by Harper Sloan
I leaned down and gave him a deep, wet kiss before pulling away to stand up. “No can do, dude. It’s gotta be bad for her to send me three texts in a row. Hold on to that thought though. You know I’ll see you tomorrow. And if it isn’t too horrible, maybe I’ll be able to come back later.”
“Fine,” he huffed with an adorable pout on his full lips.
I grabbed my stuff and we headed over to the dorm.
“I’ll text you once I know what’s going on, okay?” I said when we got close to my building.
“Let me know if she needs anything. I’ll run out and grab it for you. No driving your damn car in the snow!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Talk to you later,” I said as I left the car.
When I got to our suite, I found Natalie and Faith waiting for me in the common area. Faith jumped up as I walked in the door and shoved a box of tissues at me.
“Thank God you’re here. She’s a total mess,” she said. “She stormed in about an hour ago and locked herself in your room.”
“She hasn’t come out at all?” I asked, glancing at the closed door.
“No, and we haven’t heard anything other than crying, either,” Natalie answered. “I knocked and asked her if she was okay, but she just screamed at me to go away.”
“She’s been acting kind of strange lately, too. You’ve been pretty busy with Drake, so you might not have noticed. But I don’t think she’s been sleeping very well. I’ve found her in here a few times when I’ve woken up to go to the bathroom,” Faith added.
“Crap. That doesn’t sound good at all. Thanks for waiting to tell me what’s going on,” I told them as I headed towards our door.
“We like Aubrey. We were about to head out, but we didn’t want to leave her until you got here,” Natalie said.
“Yeah, I hope it isn’t anything serious,” Faith chimed in.
“Me too,” I muttered under my breath, knowing that it was very unusual for Aubrey to freak out like this. I knocked on the door lightly. “Aubrey, it’s me. Will you let me in?”
I heard her rush to the door right before it swung open. “Finally!” she shrieked as she pulled me into our room.
“What the hell’s going on, Aubrey?” I asked.
She turned towards me, and I gasped when I saw her face. She was always so put together, but her hair was a mess and mascara was streaked down her cheeks. She really had been crying this whole time.
“I’m scared, Lex,” she whispered.
I walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. “Why? Did someone hurt you?”
“I think I might be pregnant,” she cried, shaking in my arms.
“What?” I gasped.
“I’m late. You know I’m never late—like ever.”
“How late?” I asked.
“Almost a week.”
I pulled away to look into her face. “Aubrey, why didn’t you tell me?”
She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at the floor. “I think I was trying to pretend it wasn’t happening. Lex, what will I do if I’m pregnant? I can’t get an abortion, and I’m so not ready to be a mom. My parents are going to kill me.”
“If you’re pregnant, we’ll figure it out. Your parents might not be happy, but you know they’ll support you. They would never let you go through something like this alone. They love you,” I reminded her.
“I know that, I do. But I just don’t know how I can tell them what’s going on.”
“Have you taken a test yet?”
She shook her head in response. “No. I bought a couple today, but it says they work best first thing in the morning.”
I pulled out my phone and Googled pregnancy tests to get more information. “Okay, it says here that you can still take one now, it’s just less accurate. I think you should do that, and if it’s positive then you’ll know and that part will be over. If it’s negative, then you can take the other one in the morning. Okay?”
“Yeah, but can you check if Faith and Natalie are still here? I feel weird doing this with them hanging around.”
“I think they’re gone, but I’ll double-check,” I assured her. I went into the common area, and there was no sign of either girl. “The coast is clear.”
I waited outside the door as Aubrey used the bathroom. When I heard the toilet flush and running water, I opened the door to check to make sure she was okay. The pregnancy test was sitting on the corner of the counter, like a ticking time bomb.
“We have to wait a few more minutes,” she said before she slid down and sat on the floor.
I crouched in front of her. “Do you need anything?”
“I could really use a shot of vodka right about now, but I guess that’s not an option,” she complained.
“Not tonight, but we can drink ourselves silly tomorrow night if the tests both come back negative,” I promised.
“I’m so glad you came back. I’m sorry to interrupt your time with Drake tonight.”
“Shut up! Where else would I be when my best friend is having a crisis? I’m right where I need to be, and we could have done this sooner if you’d just have told me about it,” I chastised her. “What pushed you over the edge tonight?”
“The guy I was with last, the one who could be my baby daddy? I saw him today. It’s been a few weeks, and I’m the one who said no to a relationship. But I freaked out when I saw him with another girl, and here I am, worried that I might be pregnant with his baby. It just made it seem more real.”
“Aubrey,” I sighed.
“Here goes nothing,” she muttered as she got to her feet and lifted up the test to check the results. “Thank God! It’s a minus sign.”
I jumped up and hugged her. “One down, one to go. Let’s get you some water so you’ll have to pee in the morning. We can wake up early and take the next one, okay?”
She sighed deeply and nodded her head. I sent Drake a quick message, letting him know that I wouldn’t make it back over. Aubrey and I chatted into the night, catching up on everything that had been going on with each other. I felt guilty talking about how well things were going with Drake and me when her life was so messed up right now. Aubrey had always flitted from one boy to the next, falling in and out of love so easily that she never really bruised her heart. I’d always kind of admired her for it, actually. Now, I realized that she hadn’t really been falling in love. Infatuation? Sure. Lust? Probably. Love? No way.
I hadn’t thought of my feelings for Drake in those terms before, but I had to admit that I’d fallen for him. Hard. I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it. My days were better when we were together, and he made my heart race every time I saw him. As I finally drifted off to sleep, I had to admit it, at least to myself. I had fallen hopelessly in love with Drake Bennett.
A few short hours later, I woke to the blaring of my alarm. It was only 5:00 a.m., but we’d figured it was late enough for the second pregnancy test. I shook Aubrey awake and led her to the bathroom. I waited while she peed on it, and we repeated the process from the night before, whispering to each other this time so we didn’t wake up Faith or Natalie. The last thing we needed right now was any questions about what we were doing.
“I think it’s time,” I said after five minutes.
“I can’t look,” Aubrey cried. “You do it this time.”
I got up and checked the test. I turned to her, beaming. “Negative. It’s a minus sign, Aubrey.”
“I’m not pregnant?” she gasped.
“Nope, you’re not. I know you’ve always been super regular, but maybe it was just stress. Or your body is trying to sync up with ours since there are four of us rooming together.”
“I’m not pregnant,” she repeated, tears streaking down her cheeks.
I wrapped her up in a hug. “Vodka for sure,” I whispered into her ear and she giggled.
“Absofuckinglutely!” she agreed. “But first I need some more sleep so I can face classes today.”
“Great idea!” I agreed, and we both headed b
ack to bed.
I woke up to the text message chime on my phone. I glanced at the clock and realized only a couple hours had passed. It was barely after 7:00 in the morning.
Drake: Meet me asap. Need to talk NOW!
Alexa: What’s up? Sounds like an emergency. Not sure I can deal with another one today.
Drake: Meet me at my place asap.
Alexa: You’re scaring me. R u ok?
Drake: Not ok. Need to talk.
Alexa: On my way now. Be there in 5 mins.
Drake’s text messages freaked the hell out of me. His tone was different than usual, and he sounded pissed off. I couldn’t imagine what had changed since I’d seen him last night. I changed out of my pajamas as quickly as possible and raced over to the frat house. I could hear the loud music that was blaring all the way from the bottom of the stairs. Not a good sign.
As I neared Drake’s door, the lyrics from Limp Bizkit’s My Way got even louder. I went into his room and found Drake sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. I turned the music off and walked over to him. He was staring at me with a blank look on his face, none of the usual twinkle or desire in his eyes.
Kneeling on the floor at his feet, I reached out to rest my hands on his legs. He flinched away from my touch and stood. Striding across the room, he slammed the door shut. I jumped at the sound. I might not know what had happened between now and last night, but it was clear that Drake was angry. I couldn’t have even done anything—I’d fallen asleep as soon as I’d texted him last night.
“Drake, what’s wrong?” I asked, worried by his silence.
Drake glared at me and crossed his arms over his chest. It was like he was putting up a wall between us. “I need you to tell me how you’re paying for school.”
“What do you mean how I’m paying for school? The usual way that people pay for college. I have a scholarship, loans, and my job with Dad. Why?”
“And that’s it? Because that’s not what I heard this morning,” Drake responded.
“You heard something about me and school this morning? You haven’t even left your room yet.” What could someone have possibly said to him that would have gotten him this angry at me?
“Is there a reason that people would think that you’re prostituting yourself to pay for school, Alexa?”
“What? Absolutely not! How could you even ask me a question like that?” I was horrified. Here I was, the morning after I’d finally admitted to myself that I had fallen in love with Drake, and he was asking me if I was a hooker.
“I need you to be completely honest with me. I heard from a very good source that something isn’t right with your financial situation and that you’ve resorted to selling sex to pay for school.”
“Drake, I haven’t even had sex with anyone other than you in like three years. Listen to what you are asking me. You know that’s just not possible.”
“You said it had been that long, but how do I know if you told me the truth? This information had to come from something you’re doing. Please, tell me there’s a good explanation, babe. Because I’m about to lose my shit thinking about you with other guys for money. Jesus, for any reason. What the fuck, Alexa?”
“You really believe this crap, Drake? You’re honestly asking me if I’m a frickin’ hooker? Is that what’s happening here right now?” My mind was blown. I couldn’t think straight. My heart was racing in my chest. This felt worse than when I’d found out Brad had cheated on me. Even worse than when I was scared to death when he wouldn’t leave me alone after we’d broken up.
He ran is hands through his hair in frustration. “I don’t want to believe it, babe. I just need you to explain to me why—”
I didn’t let him finish his thought as my temper flared. “You know what? No! You don’t just need anything from me. I don’t owe you any explanations about how I pay for school or what’s going on with my dad’s finances. This isn’t cool, Drake. You know me—or at least I thought you did. I can’t believe you would listen to someone say crap like this about me without beating the shit out of them, let alone decide to question my honesty and morals. What the hell?”
He looked shocked at my response, like I didn’t have the right to be angry here. “You don’t understand. The person who called me about this—”
I held up my hand, stopping him from saying anything more. “I’m not the one here who doesn’t understand. You are. I don’t care who the person was. You’re my boyfriend. You won’t even let other guys look at me without getting pissed. Anyone flirts with me and you get all growly and possessive. But someone tells you that I sleep with people for money to pay for school and your first thought is to order me over here by text to accuse me of prostituting myself?”
“Alexa, fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do here, not ask you about this?”
“But you didn’t just ask me! You actually believe this crap. God, I really know how to choose guys to fall for,” I cried out as I moved towards the door.
“I didn’t say that I believed it. I’m asking you to explain to me why someone would think this is what you’re doing.”
“Well, don’t worry about it anymore because it’s officially none of your damn business. We’re over!”
I stormed out of his room and ran down the steps. My heart was shattered into a million pieces. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I struggled to hold everything inside until I made it back to the safety of my dorm room. Each step I took felt like another nail in the coffin to my relationship with Drake. I ran as fast as I could, hoping that Aubrey was still in our room.
I heard Drake call my name as he chased after me. I couldn’t deal with him right now. If he really loved me, how could he possibly believe anything so horrible about me? I moved faster, desperate to get away. As I reached the front door and flung it open, I ran straight into Jackson. His arms reached out to steady me.
“Lex, what’s wrong? Did someone hurt you? Tell me you’re okay,” he demanded.
“Jackson, please. Let me go. I need to leave. Now.”
He glanced up and saw Drake coming towards us. “What the fuck? Did Drake do something to you?”
“I can’t. Please, I am begging you. I can’t be here right now.” My voice shook as I lost the battle against the pain that was consuming me.
Drake reached us and went to grab my arm to pull me towards him. Jackson stepped between us, shoving me behind the safety of his body. “Stop right there, Drake. I don’t know what the fuck happened, but you’re scaring Alexa.”
“You’re right, Jackson. You don’t know what the fuck happened and this has nothing to do with you. Back the fuck off and let me talk to my girlfriend. She has some fucking explaining to do.”
I sobbed at the anger in his tone and clutched the back of Jackson’s shirt. “Not your girlfriend, Drake.”
Drake growled in frustration. “My damn girlfriend!”
“Not what she says, man. Don’t know what you did to fuck this up so badly, but you’re not doing this with her now. The only way you’re getting to her is if you go through me. Walk away now.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Your chance to be the big hero. Have you had a taste of her too, Jackson?”
“Jesus, what the fuck are you saying? Shut the hell up before you say something you’ll regret forever. Out of all the guys in the world, she picked you. And you’re going to fuck it all up over some bullshit like that? You deserve to lose her.” He shoved Drake backwards and turned to nudge me out the door. He slammed it shut behind me, giving me time to get away and staying behind so that Drake couldn’t chase after me anymore.
I sent a quick text to Aubrey asking her to meet me at her car and to bring a couple changes of clothes for me. My hands shook as I waited for reply, hoping she wasn’t still sleeping. My phone chimed moments after I hit the send button.
Aubrey: On my way.
God, that was part of why I loved her like a sister. When the shit hit the fan, she didn’t waste any time with unnecessary qu
estions. She took care of business and saved the talk for later, even when she must have been feeling like shit after the drama from last night.
By the time I made it to her car, she was already there. She took one look at me and ushered me into the car. She grabbed a package of tissues from her glove compartment and tossed them into my lap. I collapsed, sobs racking my body now that I was safe in her car.
She tore out of the parking lot, getting me off campus as quickly as she could. Aubrey drove aimlessly, waiting for me to calm down. After about thirty minutes, she pulled over in front of a Holiday Inn on the outskirts of town. “Back in a second. Don’t move.”
I wasn’t sure how long she was gone, but she opened the door and unbuckled my seatbelt when she returned. As I climbed out of the car, she pulled a bag from the back seat. “C’mon, I got us a room.”
I followed her blindly, tears obscuring my vision. She held on to my hand as she led me through the hotel lobby and upstairs to a room with double beds. I flung myself onto the closest one, and Aubrey sat next to me and whispered soothing words while she rubbed my back. Once the sobs subsided, she wiped my face with a wet washcloth and brought me a glass of water with a couple ibuprofen. My head was pounding, and I sipped just enough water to swallow the pills down.
“What happened, Lex?”
“I’m not sure, Aubrey. I got a text from Drake that he needed me to come over. When I got there, the things he said… I just don’t know what happened. How could he think those things about me?” I looked at her, my eyes begging her to make me understand.
“What things, sweetie?”
“He called me a whore! He actually thinks that I take money from men for sex. I let him in my life, in my fucking body. And he thinks I’m worse than a slut.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding. That’s fucked up, Lex.”
I barked out a laugh, nothing humorous in my tone at all. “I wish I were kidding. God! I have the worst taste in men in the history of the world. What the hell is wrong with me, Aubrey? First I pick a cheater who stalked me and now a guy who’s willing to believe that I’m a hooker. That I’m turning tricks to pay for college of all things.”