? You think so?”
I felt his hand rubbing my back.
“You don’t?”
He glanced away a moment.
“Yeah, I guess it freaks me out too. We fight so much.”
“Over stupid stuff,” I said.
“Mostly stupid.”
“I didn’t mean like unimportant stupid. Jocelyn is causing a lot of drama. I thought I could trust her, but now…”
My voice trailed off.
“You don’t trust her anymore?”
“No, and I do trust you.” I stared into his eyes. “Can I trust you?”
He answered with a kiss as the waitress returned with our medium pineapple and ham pizza and pitcher of iced tea.
“Thank you,” Austin said to the waitress.
She walked away.
“Do you thinking someone actually even threatened her, or do you think she made it all up?” He asked.
“It makes sense why she ran out of the police station so fast. But honestly, I have no idea. You know what she’s like. She could have plenty of enemies out there.”
“We need to agree that Jocelyn isn’t going to come between us.”
“That’s up to you, too. If I recall, you’re the one…”
“Okay,” I said, cutting him off. “I’m to blame too. We both let her manipulate us.”
He picked up a slice and took a bite off the end, cheese trailing from his mouth. After sprinkling some parmesan cheese on mine, I bit off a healthy-sized piece.
“You want to come back to my place? After we finish eating?” he asked.
I sighed, thinking of what was waiting for me back at my apartment.
“No, I should go to my place and let Jocelyn know I’m moving out. Maybe I can find someone who wants to sublet their room or something. Just until we get this all figured out.”
“Maybe. I’ll ask around.”
“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”
“Don’t mention it.”
He scooted off the bench and stood up. As I looked up at him, the smile vanished from his face. I craned my neck to see over the back of the booth.
“Hey, Coach,” Austin said.
The way his voice caught in his throat told me this wasn’t good.
“Austin. I heard you might be here.”
“Heard from who?”
“Doesn’t matter. You know my team rules, right?”
“Yes, Coach.”
“And you’re breaking one of them right now. That’s not good for you.”
I glanced around the dining room, seeing quite a few people looking at us, but I didn’t recognize any of them. Had one of them called the football coach on us? What was the big deal, anyway?
“Hello,” I said, standing up and offering my hand. “I’m…”
“This is my cousin Brooke,” Austin blurted out.
“Your cousin, huh?”
The coach turned his attention to me. I smiled and bent my elbow to raise my hand close to my chest in a mini-wave.
“I’m his cousin. Nice to finally meet you.”
“You better not be lying to me, Austin.”
“I’m not, Coach. I know your rules, and I appreciate you helping me go pro.”
“I know a lot of people,” he said. “And my rules are in place for a reason. I can’t have you go making a fool of me, now can I?”
“No, Coach.”
“I should go,” I said. “Talk to you at the family reunion, cuz.”
He nodded his head at me. I walked away, wondering what the hell had just happened. Was it really that serious? None of it made sense.
On the way home, the confusion turned to anger. Had Austin really chosen football over me? Was that stupid ball of his more important than me?
I stopped thinking clearly as I got worked up the closer I got to my apartment. Would I not be moving after all? All the drama pissed me off.
Why couldn’t any of this be easy?
TWENTY-EIGHT
Brooke
The moment I walked in our apartment, I made up my mind to leave as soon as possible. Jocelyn and a group of her friends were sitting in our living room. She lifted a wine bottle in the air when she noticed me. I glared at her, not saying a word.
“Hey, Brooke. Come join us.”
“Everyone needs to leave,” I said sternly.
The half-dozen people crammed into our tiny living room sighed and booed me, but I didn’t care as I pointed a finger at the door. For someone worried about being harmed she sure looked mellow.
“Now!”
“This is my apartment too,” Jocelyn said drunkenly. “You can’t do this shit to me.”
“I’m not going to tell you guys again.”
The others stumbled to their feet, looking back and forth between Jocelyn and me. She defiantly took another drink. Her friends turned to me.
“I’m calling the landlord. You know there’s no partying allowed here.”
“This isn’t a party,” Jocelyn whined. “You’re no fun anymore.”
Some guy in a green turtleneck sweater laughed. I shot him a look that sent him scurrying to the door. Jocelyn walked over to me.
I smelled marijuana and cheap wine coming off her clothes and out of her mouth. As she stared into my eyes in a threatening manner, I decided to move out the next morning, no matter what it took.
“Let’s go guys. We’ll party on campus. My roommate’s being annoyin
g.”
She broke eye contact with me and stumbled toward the door. The others followed. When they were all finally outside, I twisted the latch.
I hoped she wouldn’t come back, at least not that night. As I surveyed the damage they’d done to the apartment, I took a deep breath.
I’d take care of it in the morning.
While tempting, it was still early, and I wouldn’t be able to study with the living room still trashed. I walked over to my recliner and saw someone had spilled wine on it.
“Shit!” I screamed.
A guy who had been laying behind it, out of view, sat up and glanced around with a look of confusion on his face.
“Who the hell are you?” I asked.
“Oh, hey. I’m Timbo. Where’s Jocelyn at?”
“Get out of my apartment! Now!”
He grabbed the arm of the recliner and got to his feet. I stood a few feet away, hands angrily crossed over my chest. I watched as he left.
After locking the door behind him, I made a sweep of the house, looking for any other stragglers. Even though I hadn’t found anyone, I still got even angrier.
She was nuts. I was leaving tomorrow no matter what.
I left the mess for her to clean up and retreated to my room. Studying was the last thing I wanted to be doing, but I had to keep my grades up.
To pay for my own room, I might have to work extra hours, which would mean less time for studying in the future. Better to be ahead, I reasoned.
Did Austin worry about the same things as me? Or had life always handed him everything he wanted on a silver platter? The way he acted sometimes, I wondered.
I pushed him out of my thoughts and hit the books hard. Later that evening, as I laid in bed, I imagined what it would be like to have Austin as a husband.
Would being the wife of a sports star make my own dreams less relevant? Couldn’t he play professional football while I studied to get my advanced Doctor of Nursing Practice degree?
Reality, thankfully, slipped away and dreams entertained and enlightened me the rest of the night. In them, Austin played a huge role, the hero and the villain at the same time.
* * *
I woke the next morning to the sound of someone banging on the door. If that was Jocelyn, I was going to kill her, I thought as I threw back my covers.
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