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CHAPTER 10
Vivian
I walked down the street to my apartment wearily. School had been in session for two weeks now and it picked up quickly. I had a lot of homework in all five of my classes and stayed up studying late almost every night.
Of course, that was largely in part due to my late-night talks with Boyce. They started innocently enough, but I grew to crave hearing his voice every night, and eventually the way he groaned when he came for me. We had phone sex every night that we talked after that first time and I was aching for him every moment of the day.
I missed Boyce and the house. I missed seeing him every day and just talking even though we still did. It was just different, and I worked so hard to hide the developing relationship between us from Bella. When she asked if I met any guys at school, I’d casually mention some fake cute guy in a class that smiled at me. I’d never share the details of what I had with Boyce as a fake man in my life. They were too intimate, and I couldn’t share them with even my best friend. I made my way to my apartment and unlocked the door, walking inside, and dropping my backpack on the couch. I followed, hitting the soft cushions of the red couch as I closed my eyes gratefully. I had a full day of classes on Tuesday and Thursday and always came home tired, but still needing to study. I considered a small nap before I hit the books and reached for my blanket as I settled against the soft material. I loved this apartment and the independence that it offered me but after the time I spent with Boyce, it felt lonely most of the time. I sighed and pulled the blanket over me more, tucking it around my neck as I let my eyes drop closed.
I woke up to my phone ringing and blinked in the dark. I reached for the device and looked at the bright screen to see Boyce’s name flashing and answered softly as I yawned. “Hello?”
“Vivian.” His tone was urgent, and I sat up and tried to wake up quickly, knowing that something was wrong. “Bella was in an accident in the city. One of those fucking cab drivers cut someone off and got into a wreck. She’s going to be okay, but she’s in the hospital. I’m going to go to New York to see her. I must cancel the upcoming weekend because I promised I’d stay until she recovered some. I’m sorry, but it’s Bella.”
“Yeah, of course. She’s your daughter.” I was torn between worry for my best friend and the disappointment that was flooding me as tears stung my eyes. I was looking forward to seeing him and it hurt that I couldn’t. “Can I help in any way?”
“I know you have another few days of classes. I don’t want you to miss them, so I’m just going to take the private jet in a few hours and stay as long as she needs me. She got a touch of whiplash and Bella is in a lot of pain. I want to make sure that she gets the proper treatment.” Boyce let out a sigh and I pictured the pain on his face as it echoed through the phone. “I’m so sorry. I wanted to see you so badly, but I have to go.”
“We can make it another weekend. Go see Bella and give her a hug for me. I’ll call her soon.” I blinked as a tear slid down my cheek and listened as he told me good night. I ended the call and clutched the phone in my hand as I let it sink in that I wouldn’t be seeing Boyce this weekend. I would be here alone in this apartment like I was every night and I let out a ragged groan.
I called Bella and found out that she was in the hospital being monitored for a head injury and some soreness. She hit her head on the window when the cab driver cut a bus off and ended up being hit where she was sitting. I told her that if she needed anything that I’d catch a flight there or even drive myself, but Bella assured me that her dad was coming to see her. I knew that, but I couldn’t tell her what we canceled so he could do that. I told her to call the next day and hung up as I closed my eyes again. I just wanted to go to sleep and ignore my responsibilities, but I dragged myself from the couch to make some coffee and get to reading. I played some music in the background and took notes on some of the stuff that I was having trouble with as I pushed the image of Boyce out of my mind. I thought about my classmate Miranda that mentioned a frat party that she was attending this weekend, something I’d blown off since I was supposed to be at the house. She’d invited me, though. Why shouldn’t I go and try to have a little college fun? That was what it was all about. I smiled and vowed to tell her tomorrow that I was in.
I saw Miranda the following day in class and mentioned that I was interested in going to the party with her. She clapped her hands and declared that we were going to have so much fun. Miranda was more of a typical college student and seemed to enjoy herself, so why shouldn’t I? We made plans after lunch to meet at her apartment at seven, which was in the same complex as mine. I would drive since I wasn’t a heavy drinker and let Miranda have some drinks.
It was a normal college girl activity and I was going to have a good time. I went to get some lunch from the cafeteria and spoke to Bella again, who assured me that her dad was still staying in the city with her. I gritted my teeth and told her that was great, asking to plan to visit her in a few weeks when she was feeling better. I ended the call and threw away my trash before I strolled across the campus to my next class, looking over the other students as they made their way to their destinations. I wasn’t supposed to be involved with Boyce when I came here, at least not to the extent that I was right now. I was supposed to be dating and having fun before I settled into a job and real life. How did I start sleeping with Boyce?
I thought back to the times that we’d been together, and my body heated up as I bit my lip. Maybe if I went to the party, I would meet a guy closer to my own age and I could end the madness with Boyce. This wasn’t going to work, and we’d just get in deeper and find it harder to part down the line. I had to keep some kind of semblance of family with him and Bella and as much as it made me break apart inside. I walked into the building where my English class was held and took a seat in the back as I tucked some hair behind my ear.
The next two days passed slowly, and I left school Friday night with a nervous smile on my face. I was going out tonight for the first time since arriving here on campus. I had enough time to go home and take a small nap before getting ready and I walked to my apartment through the sunny streets, hearing laughter and chatter around me. It felt good to be acting like a normal girl and I held my head higher as I crossed the street.
I finished getting ready and glanced in the mirror just prior to seven o'clock. I was wearing some fitted, worn jeans and a long-sleeved shirt in a dark green color with dark boots and looked cute but comfortable. My hair was in loose waves and I glossed my dark lips one more time before I grabbed my purse. I drove across the lot to Miranda’s apartment that she shared with another girl and shook hands with the shy girl as we were introduced. How could someone shy live with Miranda and survive it? She was so bubbly.
Miranda wore some shimmery leggings and a flowing gray t-shirt with boots and her makeup was flawless. I’d always been jealous of Bella’s looks and now I felt the same way about my new friend. She looked like she had it all together and I felt like I should go home and change. We left, telling Joy goodbye before I led Miranda to my car. The party was on the other side of the campus in fraternity row and I drove slowly to find a parking place, staring at the people gathered in the streets. “It’s crowded here,” I remarked as Miranda laughed.
“I know. It’s usually easier to take a cab, but you said that you wanted to drive.” Miranda offered as I pulled carefully into a spot and checked to make sure that I was in the space straight. “Nice car, by the way.”
Boyce bought us both the newest Range Rover bef
ore we left, and I smiled. “Thanks. My parents left me some money and my best friend’s dad insisted that we have good cars. He wanted us to be safe.”
“My mom got me a new Accord. Want to trade?” Miranda joked as she got out and I laughed. I didn’t want something this nice, but Boyce insisted. It wasn’t a big car, so I let it go but I got a lot of looks from people. We made our way across the street to the blue house on the street and Miranda greeted the blonde at the door before she pushed past him and pulled me in.
The music was loud and the house thick with people. The house itself wasn’t that nice but worked to house a group of guys and I frowned as I looked around. It smelled like sweat and the faint scent of smoke from outside as Miranda made her way through the living room to the kitchen. She greeted another guy and turned towards me with two red solo cups in her hand. “Here you go.” She must have seen the look in my eyes and smiled at me. “It’s just one. I know that you don’t want to drink a lot, Viv. I’m fine with that.” I reluctantly took the cup and eyed the keg that it came from as I watched Miranda take a drink from her own cup. I watched her get them both like I was supposed to, so I sighed and sipped the beer. It tasted carbonated and gross and I stuck my tongue out as I set the cup on a table and looked back into the kitchen.
Miranda noticed that I wasn’t drinking any beer and asked me if I wanted something else. She laughed when I told her it was gross and got a soda from the fridge before we walked into the living room where a group of people were dancing. I cracked the can and looked around for anyone that I knew slowly.
I came across a few people in my classes and we chatted with them and Miranda made me dance. It wasn’t that I didn’t like dancing and did it all the time with Bella, but I felt self-conscious here. I could feel people looking at me and I tried to ignore it as some of the girls that we were talking to giggled during a second of quiet in the song that was playing.
College was a lot different than high school in this setting. I told myself to let go and just enjoy myself until Miranda walked away to hug a brunette guy. I stopped moving and watched her as the other girls seemed to drift off, looking at Miranda as she sat down and started talking to another group.
“Hey there. Want to dance?” a male voice asked as I glanced up to see warm brown eyes. I forced a smile on my face. I could do this. I dated in high school and it was fine. We started to dance together, and I sipped another soda as the guy introduced himself as Billy. He was cute with messy brown hair and a good figure though not as good as Boyce. I reminded myself not to think about Boyce and kept dancing as my favorite song came on.
We ended up going outside and getting some fresh air on the back patio. I knew from talking to Bella that she went to a lot of parties and loved them. I could learn to do the same. Billy sat down on a patio chair and asked me to join him as I sat a couple of feet away and looked up at the sky. “What’s your major?” Billy asked as I started to tell him, knowing that small talk would kill time. He kissed me a little while into the conversation and I gasped in surprise. It wasn’t unpleasant, and I stilled as he pressed closer to me.
I didn’t feel the electricity that I did with Boyce, but that was because it was so forbidden with him. Billy reached a hand around my head to cup my face and deepened the kiss as I leaned closer to him, giving into the moment.
CHAPTER 11
Boyce
