by Gabriela Paz
As they got on the road, Leo asked his brother, “So, are you sure you want to study administration?”
“Yeah, why not? I like numbers. It’s easy,” Stefano answered, focused on the road.
“Just wondering what you want to do with it when you graduate.”
“I was thinking of working with dad. I will have a job right after I graduate. It’s perfect.”
“Seriously?” Leo said, surprised.
“Yeah.”
“I know Dad has always dreamed that we would work for him, but I never thought you would consider it. I sure never did.”
“Yeah, I know you didn’t, but I don’t want to fight it. This will make my life easier.”
“Don’t know about that.”
“Yeah, you are right. Dad can be a pain,” Stefano joked.
Leo was stunned to hear his brother’s plans. It seemed he was at peace with his decision, and he kind of admired him for it. It was true; working for his father was the easy way out. Getting a good job right after college was almost impossible these days. Leo could never imagine himself taking the easy way out. Plus, he had too much pride to give his father the pleasure of working for him.
When they finally arrived at the university dorms, Leo helped his brother get all his stuff up to his room. He kept looking all over the place for some sign of Eva, but he hadn’t seen her anywhere. Though he knew the chances of seeing her were slim, he still had hope.
A lot of students were arriving; it reminded him of his college days. He missed his friends and all of those great times he spent with them. Even if it all seemed like a distant memory now, he would never forget all the fun he had.
Suddenly he felt as if time had jumped one too many years ahead, and he was now beyond his prime. He felt a little sad because Eva was only at the beginning of her journey, and he wasn’t going to be a part of it at all. It had been silly of him to come. There were too many people around and too many dorms. There was no way he was going to run into her.
Stefano was about done putting the last of his things in his room when he turned to Leo and said, “You were hoping to find her here, weren’t you? I knew that you hadn’t come with me out of the goodness of your heart,” he chortled.
Leo didn’t even know what to say. He was embarrassed to admit it, but he also didn’t want to lie about it. “A part of me was hoping to, sure,” he said, pretending to be distracted by someone else walking by. He didn’t want to keep having this conversation; it was too awkward for him, and he wanted to leave already.
“It’s okay, bro. I’m glad you came, either way.”
Leo shook his brother’s hand and pulled him close to give him a tight hug. He loved his brother. They weren’t anything alike, but it didn’t matter. They had spent most of their lives together, and the love they had for each other was profound. Stefano hugged Leo back and tapped him strongly a few times on the back. This seemed to be his way of saying, “I love you, brother,” because he never dared to say it out loud.
Leo got in his car, closed the door, turned on the engine, and before he was about to leave, Stefano stopped him and said, “Don’t worry, bro, I will keep an eye out for her,” and left. No, you won’t. Leo was a bit jealous at the idea that his brother might get to see Eva more often than he did.
As these hurtful thoughts ran wildly through his mind, he noticed a couple of girls unloading their baggage from a striking red car. He was trying to find his way out of the dorm complex, but there were so many cars trying to park, and the traffic was horrendous. Leo moved forward slowly as he kept staring at the girls from the red car, but he still couldn’t quite see them clearly. More traffic had formed on the way to the exit now, and he was stuck in an irritating line.
Some students had decided to unload their suitcases in the middle of the road before even parking, so Leo was starting to lose his patience. It wasn’t until he got close enough to recognize Eva’s face that he realized it was all worth it. She was wearing a light summer blue dress and was accompanied by a rather tall blonde. Leo couldn’t help but notice the huge smile on their faces as they finished unloading their bags.
He considered stopping for a minute to say hi. After all, that was what he had gone there to do, but at that moment, it was clear to him that he needed to let her go. I can’t. He had been hanging on to her so strongly that he hadn’t realized that she was just a girl.
A young girl starting her life, and he needed to let her live it. He had already gone through so many of these experiences in his life, and they had shaped him into the person he had become. It broke his heart to let her go and to have her think that he was blowing her off. He had fought for her all this time to only reach this unbearable dead end.
But he couldn’t ignore that she was much younger and that the timing just wasn’t right. Going out there to see her would just seem desperate and inappropriate on his part. He solely hoped to have the chance to explain someday. The traffic started to clear slowly, and Leo drove by the girls, making sure Eva didn’t see him.
Goodbye.
CHAPTER 18
I Promise It’s a Small Party.
Everything was so new and unexpected as Eva began her new college life. She was thrilled about her new journey and panicky at the same time. Would she adapt fast? Would she open up and make new friends?
Her dorm was smaller than she expected, as there was just enough space for two single beds and one miniature desk by the entrance. It was still charming, and she was ready to make it feel homier as soon as she settled in.
There were lots of students in the building. The halls were packed the first couple of days, with freshmen moving in and getting to know each other. Cece was one of those people, making new friends and being extroverted as usual. It took longer for Eva to open up and make friends, and as much as Cece tried to introduce her to people, Eva remained quiet and reserved the first couple of weeks.
As the days passed and Eva started classes, everything started to fall into place. She had met most of her teachers and had familiarized herself around campus. She didn’t get to see Cece much during the day since their classes were so different. They didn’t even have one class in the same building, which wasn’t surprising since they had picked completely different majors.
There were students from all over the world, different races and cultures, different ages even. Everyone dressed in a different style, which seemed to perfectly match each of their personalities. Punks, preppy seniors, trying-to-be cool musicians, hippies, you name it.
The campus was huge. So many different buildings belonged to the university. Older ones, modern ones, and they were all scattered across the town. Eva had thankfully found a volunteer tour guide on the first day of school to help her find her classes. She was astounded at how much walking she had to do to get to each class. A lot of students on campus had a car, but since Cece was using hers, Eva had to walk most of the time.
Her classes were interesting, and every day that passed, she got more motivated to learn and do well. She had never found much incentive to study before, but it was different now. She wasn’t studying for general knowledge: she was studying something she enjoyed and could hopefully use in the future. Even though she still had to take mandatory core courses, which were a pain, at least she got to pick one elective each semester, which is exactly what kept her motivated. Art design was a pretty basic class, but it was a good start.
Forming a new friendship still remained a struggle. Eva had chatted with a few students during her classes, but she still didn’t feel like she was truly bonding with anyone. Cece remained the only familiar face to her in the whole school. That was until she saw him as she walked to her class one day.
“Eva, hi! It’s good to see you. You go here?”
Oh no, no, no, no. She couldn’t believe her eyes. His voice sounded graver than before, and his expression radiated excitement. Why is he so
happy to me? “Hey Daniel, yeah, I do. I’m guessing you do too?” She had been managing to keep him off her mind for a while, but she couldn’t deny the sudden shock her heart felt at seeing him again.
“Yes. This is my first semester. You look great. Haven't seen you in a while,” he smirked.
Awkward. “Thanks. Yeah, same here.” Please leave. She wanted to crawl under any hole she could find and bury herself in it forever. “Anyways, I gotta run.”
“Eva,” Daniel called out before she walked away. “I really hope we can put everything behind us and be friends.”
Friends? Pfff. “Yeah, that will be difficult, honestly,” Eva answered firmly. Although his hair had grown a few more inches and he looked undeniably gorgeous, she did not want anything to do with him. Why is he here? And why is looking at me like that?
He took a step closer to her and looked at her with his ocean blue eyes. The eyes she had seen in her sweet dreams and nightmares both. “Give me a chance. I promise I’m not a bad person.”
“Just drop it, Daniel,” she said to get him off her back. “See you around.” She finished as she walked away as fast as she could. Friends? Is he serious? There is no way.
“See you soon.”
As Eva got back to the dorm, she couldn’t help but tell Cece the news.
“You would not believe who I just ran into. Unbelievable! Out of all of the schools in the country, he had to come here? Seriously?” Eva shouted furiously.
“Calm down. Who did you run into?” Cece asked.
“Daniel!”
“Oh, crap…” Cece went quiet for a few seconds.
“Everything was going fine, and now I’m going to have to see him around. I don’t want to see him!”
It really wasn’t that long since she believed him to be her soul mate. How things changed. It’s been almost five months, Eva, for the love of God. Pull yourself together. She had finally gotten excited about someone else, which she never thought to be possible considering the short amount of time. And now she had to get over him too. Welcome to my life.
“Okay, breathe, please. The campus is huge. You won’t see him often, I promise. You hadn’t even seen him until now, and it’s halfway through the semester, so relax. Are you sure this is just about running into Daniel?”
“Of course! He’s such an idiot. He even told me he wanted to be friends. Can you believe it?” The nerve.
“Well, you don’t have to be friends with the guy, but maybe civil?”
“Forget it. I will say hello, and that’s it.”
“Eva?” Cece asked, giving her a look only Eva knew what it meant. It was an, ‘I can read right through you kind of look.’ The kind only best friends give to each other.
Eva didn’t know if she should laugh or cry. How can Cece read me so well? “Fine. It’s just that Leo never called or texted, and it’s kind of driving me nuts too.”
“I never knew you liked him this much. You were so sure you wanted to stay away from him.”
“I was, and I am, I think. I just followed my gut and got burned, I feel like. He should have said something. I really don’t understand.”
“Don’t overthink it. He wasn’t the one for you, and neither is Daniel. But there are plenty of fish in the sea if you know what I mean?” Cece grinned.
“Whatever!” Eva laughed. But I want Leo now.
“Speaking of fish in the sea, there’s a party tonight, and you gotta come with me this time. Maybe it will help you relax.”
“That is the worst idea you’ve had.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s at a friend’s house, nothing too big. It will be a good chance for you to meet people. Come on. Don’t let that idiot ruin your college experience.”
“Ugh, I hate it when you are right. But… no way. I don’t feel like going.”
“Oh, get up, that’s it, you are coming. Get dressed.” Cece said determinedly.
A cute short black dress and black strappy high heels were Cece’s outfit for the night. She had definitely brought all of her party attire from home since Eva had seen her already try about ten different dresses. Eva had brought only the necessities. She wore a nice, feminine light purple dress with black medium height heels that night. She didn’t feel like wearing heels at all, but since Cece was so damn tall, she didn’t want to look super short at her first college party.
They took a ride with one of Cece’s new friends, Madeline, and got to the party in a few minutes. Madeline was a really nice girl from Kentucky who Eva had talked to a few times. She liked her. She just didn’t know her too well.
As they arrived at the party, Eva was stunned. She knew the party was in a house, but this wasn’t merely a house, it was a mansion, and it was humongous from every angle. With three floors and at least ten bedrooms, the house looked like a clubhouse from one of those high-end golf country clubs. Cece didn’t even know who owned the place; she only knew that some of her friends were going to be there, and that’s all that seemed to matter to her.
As they all entered the mansion, Eva looked around and realized she didn’t know one single person. She was used to seeing familiar faces when she went out back home, but this was nice for a change. The place was packed as big as it was, and the music was incredibly loud. People were dancing and drinking, and some were hanging outside, drinking by the pool area.
“So much for a small house party Cece,” Eva said.
“I promise that’s what they told me. But we are here now, so let’s enjoy it, okay? Follow me.”
“Okay. We are right behind you.” Eva replied, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Cece headed outside towards the pool, where everything seemed slightly calmer. There were quite a few different crowds gathered by the bar and others by the pool loungers. Cece suddenly recognized her friends hanging out by the side of the bar and went to greet them.
“Hey, guys! I made it. These are my friends Eva and Maddie.”
“Hey,” they all replied almost at the same time. There were two girls who looked quite stoned and a decent looking guy checking them out.
“I’m Brandon. It’s nice to meet you, ladies,” he said confidently. He was smoking a cigarette, which Eva hated the smell of. She couldn’t stand to be around people who smoked. It made her nauseous.
“Hi, yeah, you too,” Eva coughed.
“Nice to meet you,” Maddie followed timidly. Since she also seemed uncomfortable, Eva grabbed her arm and took her to sit with her by the end of the bar to try to avoid Brandon.
“Jeez, he was really checking you out, wasn’t he?” Maddie said.
“Are you kidding? He was checking the both of us out. Or probably anything that has a skirt from the looks of it.” Eva said, rolling her eyes.
“Yes, he did seem that way to me. I hope he doesn’t come back to keep chatting.”
“He better not. I gave him my best-disinterested look, so I doubt he will.” Eva joked, well knowing that her disinterested look was not made up. “So, Maddie, I heard you are from Kentucky. How did you end up here?”
“Well, it’s simple, really. I wanted to get out and was willing to go anywhere else.”
Eva chuckled. “Gotcha.”
“Yeah, it’s a different world here, though. Everything seems different. People are different,” she said with her thick southern accent.
“I can imagine. I’m from here, and everyone seems different to me too. Maybe it’s the college vibe.”
“Must be it.” Maddie beamed. She seemed sweet and introverted, which gave Eva some comfort. At least she wasn’t the only one struggling to make friends and adjust to the new college life. In the meantime, Cece seemed to be having a blast with her new group of friends; she was laughing and drinking, pretty much oblivious to Eva and Madeline. Eva was used to it. Cece got along with lots of people, and she wasn’t about to hold her back now that it was her ti
me to enjoy herself. Madeline suddenly grabbed Eva’s arm and whispered, “Hey, I need to go to the bathroom. Would you come with me?”
“Yes, sure,” Eva answered.
Once back inside the mansion, they had no idea where they were heading. Eva kept trying to push people away as she struggled to find her way through the crowd. She hated the situation. There were too many people, and it was so loud that she couldn’t even hear herself think. As she finally got closer to a door, somebody pushed her brusquely. But before she could get angry and tell him to back off, she noticed that she knew him. It was Leo’s brother Stefano.
It was pretty dark, and she didn’t fully trust her sight until he screamed, “Hey, Eva!” confirming her suspicion. He looked quite drunk. His face was flushed, his shirt was halfway unbuttoned, and his hair was a mess. It definitely looked like he fit in perfectly.
“Hey! I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Yeah, you know, just having some fun,” Stefano said loudly.
“I can tell. This is my friend Maddie,” Eva shouted back, but it was too loud to really hold a conversation.
“Hey,” Maddie replied.
Suddenly Cece appeared out of nowhere and screamed, “Where were you two? I was looking for you everywhere!”
“Sorry. We were trying to get to the bathroom,” said Eva.
“You should have waited for me. I will come with you! Who is he anyway?”
“Oh, right, Stefano. This is my best friend, Cece.”
“Nice to meet you,” Stefano said happily.
“This is Leo’s brother,” Eva discretely whispered in Cece’s ear.
“Oh, you are Stefano! Good to meet you too! I’ve heard a lot about you.” Cece shouted. She was already tipsy.
“You have?” he asked, confused.
Crap. Cece and her big mouth. “Don’t listen to her. She’s drunk already.”