“Yes, he does. Do you still have a crush on him?” Nicole had a smirk on her face.
“Well, yeah, kind of,” Savvy said and dropped her eyes to the floor. “I don’t think he evens notices me when I see him at FAMU.”
“Girl, please. I’m sure he’s been checking you out and thinks you’re attractive. You know he’s had to have seen you on campus,” Nicole said.
“Did he tell you that?” Savvy asked with hope in her voice.
“No, he didn’t. You know what? I’ll tell him all about you when I go to work tonight.” Nicole leapt from the sofa and clapped her hands together.
“You’re going to tell him? No. You can’t let him know I like him. I would die and sink into the ground if he knew how I felt.”
“I won’t tell him you like him. I’ll tell him you’re my amazing, beautiful, smart roommate and let him know I would like to introduce him to you.”
“Oh, Nicole. I don’t know. I’d probably blubber everywhere if he even said hi to me.” Savvy chewed her bottom lip and nervously wrung her hands.
“Girl, get over yourself. You got it going on, and he would be a fool not to be interested in you.”
“He’s the fastest runner on the track team, and he can have any girl he wants. I seriously don’t think he would be interested in me. Please don’t say anything,” Savvy begged.
“Nope. I’m going to say something tonight,” Nicole said. “Don’t worry. You sound worse than Olivia. You need to know you’re gorgeous and guys like you exactly the way you are.”
Savvy realized there was no way she could stop Nicole from saying anything to Carl.
“I’ll never speak to you again if you say anything to him,” Savvy said. She tried to sound angry, but Nicole wasn’t buying it.
“Yeah, whatever. You know you want me to. That’s why you asked about him,” Nicole teased her.
Savvy murmured, “All right fine. Please don’t tell him I like him. I’d feel weird if he knew how crazy I am about him.”
“Don’t worry. I got you, girl. I’ll handle getting you an introduction, and you two can go from there. You can thank me later.” Nicole chuckled and grabbed her apron from the coat closet to head out the door to work.
“Yeah, okay,” Savvy said, telling herself that maybe she needed to be hanging out with Nicole more instead of Olivia.
CHAPTER 9
Dwain held Olivia’s hand and escorted her to the porch. He turned her around to face him, and they gazed into each other’s eyes. He began kissing her glossy, red lips. She moaned and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck when he put his tongue in her mouth. They pressed their bodies together and leaned on the door.
“You know you were the finest girl in the room tonight, right?” Dwain kissed her neck and shoulders.
“You think I’m prettier than the rest of those women there?” Olivia blushed and leaned her head back when he nibbled on her ear.
“Yeah, baby. The guys on the team couldn’t stop staring at you. Even some of the coaches were checking you out,” Dwain said proudly.
“No way. I don’t want them eyeballin’ me,” Olivia exclaimed.
“Baby, you’ve worked hard to get some of that weight off. You deserve to be admired by everyone,” Dwain said, kissing her again.
“You’re happy with me tonight?”
“You know it, girl. You’re sexy in this silver dress. The entire night, I couldn’t wait to touch you.” Dwain growled and kissed her slowly along the side of her neck and stroked her behind.
“Dwain. You’re crazy.” Olivia laughed and hit him playfully on his arm.
“I’m for real. I could barely keep my hands off you. If it weren’t for me having practice in the morning, I would’ve been staying the night.”
“You’re too much.” Olivia looked at Dwain with love in her eyes. “I wanted to make sure you’d be happy with my new look. I’ve worked hard to lose the weight for you.”
“Well, I can tell you’ve dropped a few pounds. Imagine when you get the rest of the weight off, you’ll be the bomb-diggity.” Dwain studied her closely.
Olivia’s smile dropped from her face. “You still want me to lose more weight, Dwain?” She’d already lost sixteen pounds so she couldn’t believe what he was saying to her.
“Just a few more pounds, baby. I noticed some fat in your back when you turned around. You know this type of dress shows stuff like that.” Dwain pinched the skin on her back.
Olivia did all she could to choke back the tears. She hoped Dwain couldn’t see the water welling in her eyes in the dark of the night. The joy she had a moment ago switched immediately to sadness.
“You know what? After you lose the rest of that weight, we’ll go on a shopping spree.” Dwain didn’t notice the change in Olivia’s mood. “You can pick out the sexiest clothes and a bikini to wear. We can ride to Miami where I’ll show you off on South Beach.”
“Dwain, I don’t feel well,” Olivia stammered and fumbled in her purse for her keys. “I think I need to go in the house now.”
“What’s wrong, baby? Maybe something you ate? You probably shouldn’t have eaten the bread or cake tonight,” Dwain said with what sounded like concern in his voice.
“No, I’m fine. I’m worn out right now.” Olivia put her key in the door with a shaky hand. She tried to keep the tears from falling. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Do you want me to come in?” Dwain asked and started to move through the door behind her.
“No. I mean, that’s okay. I’m fine, and I’ll call you tomorrow.” Olivia gently pushed against his chest to move him back out the door.
“Okay, baby. I’ll let you go to bed. Get some rest. I love you.” Dwain kissed her on the forehead before strolling away.
“I love you, too,” Olivia whispered and closed the door.
She kicked off her high heel shoes to run upstairs to the bathroom. Olivia dropped to her knees in front of the toilet and hung her head above the bowl. She stuck her finger in her throat, which made her gag several times.
Ferociously, vomit traveled from her stomach, through her esophagus, and into the commode. She emptied her stomach of the food she’d eaten at the banquet. Olivia began dry heaving and winced from the pain in her ribcage.
She flushed the toilet and tore off a handful of tissue to wipe her mouth. Anguish wrecked Olivia’s body, leading her to cry uncontrollably. She pulled her knees to her chest and shook from overwhelming sadness.
Completely broken hearted with a crushed spirit, she rolled onto her stomach and stretched out her arms and legs. I want to die right now. Dwain doesn’t love me the way I am. I’m fat and ugly. He’s going to break up with me. I can’t live without him. She laid her face on the cold bathroom floor and cried herself into a dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER 10
Savvy relaxed in her beanbag chair in the living room. Her favorite show, “A Different World” played in the background.
She studied notes from her Financial Accounting class, which had to be the toughest course ever. Her busy school day wore her out, and she kept dozing off. She dreamt about the show’s main character, Dwayne Wayne, wearing his flip-up glasses and kissing her.
A loud commercial jolted her awake, and she realized she would never finish studying if she didn’t get a good catnap. She pushed herself out of the beanbag, turned off the lamp and TV, and lay on the sofa for a thirty-minute study break.
The sound of keys jingling in the lock on the front door startled Savvy awake. The door creaked open, and whispers floated through the air. Savvy recognized Nicole’s hoarse whisper saying “Shhh,” and started to call out to her. She realized the other voice belonged to a guy. They were trying to talk quietly although they were giggling when they entered the apartment.
Savvy sunk into the sofa. Nicole found someone to cuddle with tonight. She didn’t want to ruin their mood, so she remained quiet.
Laughter and more talking followed the sound of Nicole’s bedroom door closing
. The back of the sofa where Savvy laid, pressed against Nicole’s wall. The guy had a deep voice and said he would turn on the boombox. The song, “In Between The Sheets” by the Isley Brothers, started playing and she heard them bumping around. The talking changed to moaning and groaning.
Savvy felt her face flush once she realized they were having sex. The pleasurable sounds, grew more intense with a steady beat of the headboard hitting against the wall. She had to get out of the living room away from this private moment.
Savvy gathered her books in her arms and tiptoed to her bedroom. She gently closed her door and thankfully, the sounds of the sexcapades going on in Nicole’s room drowned out.
Savvy chuckled to herself, put on her pajamas, and got into bed. She quickly drifted off to sleep to dream about Carl Greer.
CHAPTER 11
“Oh my, gosh.” Olivia groaned upon waking to find she had fallen asleep on the floor. She struggled to push herself up. The position she laid in made her legs stiff. She gripped the bathroom counter to attempt to stand.
Olivia patted around on the wall for the switch to turn on the bathroom light. She stared in the mirror, startled by the raccoon’s eyes which glared back at her. Mascara streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were red and swollen. She looked like a monster.
Grabbing a cloth from the towel rack, she turned on the cold water to wash her face. Olivia slowly scrubbed off her makeup and examined her puffy eyes in the mirror. She barely recognized herself.
Olivia pushed back the thoughts in her mind about Dwain. She had to get better control of her life.
She removed her elegant dress, which now had puke on the front and dropped it in the hamper. Her stomach lurched from the smell. The dress was probably ruined, which was fine because if it revealed all of her back fat, she never planned to wear it again. Once she slipped on her leopard print silk pajamas, she got into the cool bed.
Pulling the covers to her chin and looking at the ceiling, she whispered, “Dear Lord, please help me to lose the weight that I need to. I want Dwain to be happy. I know I can do it. Please, don’t let me lose him. I love him, and I love You. This I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.”
She closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. She dreamed about Dwain sailing away in the ocean on a sailboat without her. She paddled in a canoe trying to catch him, yet the strong currents kept pushing her back to shore.
The sound of the doorbell aroused Olivia from her sleep forty minutes later. She glanced at the clock next to her bed. Who is ringing my doorbell at two in the morning? She rubbed her eyes and lay back on the pillow, figuring it had to be a dream.
The doorbell rapidly rang three more times again. Olivia groaned and rolled out of bed to put on her robe. Her bare feet padded across the cold floor and down the carpeted stairs. She tiptoed to the front door and peeked through the peephole.
A short, Hispanic girl, stood on the porch with her arms folded. She had her long, curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She wore a TSUF sweatshirt and sweatpants with white sneakers.
The girl rang the doorbell again. She kept looking past her shoulder and back at the door. She tapped her foot impatiently and popped her chewing gum.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Olivia said through the door.
“This is Isabella, and I want to talk to you about Dwain,” the girl said calmly.
“About Dwain? At two o’clock in the morning? I don’t know anyone named Isabella. What could possibly be important enough to wake me in the middle of the night?”
“I know it’s late, but I have to say something to you. It can’t wait until tomorrow. I’m sorry to bother you,” Isabella responded.
Peering through the peephole again, Olivia figured she would open the door and see what Isabella wanted, especially because it didn’t look like the girl was leaving. Olivia didn’t want her waking the neighbors. The girl couldn’t be more than five feet tall, so Olivia didn’t think she seemed threatening.
After tightening the belt of her robe around her waist, Olivia slowly opened the door and strode out onto the porch in her bare feet. The girl kept her arms folded as she glared.
“Now, who did you say you are?” Olivia asked, staring downward at the girl.
“I’m Isabella, and I saw you at the banquet earlier tonight with Dwain,” she said.
“Yeah, now that I think about it, I remember seeing you there. You kept staring at us,” Olivia recalled. “How did you know where I live?”
“I followed Dwain here when he brought you home.” Isabella chewed and snapped her gum.
“Excuse me? You were stalking us?” Olivia asked in disbelief.
“Yes. He’s my man, and I love him. Do you hear me? I love him, and he loves me. You need to stay away from him.” Isabella yelled at her and balled her fists. Her face turned red, and her eyes bugged out like an insane woman.
“You know what? I don’t know you and have no clue what you’re talking about. Dwain is my boyfriend, and you need to get off my porch and leave right now,” Olivia yelled back at her.
“You skinny black tramp,” Isabella screamed. Before Olivia could blink an eye, another girl jumped out of the bushes next to her apartment. Olivia recognized her to be one of the cheerleaders at the TSUF basketball games. She had what appeared to be part of a nunchuck in her hand.
Isabella grabbed Olivia by the hair and yanked her from the porch and across the four steps. She slammed her hard on the concrete. Both girls jumped her, pummeling her in the head and body.
Olivia cried out “Help. Help. Help me.” The girls kept beating her with their fists and the nunchuck. Intense pain filled Olivia’s body each time the stick landed on her head. Blood poured out in her hair and across her face. She tried to protect herself with her hands from the beating, which seemed never to end. “Help. Help.”
“Hey. What do you girls think you’re doing? Get off of her. I’m calling the police right now,” Olivia’s neighbor yelled out the door.
The girls ran into the darkness, leaving Olivia on the ground crying. She clutched her blood covered head in agonizing pain. She heard a car start and the sound of it screeching away.
Her neighbor, Ms. Beverly, ran out of her apartment in a pink bathrobe with white slippers and knelt next to Olivia. Carefully lifting her shoulders from the ground, she cradled her in her arms. “It’s going to be okay. I called 9-1-1, and they’re on the way. Hang in there, Olivia.”
Olivia couldn’t speak as the pain in her head grew more intense. The noise of sirens wailing in the distance, grew closer. Everything spun around her. She mumbled incoherently before blacking out.
CHAPTER 12
Savvy rushed through the door of the Emergency Room at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare hospital wearing her white cotton pajamas, furry white slippers, and a FAMU jacket. A red satin nightcap remained perched on her head. She had forgotten to remove it when she ran out of her apartment once she got a phone call about Olivia.
She had to borrow Nicole’s car to get to the hospital. Thankfully, Nicole had given her a key, and she didn’t have to wake her and her mystery guest at three in the morning.
Bolting past the waiting room, she heard people moaning or crying from various injuries. She ran to the receptionist’s desk and had to stop to catch her breath. The receptionist patiently sat with a smile on her face until Savvy could talk.
“I…am here...to see Olivia Maxwell. Am I in the right place?” she asked, trying to catch her breath from the adrenalin rush.
“Yes. You’re in the right place. You can relax. May I ask what relationship you are with the patient?” the receptionist asked.
“I’m her best friend. She doesn’t have any family here.”
“No problem.” She tapped her fingers on a keyboard and glanced at a computer screen. “Go through this hallway and make a right turn at the second corner. She is in room 113,” she directed.
“Thank you.” Savvy followed her directions and found 113. She eased the door open, then enter
ed the room, which was illuminated by lights on the medical equipment surrounding Olivia. A lamp above the bed shone on her.
Seeing Olivia with her head wrapped in white bandages made Savvy gasp. Her friend didn’t even look like herself. Her face swelled with bruises and cuts. Several scratches streaked her cheeks and forehead.
Olivia’s eyes remained closed, and for a moment, Savvy couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive. It wasn’t until Savvy saw the slow rise of Olivia’s chest that she breathed a sigh of relief.
“She is resting right now. Olivia is going to be fine.”
Savvy hadn’t even noticed the middle-aged, pleasantly plump woman sitting beside the bed holding Olivia’s hand with knobby, arthritic fingers. She gazed at her with tired eyes and smiled.
“Are you Savvy? I am her neighbor, Beverly,” the woman said with a slow, southern drawl.
“Yes ma’am, I am.” Savvy struggled to fight back the tears. “Are you the one who called me?”
“Yes, when the paramedics arrived for Olivia, I ran into her apartment and found her purse and shoes to bring to the hospital. Your name is in her phone book with “best friend” written next to it. I figured you were the one to call,” Beverly said.
“Thank you for calling me,” Savvy said. “What happened?”
“Well, she got beaten by a couple of girls. Someone began to ring her doorbell around two a.m. constantly. Our apartment walls are thin, so it woke me up too. Next, I heard a lot of yelling and Olivia crying out for help. At that point, I turned on my porch light and said I would be calling the police,” Beverly said.
“My goodness,” Savvy exclaimed. “Who would do this to her? This is crazy.”
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