AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ISABELLA
Two Weeks Later
I tracedmy fingers over Blade’s chest tattoo, which spelled out Omicron Alpha in Greek. His body kept me hidden from Aiden, who’d drunkenly passed out in the adjacent bed the night before. It was the first time I’d slept over in Blade’s bedroom since the beginning of our relationship.
Not wanting to disturb him, I gently kissed the top of Blade’s head before sliding out of bed. Leaving the fraternity house early was imperative if I were to avoid seeing any of his brothers, none of whom knew the full extent of our relationship. Not even Aiden. Blessed be his heart that he was too drunk to notice.
The old wooden stairs creaked as I tiptoed my way down, pausing upon seeing a guy sprawled out naked on the couch. Red plastic cups littered the floor as he snored, his right hand draped across his groin as snores filled the living room.
It had been one hell of a party.
Girls had taken shots off guys’ bodies and vice versa, something I had never done in my time at college. The guys seemed to be really into it, though, since most of the girls ended up spreading their legs. That was college life, though. I just hoped none of them woke up with any regrets.
I was barefoot by the time I made it back to the Rho Alpha Xi sorority house, holding my stilettos as I crept upstairs and into my bedroom. My walk of shame went unnoticed until I was promptly greeted by Emily who sat perched on the edge of her bed.
“Isabella Dayton, you have some serious explaining to do.”
“How long have you been up?” I questioned groggily, catching my reflection in the mirror. My hair was in complete disarray. “What time is it?”
Emily placed her hands on her hips and stood up, glaring at me like a mother, but a mother that cared, not a mother like my own. “It’s eight in the morning! Where were you all night?”
I wanted to come clean to my best friend and tell her everything. Tell her that I’d been hooking up with Blade and that, yes, he more than lived up to the hype.
But I couldn’t. “I fell asleep on the back porch, and someone put a blanket over me. Relax, I’m fine.”
“You expect me to believe that, Isabella?”
I slid out of my black dress, letting out a sigh of relief as it fell to the floor. “Yes, because what else would I be doing?”
Emily watched silently as I put on a pair of pink sweatpants and a matching Exley shirt.
“Look, if you’re fooling around with Blade Eggleston, then just tell me,” she begged.
“Emily, do you really think I’d let myself sleep with that man-whore? I told you that he’s paying me to tutor him, and that’s it!”
She either believed me or chose not to press the issue.
“Alright, fine. But next time when I leave a party, you’re coming with me. Ever since you broke up with Jason, you’ve turned into a wild party girl.”
I playfully rolled my eyes and decided that changing the topic was the best course of action. “I really need to eat.”
Emily and I went downstairs to make breakfast. It was something we enjoyed doing on the weekends for our sorority sisters, who often woke up too hungover to do anything for most of the day. It was our way of giving back. It was our way of being the responsible ones because someone had to do it and it earned enough goodwill.
Emily gasped as I pulled bacon and sausage out of the refrigerator. “You really are rebelling against your parents.”
“I’m tired of not enjoying real food every now and then.”
The smell of sweet pancakes, crispy bacon, savory sausages, and fresh coffee was enough to wake up the rest of the house. One by one, our sisters came downstairs, dragging their hungover bodies into the kitchen and loading up on food. Aside from a few words about last night’s party, nobody said much of anything. That wasn’t anything unusual after nights like the previous one. It was a full moon and it seemed like everyone went absolutely ballistic.
The silence was fine by me. The less people talked, the less questions they were inclined to ask.
Once everybody was done eating, Emily and I sat on the front porch with coffee.
“So,” she said, “aside from eating greasy food, how else are you getting back at your parents?”
I was finally ready to tell her about my trip overseas the following summer, which I’d reserved after Blade gave me a pay advance. Emily loved to ask questions, so I had to be prepared. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by the vibrating of my phone.
It was a text from my father.
