Game Over (Whithall University Book 2)

by Lisa Helen Gray

  To me, his mum is the bravest and strongest person I’ve ever heard of, and I’ve never even met her. It didn’t matter how she conceived him; she loved him anyway. And loveable he is.

  “You really do say the sweetest things,” I tell him, before kissing him. He runs his tongue across my bottom lip and I grant him access, opening my mouth. Even with the horror of morning breath, I let him deepen the kiss, running my fingers through his hair.

  His hand glides down my side, causing shivers to break out all over. When he pulls back, I want to moan in protest.

  His eyes are heated as he stares down at me. “Maybe we should stay in bed and do this all day.”

  I can feel his erection pressing against my hip, and although the thought of staying in bed with him all day excites me, I know I’ll cave under his touch.

  I’ve been wanting to go further in our relationship for a while, but something inside me has wanted to pull back and make sure he really does have the same feelings I have for him. He could fuck me, then finish with me in a blink of an eye. I’d rather know for sure how he feels, hear him say it before going further, but I’ll not push those feelings onto him by telling him that. I want to know that when he tells me, it’s true and honest, not something he knows I want to hear.

  I kiss him once more before pulling back. “Let’s get ready. I don’t want my first impression to be bad if we’re doing this.”

  He grins down at me like I’m nuts. “You’re such a goof.”

  I slap his shoulder. “Stop it. Let’s go and do this.”

  *** *** ***

  The minute we pull into the drive of an extravagant home, I know I’m completely out of my element. My dad comes from money and our house is pretty big, with one cook and a housekeeper, but this house is something else entirely. It’s big enough to fit the entire student population at Whithall and still have rooms free.

  Okay, I might be exaggerating, but still, it’s huge.

  I look down at my clothes once again, feeling like I should have put something nicer on. Instead, I opted for my white T-shirt with black pinafore dress. I made sure to put my black pumps on with my thigh-high socks and a black jacket to match. I even accessorized with a black bow choker.

  I left my hair down to dry, and now it’s a mass of loose waves. I wish CJ had given me more time to sort it out, as it looks a little frizzy.

  I’m slow in the mornings as it is, but with so little time, I did the best I could. I just wish CJ would have given me a fifth cup of coffee; I’d probably be a little more productive.

  “You ready?” CJ asks, pulling me from my thoughts as he parks in front of a four-door garage.

  I nibble on my bottom lip, nervously looking from the house to CJ. “I think so.”

  He pulls my lip from between my teeth. “Stop biting that lip, it’s tempting me.”

  A blush rises in my cheeks, and even though I’m a nervous wreck, my body sways towards him. When he’s blunt and talking dirty, it’s like I lose every train of thought.

  Before I can stop myself, I lean over, pull his head towards me and kiss him. When I taste the sweetness of his tongue, my head snaps back and I narrow my eyes at him.

  “You’ve been eating my sweets—again!”

  He rolls his eyes at me, unbuckling his seatbelt. “I had to have something while I was waiting for you to get ready. I was going to die of starvation.”

  “You were eating a massive bowl of cereal when I left to jump in the shower. I’ve told you too many times about my sweets, CJ. I take them very seriously.”

  He laughs and opens his car door, before quickly turning back and kissing me. “Yeah, but if I didn’t, I wouldn’t witness how cute and sexy you look when you’re mad.”

  I want to growl, but the heated look in his eyes stops me, and before I know it he’s walking around the car and opening my door. I’m just stepping out of the car when the front door opens. A woman who looks to be in her twenties, but I know is in her late-thirties, is standing in the doorway. When her eyes land on CJ, they light up, and a smile, just like her son’s, spreads across her face.

  She looks so much like him. I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m glad he has more of her looks than his dad’s. The thought of her having to see him every time she looked at CJ kind of troubled me. I don’t know what I would have done or how I would have reacted had I been in her shoes.

  She’s got a dark tan, like CJ, and the same dark brown eyes and glossy black hair. She’s beautiful—very exotic-looking.

  She rushes towards us and we meet her halfway. As soon as she’s close enough, CJ drops my hand and wraps his arms around his mum’s tiny waist. She leans up on her toes, clinging to his neck.

  “CJ, I’ve missed you so much.”

  She pulls back and kisses both of his cheeks. He blushes, and I notice he doesn’t look at me. I’m grinning, all too happy to see him squirm. “I was here last week, Mum.”

  “Too long.” She swats his shoulder lightly before her beautiful dark eyes turn to me. I shift nervously under her appraisal, feeling my breathing pick up. I open my mouth to greet her, but no sound escapes. Before I know what’s happening, I’m wrapped up in her arms, engulfed in a hug.

  Not wanting to be rude, I hug her back, feeling warmth from the woman in front of me. She’s so much the opposite of my own mum, and it’s then I realise there was another reason for my nervousness: deep down, I was afraid she would be just like her. No matter how much I tried to get my mum to love me, she just wouldn’t―or couldn’t.

  “You are so beautiful,” she tells me, before sending a disapproving frown at CJ. “CJ, you never said she was this beautiful.” Her bright eyes and smile turn to me. “I’m Milly, by the way.”

  I smile, feeling my cheeks heat at her calling me beautiful. “I’m Allie.”

  “Um, yeah I did. I said she was hot as fuck and smart as hell,” CJ adds, interrupting us.

  She tuts at her son before wrapping her arm over my shoulder and guiding me into their home. “Ignore my son. Come, let’s eat so I can get to know you.”

  “Thank you. It’s lovely to finally meet you, Milly.”

  She beams at me as we step inside her kitchen. There’s a table placed by the windows that look out over her garden, and she gestures for me to take a seat. I’m too anxious to take a real nose, so I pay attention to Milly.

  “You too, Allie. My son talks about you a lot.”

  He does?

  “I’m starving. Is the food ready?” CJ asks as he takes a seat at the table. His mum sits across from us, eyeing her son with love as she feigns annoyance.

  She looks at me, rolling her eyes. “I don’t think he’s ever not hungry.”

  I give her a mischievous smile. “About that… Have you ever gotten him checked for worms? He doesn’t stop eating, and I’m not sure where it’s going. It’s kind of worrying.”

  CJ opens his mouth but his mum holds her hand up, stopping him. “Do not use crude words in this house, CJ. I know what your explanation is going to be.”

  “But it’s true,” he boasts.

  Confused, I glance over at him. “What are you talking about?”

  He looks down at his lap, wiggling his eyebrows. “That’s where it goes, Cupcake.”

  My mouth drops open and he begins to laugh. “I can’t even—”

  “CJ!” His mum narrows her eyes at him, but they soften when they turn their way back to me. “And, Allie, to answer your question, I have. The school even called social services a few times because they were afraid I wasn’t feeding him. He’d eat not only his school lunch, but other students’ lunch too.”

  My eyes widen in shock. Slowly, I face CJ. “You didn’t?”

  He shrugs, looking a little embarrassed. “I was a growing boy.”

  “They did say it was normal.”

  I smile when I address his mum. “Well, he hasn’t changed. When was the last time you took him?”

  “Mum!” CJ whines, covering his face.

  I
smile at the awkwardness in his voice, practically bouncing in my seat. “When?”

  “Allie!” CJ groans.

  Milly ignores her son, winking at me. “A few weeks ago. He’d come home and eaten all the food. I thought he’d outgrown it, but no; he just learnt how to hide it.”

  “I really am hungry,” CJ comments, pretending we aren’t talking about him. He’s seriously cute when he pouts.

  “I’ll get the food ready.”

  *** *** ***

  While we eat, I listen to all of Milly’s stories about CJ growing up. I even asked what his initials stand for, but she laughed, saying she’d promised CJ she wouldn’t tell anyone. I tried my hardest to find out, but it was no use—not with him sitting across from his mum, glaring at her in warning.

  I’ll have to make sure I get her alone.

  As the hours pass, I begin to kick myself for worrying over nothing. Milly is nothing like my mother, or like the mothers I heard stories from who have met the parents. She’s kind, funny, and so much like her son it’s uncanny.

  She also loves him as much as he loves her, and it warmed my heart to see their interactions. It allowed me to see another side to him. He was so careful with his mum, always offering to help with something, like the dishes, or to do something while he was there. He was interested in how she was doing or how her week at work had been. It was a relationship I never had with either of my parents, and it made me crave it more as I witnessed the bond they shared. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before.

  I must have spaced out because CJ elbows me in the ribs. “Sorry, what?”

  He chuckles. “Sorry, are we boring you?”

  My cheeks burn. “No, sorry. I was just thinking.”

  His mum laughs, tapping the top of my hand affectionately. “Not to worry. We all do it.”

  “What did you say?” I ask, glancing at CJ.

  “Mum asked how the councillor was getting on with the victims. She knows about everything that happened with Logan and Jamie, and I told her about Jordan’s company that works with young victims and how she helped the girls.”

  My eyes widen in surprise, shocked he would tell his mum about the mess Logan caused. But as I think about it further, it makes sense that he would talk to her about it. They have an open and honest relationship, and he doesn’t hold much back from her.

  I turn to Milly and give her a small smile. “It’s going really good for some of the girls. Some are able to find closure, from what they’ve told me. I keep in touch with a lot of them, but some are still struggling to go to their appointments. We booked one-to-one sessions for those who needed them, but I don’t know if it’s helping.”

  Milly’s eyes draw together as she thinks something over. “We have a program for young victims. It’s an intense course, but it’s helped a lot of young women. If you want to refer anyone, I can give you a bunch of leaflets before you leave. I’m sorry about what happened to you and your friends. CJ filled me in. How are your friends coping?”

  CJ squeezes my hand under the table, and I’m grateful for the support. “Willow was doing okay until we went home for our term break. I think being back in a space where she spent so much time with him brought back all those memories for her. It’s why we came back a few days early.”

  She nods in understanding. “She has a lot to get through. If you want, I can meet up with her personally. I run sessions Mondays and Thursdays for people who just want to get out. It doesn’t have to involve anything about what happened. A few of my girls just want the company, and some aren’t ready to get back to work or school, so I help them focus on other stuff.”

  An idea occurs to me, and I don’t know why I didn’t think about it before. CJ had told me what his mum does, how she works with others who have lived through similar circumstances to her. She helps them build a new life. I didn’t know just how personally involved she got, but from the way she describes it, it’s just like two friends getting together to catch up. Rosie would benefit immensely from something like that.

  “Actually, there might be something you could do for me.”

  Surprise flickers in her eyes. “Of course—anything.”

  I smile with gratitude. “Our new roommate, Rosie, the girl who wasn’t drugged, has been struggling with what happened to her. We organised group sessions for her, but she would return from them even more withdrawn. She confided in me how she hated that the other girls were torn over not remembering what happened to them, when all she wished was that she didn’t. When we realised the group therapy wasn’t working, we got her one-on-one sessions. She was doing loads better, but then, a few days ago, she told her parents what happened. It didn’t go well; they basically said it was God’s will—that she deserved to be punished for her sins.”

  “Her sins?” Milly asks, and I can see the spark of anger behind her eyes.

  “She’s gay. I don’t want to go into too much detail because it’s not my story to tell, but since then, she hasn’t wanted to leave the house. We tried taking her to the cinema the other day, but she panicked and shut down on us. I hate seeing her hurting so much.”

  My eyes water as I think about that night. We’d planned to cheer her up, but all we did was break her apart. She had a panic attack and we ended up taking her home. She hasn’t even been to her one-on-one session since that phone call, or class.

  “I understand. I can come over to see her myself, if you’d like?”

  My eyes light up. “You would?”

  Her expression softens as she gazes at me. “Of course. I’ll do my best to help her. I promise.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “Okay, let’s talk about me for a bit,” CJ says, lightening the mood.

  I laugh, dropping my head on his shoulder. “We’re always talking about you.”

  “Yeah, cause I’m awesome.”

  “That you are, dear, that you are,” his mother snickers.

  He rolls his eyes and gets up from his chair. “I’m going to find some dessert.”

  We watch him go, and for the first time since arriving, I’m alone with his mum. I’m not as nervous as I thought I would be; she’s easy to talk to. CJ was right about her.

  “How is school? CJ says you work at the library?”

  “I do. I love it there. It’s become a second home. And school is great. I actually take English Lit with CJ.”

  She giggles, and on any other woman her age, she’d have looked stupid, but Milly doesn’t. “He told me. I remember when he called me not long after you moved in. He told me an angel who would be his future wife had moved in across the hall and smelled like cupcakes. Then he told me how he argued with her about literature, just to see her eyes light up.”

  I blush because I really did smell like cupcakes. I had eaten twelve on the car ride from home to Whithall. And I remember the argument well. I’d been so surprised to see him enter the class with Cole—neither seemed like the sort to study English Lit—and then he argued some good, valid points over some of the books we were going to be reading. Because of my crush, and the way he infuriated me constantly, I argued back.

  “He didn’t?”

  Her gaze turns to her son looking through the cupboards before coming back to me, her eyes alight with something. “I’ve never heard him speak so fondly about a girl before. He’s had girlfriends, but none he’s ever told me about or introduced me to. Ever since he met you, every phone call has been a surprise, because he always has a new story to tell me about you.”

  I chuckle at that. “Did he tell you I wouldn’t write my English paper on him?”

  She throws her head back, laughing. “Yes, he did. Five times, if I remember correctly.”

  “He really was devastated I wouldn’t do it.”

  “I’m glad you keep him on his toes.”

  “He’s a lot to handle at times. I’ve never met anyone like him, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d never admit it to him, but he’s nearly kind of perfect.”

 
; Her grin is wide.

  “Nearly?” CJ scoffs from somewhere, but I don’t look away from Milly.

  I sigh, my shoulders slumping. I should have known his big ears would hear me. I swear, they have their own satellite frequency.

  “He eats all my sweets; it’s kind a deal-breaker for me. If he were anyone else, I’d have unfriended him.”

  From the corner of my eye, I notice CJ’s head pop up from the freezer he was looking through. “You love me, and secretly, you like that I eat your sweets. Plus, sharing is caring.”

  “You didn’t get the sweet packages he got for you?”

  I turn back to Milly, hearing CJ’s grunt. “I did. I’ve already gone through three boxes. But CJ owes me more because he still keeps eating them.”

  She grins before looking over at her son. “You should get your own.”

  He groans, throwing his hands up in the air. “I did, and she claimed those, too.”

  Milly looks at me, raising her eyebrow.

  “I did. He left them in my room, so I claimed them.”

  She giggles, shaking her head. Just when she’s about to speak, her house phone rings. I’m a little startled as I’ve not heard a house phone in so long. I’d begun to think they were myths.

  “If you’ll excuse me a moment.”

  She gets up and walks over to the cordless phone hanging on the wall, before answering it. As she steps out, CJ walks back over, taking a seat next to me after shoving something into his mouth.

  He’s eating—again?

  “Your mum is amazing.”

  His eyes warm at my compliment and he leans forward. “I told you she was. I can tell she loves you already. She’s going to invite you to go shopping, by the way. I know you hate surprises like this and I didn’t want you to feel put on the spot. She’s always trying to get me to go, and as much as I love my mum, I don’t do shopping. If you don’t want to, say now, and I’ll offer to go instead.”