by Shane Morgan
Christmas was right around the corner, so she’d be on winter break soon. I was excited for that because I’d been planning a weekend getaway for us. She could use some relaxation after finals, and I needed to get out of this house.
When I first came home from the hospital, I spent my days slowly recuperating: doing physical therapy, and checking in with Doctor Henderson ever so often. Mom turned into my full-time nurse—as smothering as ever—and Dad went back to his usual self, burying his head in work. I didn’t let anything bother me anymore though. I only focused on getting my strength back.
Crap. If I hadn’t gotten sick again, I would have been wrapping up my first semester as a sophomore like Moya, instead of preparing to repeat it. Still, I can’t complain. The other alternative I faced was grim—I could have died.
Aside from getting healthy, there were a few things I hadn’t expected. Like Ashton deciding to join his college’s study abroad program. My older brother would be traveling to Spain at the start of the New Year. But the one surprise that shocked the hell out of me was the return of someone I never wanted to see again.
Samantha.
My ex-girlfriend showed up at my house.
I hadn’t checked to see who had rung the bell before answering the door. And when our eyes met, my healing heart felt as if it shot up my throat. After she dumped me, I’d been pissed at her for a long time. I’d called her so many things inside my mind.
Her sorrowful gray eyes, brimming with regret, failed to faze me today. If anything, her staring at me only made me tighten my grip on the door handle, fingers threatening to slam the panel of wood closed in her damn face.
“What are you doing here?” I asked bitterly. “Did my mother put you up to this?”
A gush of December wind followed my question. Samantha hugged herself, gripping her jacket against her small body. If she believed I was going to let her in out of the cold, she thought wrong. I had no remorse left for her.
‘I just…” her voice cracked. “I wanted to see how you were doing. Your mom told me about the surgery. She stopped by the bank where I work a few days ago and—”
“I don’t care,” I hissed.
Samantha edged closer. The intense smell of her perfume burned my nostrils. She’d always put on so much when we were dating. I hated it.
“I know you’re still mad about what happened, but Branden, what would you have done if you were me?”
“What would I have done?” I repeated. Irritation pulsed through my veins. “I wouldn’t have said ‘you’re gonna die, and it’ll hurt too much for me so I’m breaking up with you.’”
Trembling, she brushed her long, shiny blonde hair behind her ears and said lowly, “I was scared…I didn’t have the strength to watch you suffer.”
“I called you after the first surgery,” I reminded her. “I told you I was all right, that we could try again. And what did you say then?”
Her eyes watered, tears fighting to escape. “I…I wasn’t sure if—”
“What did you say?” I asked through clenched teeth.
Samantha quivered at the harshness in my tone. She peered down at her hands while murmuring, “I couldn’t go back.” Her words were like whispers.
I laughed. “Exactly. So what the hell do you want now?”
Glancing up at me, she lifted a hand to touch my cheek. I stepped backwards. Samantha drew a deep breath before saying, “I miss you, Branden. I’ve been thinking about you…about us. I want to talk and try to work things out. I’m sorry I ran away when you needed me most. But, I really want to fix things now.”
I folded my arms across my chest, trying to tame my anger. “You’re too late.”
She blinked. A single tear fell down her cheek. Shaking her head, she wiped it away fast. “It’s not too late. What we had was real. We both love each other, and if we try to be friends at least, then maybe we could get past—”
“No. I’ve already found someone else.”
Astonished, her eyes widened like a deer in headlights. Samantha screwed up her face in confusion.
“What do you mean?” she asked. “I don’t understand.”
I scoffed. “What’s not to understand? There’s someone else in my life now. I’ve moved on.”
She hugged herself again. Her lips twitched as she searched for something to say.
I started to close the door. “I have stuff to—”
“I’m not giving up,” she blurted, stopping the door with her hand.
“What?”
“I’m not going to run away again. This time, I’m going to fight.”
Looking her straight in the eyes, I said for the last time, “Samantha, we’re over.” Then I closed the door in her face, and on that chapter in my life. What made her even decide to show up now? I hadn’t seen her in months. Was my mother the mastermind behind this?
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Moya
A sudden and sharp pain ran through my neck when I woke up. I’d fallen asleep at my desk again. Sitting up on the chair, I smoothed out the creases I’d made on the pages of my textbook. Then I stretched my hands over my head, released a yawn, and checked my cell phone for the time. There was a text message from Branden.
Good luck today, babe.
I sent him a quick thank you, seeing I had only an hour to shower and get dressed for class. Professor Samson was running a sample test today—my reason for procrastinating on theory concepts and problem solving in Financial Management all night. And to think I was starting to like my major.
After showering, I hurried back to my room and hauled a gray, knitted sweater dress over my head, pulled on thick black tights, brown boots, and finally slipped into my favorite wool coat with the houndstooth pattern and oversized buttons.
A woolen cap kept my ears warm and curls under control. I looked at myself in the full length mirror on the closet door. It wasn’t officially winter yet, but the weather had gotten colder, and I disliked the cold.
When I locked up and went downstairs, Vanessa was waiting for me in the lobby. She didn’t seem like her usual glamorous self. Her eyes were puffy; they barely looked as if they were open, and she was dressed rather…average. Like me. There wasn’t anything stylish. Nothing like what she was known for.
“Hey, Nessa.”
“Hey girl,” she croaked, her voice sounded dreadful.
“Uh-oh. What happened?” I asked, touching her arm lightly as we stepped outside the dorm.
“I went to Calvin’s game last night, screamed my lungs out for him, and celebrated into the late hours. Then I got soaked in the freezing rain on my way back to my dorm.”
“Ah, I see.” I draped my bag over my shoulder. “That sucks. You gonna make it through the rest of the week?”
She shrugged. “I’ll live, just as soon as finals are over and I can get some rest.”
Hooking her arm around mine, we turned down the concrete path towards the School of Business. Vanessa had Communications a few rooms from my Financial Management class. Thursday was the only day of the week my bestie and I walked together to the same building, that’s why she’d meet me at my dorm.
“So, I take it your relationship is doing all right then?”
“Yeah, I mean, we have our days. But we’re like any other couple. How are things with you and Branden?” she’d been dodging the topic of her and Calvin for the past few days now. Weird. She used to spill everything to me, even when it was another argument.
Letting it go, I smiled and answered, “We’re great. I’m going to his house again this Saturday for dinner.”
“Ooh. Another dinner with the fam. Things are getting serious, huh?” the question came out in a cough.
“We just really like each other and want this to work.” I hadn’t told Vanessa just how much Branden wanted our relationship to progress. The talk of marriage would freak her out.
She released my arm to fix the long, burgundy scarf around her neck. Then she gave me a glance over and shook her head
slowly. “I can’t believe this is the same girl who used to say she don’t need nobody.”
“Stop,” I nudged her arm. “You keep saying that.”
“I know, but it’s so hard to believe you’ve changed this much. I’m glad you found Branden.”
I smiled. “Me too.”
As we approached the building, we both searched in our bags for our student IDs to open the door. There was a beep. Someone else beat us to it. Peering up, I saw it was Tobias.
“Hello, ladies,” that deep, silky-smooth voice and overconfident grin had become all too familiar now—He’d been pursuing me for the past few months after transferring to my Financial Management class.
“Thanks,” I muttered flatly, pushing past him to enter the building.
“Thank you, Tobias,” Vanessa said in a nicer yet gritty tone as she entered behind me.
“Oh no, honey. Are you all right?” he asked Vanessa.
“I’ll make it,” she answered.
I towed her along and hastened ahead to keep him from starting his usual pestering. Only, my evasion was pointless since we had the same class and he chose a seat next to mine.
“So, are you ready for this test?” he asked, catching up to my pace.
I kept my eyes straight ahead, replying with, “I’m always ready.”
“Of course,” he smirked. “You’re one of the top students in the class.”
“Ahem,” Vanessa piped in. I slowed down and looked over at her. “Catch you later, girl. I’m going to head to the little girls room before my class starts.”
“Okay,” I waved at her. She turned right and headed for the bathroom.
Ignoring the fact that Tobias was waiting for me, I treaded past him down the hall. Professor Samson was already at his desk arranging papers when I entered the room.
Tobias sat down, and I could sense him watching me as I got out of my coat and prepared for class. Students trudged in and took their seats.
“Are you ever going to forgive me?” he asked.
I sat, taking blank sheets of paper out of my bag. “Forgive you for what?” I didn’t spare him a glance.
“For calling you a…lesbian?” he whispered, so no one could hear.
Letting out a satirical laugh, I placed the papers on top of the desk and folded my hands in my lap. “I’m over that. What I don’t like is that out of all the FinMan classes at Easton, you just had to transfer to this one to torment me.”
“Torment you?” he smirked. “Don’t get it wrong. I mean, you’re fine as hell,” he stretched the word in a romantic way. “But I transferred because Professor Samson is the best. I didn’t even know you were in this class. Still, it’s a nice treat, even though you can’t stand me for some reason.”
I scoffed, finally looking at him. “No. There is a reason. I told you I have a boyfriend, yet you still continue to hassle me to go out with you.”
“That’s because I haven’t seen this phantom boyfriend of yours,” he retorted. “Who is he? Does he go to this school? Does he go to any school? Is he even working?”
I sucked my teeth. “None of your business. Just leave me alone.”
“Man, you’re so hard to get through to.”
“Damn right.”
“How about dinner tonight?”
“In your dreams.”
“Let me guess,” he sighed. “It’s because of this boyfriend?”
I rolled my eyes. “Please, even if he wasn’t in the picture, I still wouldn’t go out with you.”
“Ouch,” he touched his chest. “That hurts. How come?”
“Three words: Not. My. Type.”
Professor Samson stood from his desk and began issuing out the test.
“Okay, class. Let’s get this show on the road.”
He was right on time, because it seemed like Tobias was about to continue annoying me, and I was getting riled up from his never-ending pursuit.
I couldn’t help think how ironic this was though. Like déjà vu, me being in a situation where a guy was completely fascinated with me. Hadn’t Branden and I started out this way? I used to be evasive, pushed him away before giving in to my obvious feelings. But Tobias was in no way comparable to Branden. There was no attraction. The thought of him and I was just laughable. Branden’s the only guy for me.
Thinking about my boyfriend clouded my mind so much I nearly missed the test now on my desk, and Professor Samson had started his timer. Geez. It had been only five days since I’d last seen Branden, yet I missed him a lot. I could hardly wait for the weekend to taste those sweet lips of his again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Branden
I counted down the hours until I knew Moya was back in her dorm to give her a call. I waited a few more minutes to allow her time to settle down. Hopefully, she wasn’t too engrossed in studying as yet.
Moya answered on the first ring, barely letting it go through. “Hey, baby.” Her sexy voice echoed through the phone. It sent my heartbeat on a marathon. I wished I could feel her lips on mine right now.
“Hey yourself,” I managed to get out amid my fantasizing of touching places of her body I hadn’t explored…yet. “How was your day? How’d you do on that test this morning?”
“Hmm…” she moaned. “I did okay. My day wasn’t too bad either. We mostly recapped in the other classes. But damn, right about now I’m dying for finals to come so I can get a little break from school and studying.”
I sprawled out on my bed to get more comfortable. “Don’t worry, babe. Christmas will be here before you know it.”
“Yeah.” She sounded as if she was lying down as well. Her next words came out in a near whisper. “I miss you.”
“Me too. Five days is a long time, huh?”
She giggled in such a stimulating way. Everything about this girl turned me on.
“It is a long time, but I don’t want you driving here every evening just to see me. You need to get plenty of rest like Doctor Henderson said.”
And there it was again, another hint that she was still worried about my health. I wasn’t sure if Moya realized she’d been cautious around me since the surgery. Whenever we met up on the weekends, she’d take her time to hug me, always asking if she pressed into my chest too much. Or even when we’d go for a walk, she’d ask if I needed to stop and catch my breath. I’d have to put off telling her my plans to play hockey again, until she was convinced I was much better.
I sat up in bed with my back against the headboard and my legs outstretched. “It’s fine. You’ll be done soon and we can hang out as much as we want.”
There was a pause, like she’d quickly thought of something and brushed it aside, deciding instead to say, “You’re right. I can’t wait.”
“My parents are excited about having you over again for dinner. You really impressed them. Mom keeps asking about you.”
“Yeah, she’s cool. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting her to be so nice to me.”
I laughed. “I know she’s a bit intimidating at first, still she’s a great person, really caring. She just wants the best for her sons. Like any mother would.”
“Branden,” she drew in a deep breath. It made me curious.
“What’s up?”
There were muffled sounds in the background, like she was flipping the pages of a book.
“Things are still uneasy for me,” she muttered, in a sad tone.
It didn’t take much to figure out what she was talking about. “You want to tell me about it, babe?” I knew she was still having trouble letting go of what happened with her mom and dad. Not sure how I would feel about my mother doing that to me. Then again, my parents had both done despicable things that I wonder sometimes, how I could have forgiven them.
“I’m trying to get over it, but…it’s so hard. I missed a lot of years with my dad because of her lies. And at the same time, I still feel like it wasn’t all her fault either. He should’ve tried harder.”
Till now, I had no clue on how to help Moya wi
th her family issues. All I could tell her was, “Give it time, and keep taking small steps. It’ll happen, babe. Don’t force it.”
Releasing an air of relief, she said, “You always know the right things to say, huh?”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Well, according to this girl I know, I’m a smart ass.”
She tittered. “Is that so? I’d like to meet this girl.”
“You should meet her,” I continued to play around. “She’s beautiful, smart, and not to mention sexy. She’s definitely a keeper, and I’m never letting her go, ever.”
Moya went quiet again, possibly trying to calm herself after hearing my compliments. I had that effect on her.
“I was thinking…” I held back to consider if I should ask.
“About?” she prompted me.
Just go for it.
“How about we go on a trip together?” Hopefully my bold proposition hadn’t frightened her.
Moya went silent for a while, taking soft breaths while she deliberated intensely. When she still didn’t answer, I said, “We don’t have to if you—”
“When?”
I slid off the bed and sat at the edge, hoping she’d say yes. “I was thinking the weekend after New Year’s. Is that all right? We could leave on Friday and be back by Monday, since the next semester doesn’t start until Tuesday.”
Please say yes. Please say yes.
“Okay.”
“Yes!” I shouted in the phone, unable to control my excitement.
She laughed. “Sounds like you have big plans for this trip.”
“What…oh,” I didn’t have any hidden sexual agendas, if that’s what she was implying. Though, I wouldn’t mind taking it there. “I just want to kidnap you for a while and keep you all to myself. No school. No worries. Just us.”