“No, Patrick,” Ella said.
“You seem aloof,” Patrick pressed on to her annoyance.
“I’m sorry,” Ella replied. He leaned forward to kiss her again, pressing his lips to hers. Ella kissed him back a bit, but for the most part, her mind was still on Liana, Lucas, and Mary. Patrick’s hand trailed up her inner thigh, and he pushed up her skirt, trying to evoke a reaction out of her. He kissed her neck. Ella gently pulled away.
“Patrick, stop,” she said. “I can’t do this anymore.”
He sat up. They were seated at the back of his car where he had parked on top of a hill so they can “watch the sunset.”
“What have I done?” he asked. He looked like he was ready to panic.
“Nothing. That’s the problem. You’ve done nothing.”
Patrick only looked more confused.
“Liana died today, six months ago,” Ella continued. Patrick’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t-” he begun.
“You didn’t know. I get it. That’s the problem, Patrick. You know nothing about my life except for what I did all day. Why did we start dating in the first place?”
“Is this about Liana?” he said stupidly.
Ella sighed, losing her patience now. “No. It isn’t. I just need some space. So much has been happening and I need some time. Can you give me that?”
Patrick swallowed, but then he nodded. “Okay,” he said, managing a weak smile. Ella touched his cheek and leaned forward to kiss it. Then, she stepped out of the car and took the passenger seat. Patrick got behind the wheel and drove her home. They didn’t speak the rest of the ride.
Ella hesitated as she was about to enter the library. She had seen Mary and Lucas go inside and was apprehensive of what to expect. Hiding behind the entrance door, she peered inside.
“Spying, are we?” a voice behind her said, making her jump. She turned around to see Adam standing there, a lazy grin on his face.
“Can you do me a favor?” she whispered.
“Sure,” he whispered back. “Why are we whispering?”
“Can you go get this book for me?” Ella shoved a paper with a name scribbled on it. “I don’t want to go inside.”
“Sure. Why don’t you want to go inside?”
“Help now, questions later.”
Right that moment, Lucas appeared around the corner. He was alone, which was a relief for Ella. She pushed Adam ahead and retreated from the door.
“What are you doing here?” Lucas asked Adam suspiciously.
“Are you suggesting I can’t be seen in the library?” Adam replied, dramatically.
“I once asked you to get me a book from the library. You asked me where the library is.”
“Fair point,” Adam replied. “Well, I just came to get a book…”
“For whom?”
“Myself.”
“You don’t read.”
“Don’t be mean, Lucas,” Adam replied, feigning hurt.
Ella watched as Lucas took the paper from him.
“For Ella?” he asked, frowning.
“No, for myself,” Adam replied unconvincingly.
“That’s Ella’s writing.”
“She wrote the book down for me.”
“You don’t take astronomy,” Lucas pointed out. “This is an astronomy book.”
“Alright, it’s for Ella,” Adam said. Ella imagined him rolling his eyes, but his back was towards her. Lucas was about to reply when Mary appeared.
“The girlfriend arrives,” Adam said sarcastically.
“Hi, Adam,” Mary said cheerfully.
“Hullo,” Adam replied nonchalantly. “I’ll be going now.” He walked inside the library.
“What’s up with him?” Mary asked Lucas. Lucas shrugged.
“Well, do you want to go back to our table?”
“I’m sure our books are missing us terribly,” Lucas replied.
“Books we aren’t going to be reading.”
Mary grabbed his hand and led him back behind the shelf.
Moments later, Adam appeared with her book.
“Thanks,” Ella whispered. “Let’s leave now.”
They walked down the corridor and out into the grounds before Adam spoke up again.
“So why weren’t you going in?” he asked.
“Oh you know…” she said, hoping he’ll drop the subject.
“Nope, I don’t.”
“Didn’t feel up to-”
“And you ran away when Lucas came.”
“I’m avoiding humans.”
“What am I?”
“A human.”
“Are you avoiding Lucas?” Adam asked, amused.
“Of course not. Why would I be avoiding Lucas?” Ella asked briskly.
“Well, I don’t know. The possibilities are endless.”
“I just don’t like people kissing in public which Lucas and Mary do quite a lot of.”
“So this is about PDA?”
“Yes.”
Adam grinned. “If you say so.”
They walked in silence.
“But if there’s something you want to talk to me about,” Adam spoke up. “Just know that you can. We might be on the same page about…certain things.”
“What certain things?” Ella asked, but Adam only grinned enigmatically.
As if the day couldn’t get any worse, Patrick appeared in front of them. He was with his friends which was a relief because Ella did not want an awkward encounter. She pulled Adam’s arm to turn him in a different direction.
“Are we avoiding Prince Charming too now?” Adam asked.
“He’s not Prince Charming anymore.”
“Whoa. When did that happen?”
“Last night.”
Adam was quiet. “Does your sudden break up with Prince Charming have anything to do with Mary and Lucas’ sudden realization of endless love?”
“No. That doesn’t make any sense, Adam.”
“I suppose it doesn’t.”
Ella was able to avoid Mary and Lucas for a good four days before encounter was inevitable. She spent most of her time with Donna and on the weekend, she went to visit her dad. When she returned to her apartment after the weekend, Mary was waiting for her. She threw her arms around Ella.
“Whoa Mary,” Ella said as the other girl nearly crushed her with surprising strength for someone so small.
“Lucas told me about Liana’s half year anniversary. I’m sorry, Ella. I’m a terrible friend.”
“You’re not,” Ella insisted as Mary let her go. Mary pulled her inside and onto the living room couch.
“How’s your dad?” she asked.
“Well. He’s going away again.”
Mary nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Lucas.”
“It’s alright.”
“No, no, it isn’t. Especially since you told me not to do anything with him if it may ruin your friendship.”
Ella was silent.
“I’ll make sure nothing ruins anything between the three of us.”
Ella smiled and nodded, wanting nothing more than to lock herself up in her room and sleep. The bus ride had been exhausting.
Instead, she asked, “How’s Luke? Are you two happy?”
“I’m very happy,” Mary said, and she looked it too. “I haven’t been this happy since… well, since a long time. It’s nice to finally meet someone real.”
Ella nodded, trying not to feel her heart sinking. Mary was happy. Ella was supposed to be happy for her.
“He’s happy too, I guess,” Ella found herself saying.
“You were annoyed at Lucas a couple of days back,” Mary mused. “What was that about?”
“He sent my painting to California Post, and I was annoyed about it because he didn’t ask.”
“Ah, I see. Can I see the painting? I’m sure it was incredible.”
Ella walked to the pile of newspapers and pulled out the painting. It showed a drunken man sprawled across the deck of
a ship. A few bottles lay at his feet, and the ship was lopsided as if one part of it had sunk. Mary appreciated the depth and clarity of the details Ella had painted.
“It’s beautiful,” Mary said. She noticed the name written across the ship. The Chevrolet. “Oh, what a coincidence. Lucas is writing about a ship called The Chevrolet too.”
Perhaps deep down, Mary knew it was too strange to be a coincidence, but she did not want to think about it.
And perhaps, Ella knew it too. Or maybe, she only hoped that it meant something… anything.
It was another couple of hours before Ella ran into Lucas as she exited her class.
“Hi,” Ella said awkwardly as she came face to face with him.
“Nowhere to escape?” he asked, amused.
“I’m not trying to escape.”
“Avoiding, then?”
“I’ve been…busy.”
“So busy that you couldn’t tell me you were going back home? Or that you broke up with Prince Charming?”
Ella sighed. There was no way to avoid it.
Hours later, she and Lucas sat on the steps of the Astronomy Department and night was falling around them. Most of the students had either left the campus or departed to parts of the campus that were livelier. Lucas and Ella talked and as usual, lost track of time as they did.
Lucas had produced two bottles of alcohol and halfway through their talk, they had begun to drink. By now, they were both a little tipsy.
“You know Luke, you should have told me about Mary,” Ella said as she took a gulp from the bottle.
“I know,” he said as he took the bottle from her. “I should have.”
“If you wanted to sleep with my best friend, I should have been the first one to know.”
“I didn’t want to sleep with her.”
Ella raised her eyebrows, unconvinced.
“I mean, alright, that’s part of it.”
“Are you happy with her?” Ella asked.
“Yes,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Mary is fun and easy to be with.”
Lucas wondered if Ella could see through the lie that he threw at her so casually. She could normally see through everything he tried to hide.
But Ella only nodded. She watched as Lucas drank but did not touch the bottle again. She didn’t want her inhibitions to be compromised lest she ends up saying something she would regret later which was strange because she had always been able to say everything to Lucas. That was before she realized her feelings for him.
Mary was fun and easy to be with, Ella figured. Mary didn’t care much for arguments or opinions. She would hardly ever fight with Lucas. She wouldn’t be stubborn, and she wouldn’t drive him crazy.
“Well, aren’t you two cute?” a voice behind them said. Ella turned around to see Adam walking towards them.
Lucas rolled his eyes, but the comment meant more to Ella. What would she look like next to Lucas? Mary and Lucas looked just about perfect together. They were both extraordinarily good looking and flawless.
“Come join us, Adam,” Lucas said. Adam sat next to Ella and reached over to take the bottle from Lucas. He drank deeply, and the three sat in silence. Moments later, they were joined by Donna and Mary who had apparently been searching for them. Soon after, Matthew and Enid, friends of theirs, joined them too. They were passing around the bottles as the group chatted and laughed.
“You okay, Ella?” Adam asked. Donna and Matthew were arguing heatedly; alcohol never seemed to affect either of them. Enid was playing referee. Mary’s head rested on Lucas’ shoulder.
“Hmm,” Ella replied.
“Want to get out of here?” he asked.
“Oh god, yes,” Ella said who had been trying to look anywhere but at Lucas and Mary who were now kissing. Adam stood up and held out his hand to Ella.
“We’ll be seeing you lot,” Adam said. Lucas looked confused, but the rest were too immersed.
“Where are you two going?” he asked.
“Ella doesn’t like PDA,” Adam said winking before draping an arm around her and leading her away.
They walked in silence in the general direction of Ella’s apartment.
“I had a date today,” Adam spoke up. “Missed you terribly when I wanted to get out of there. Lucas was too busy with the girlfriend.”
Ella laughed.
“Don’t you hate it when your best friend gets a boyfriend?”
“Normally, no. This time, yes.”
Adam lit a cigarette but didn’t respond.
“Ella,” he began quietly and suddenly, it was clear in the utterance of that word that this was the real reason he had pulled her away from the group. “Do you- do you have feelings for Lucas?”
It ought to have been a shocking question. She should have been surprised, stunned, taken aback. She had done everything to hide it, hadn’t told a soul. But someone must have noticed. Especially someone as observant as Adam who noticed her relationship problems with Patrick before she even realized them herself.
“Please don’t tell him,” Ella said wearily. She did not have the energy to deny it.
“When did this happen?” he asked. “Or when did you realize?” he modified.
“The day of Liana’s anniversary.”
He frowned. “Because of Mary?”
“About ten second before I found out about Mary,” Ella replied. “Convenient, isn’t it?”
Adam was silent. He took another puff before responding.
“What are we to do, then?” he asked.
“Nothing,” Ella sighed. “Mary is my best friend, and Lucas is…”
“The dream?” Adam offered.
Ella rolled her eyes. “I’ll get over it. I mean, he did too, right?”
Adam wished he could contradict that and tell Ella the truth but he couldn’t.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never really liked Mary.”
“Hey, she’s my best friend!” Ella protested, but she was laughing.
“Remember how I told you that the two of us would agree on certain things?”
“Hmm.”
“Well, those things include the fact that Mary is so completely wrong for Lucas and you are so completely right for him.”
Ella looked at him, incredulously.
“I’m totally betting on you, Scott,” Adam continued.
Ella shook her head. “You’re crazy.”
They had reached her apartment by now.
“I’ll go now,” Adam said.
“Why don’t you come inside?”
“I have an… arrangement,” Adam replied which made Ella roll her eyes. She knew what he meant by arrangement.
“You and Mary are one of a kind. You should have been dated her.”
“So that your path to Prince Charming Number Two is clear?” Adam teased.
Ella hit him playfully before the reality of the situation hit her, and she sobered up.
“Well, I’ll see you around,” Adam said. “And then we can decide how to get you and Lucas together.”
Ella shook her head. “Have fun at the arrangement. Call me if you need an escape.”
Ella was still awake hours later when she heard a car pull up. The canvas was spread on the table as she sketched a larger image of the ship she painted earlier. The ship had a very deep meaning to her since her father was a travel writer and was always away. She remembered one particular time the summer after her mother passed away. Her father took a ship called The Chevrolet, and he had waved at her from the dock as the ship glided away. She had been terrified at the thought of the ship sinking; she would lose another parent. That summer, she had drawn ships after ships, some magnificent, some small, some sunk and some flying.
Ella looked up when the door opened, and Mary and Lucas entered. Mary was slightly tipsy from the drinks they were having earlier. Lucas had an arm around her.
“Oh, more ships!” Mary exclaimed when she saw Ella’s drawing. “What is with you two and ships?”
/> Lucas was watching Ella’s paintings very intently. Mary noticed this fact when none of them responded to her question.
“Well?” Mary demanded.
“Ella likes ships,” Lucas replied as he tore his eyes away from her painting. “Her dad took The Chevrolet to Europe once.”
Ella glanced at him, and Mary thought she saw a glint in her eyes. Mary felt uncomfortable for one fleeting moment. It was as if the other two in the room shared something much deeper than she would ever understand. She watched as Ella looked at Lucas and they shared a smile. It was a friendly smile, but it somehow bothered Mary.
Up in Mary’s bedroom, she was silent as she lay next to Lucas.
“You okay?” Lucas asked her.
“I’m just tired,” Mary told him.
There was a brief silence before Mary spoke up again. “Hey, Lucas?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you remember back in high school, you used to like Ella?”
Lucas was quiet and then, “Yes.”
“That was cute.”
“Hmm. Why did you bring it up?”
“You were very adamant on getting her despite all the girls who lining up to date you.”
“I was an idiot.”
“Why do you say so?”
Lucas turned to look at her. “Because Ella was never going to like me back.”
Mary noticed at the intensity of apathy behind his words.
“How did you get over her?” Mary said.
Lucas shrugged. “I grew up, I guess.”
“That’s it?”
“Hmm.”
Silence.
“Mary,” Lucas said, and there was a hint of amusement in his voice. “Are you worried that I used to like Ella two years ago?”
“No,” Mary replied truthfully. “No, I’m not. It’s just that… sometimes, you and Ella… you seem to have something that’s… hard to understand.”
Lucas reflected on the bare honesty of the girl beside him. She was incredibly blunt.
“We’re friends,” Lucas said shrugging. “I’ve been around all the difficult times in Ella’s life.”
Mary nodded. That was probably it, she told herself. She lifted herself up and let her hair fall over Lucas’ shoulders. Leaning forward, she placed a kiss on his lips.
“Enough talking,” she told him. “You couldn’t have invited yourself into your girlfriend’s room just to talk.”
The Campus Jock: A College Bad Boy Romance Page 17