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I left the mess for her to clean up and retreated to my room. Studying was the last thing I wanted to be doing, but I had to keep my grades up.
To pay for my own room, I might have to work extra hours, which would mean less time for studying in the future. Better to be ahead, I reasoned.
Did Austin worry about the same things as me? Or had life always handed him everything he wanted on a silver platter? The way he acted sometimes, I wondered.
I pushed him out of my thoughts and hit the books hard. Later that evening, as I laid in bed, I imagined what it would be like to have Austin as a husband.
Would being the wife of a sports star make my own dreams less relevant? Couldn’t he play professional football while I studied to get my advanced Doctor of Nursing Practice degree?
Reality, thankfully, slipped away and dreams entertained and enlightened me the rest of the night. In them, Austin played a huge role, the hero and the villain at the same time.
*
I woke the next morning to the sound of someone banging on the door. If that was Jocelyn, I was going to kill her, I thought as I threw back my covers.
They banged again, more insistently.
“I’m coming!” I yelled, never a morning person.
When I flung the door open, ready to yell at my so-called roommate, I froze at the sight of a campus cop.
“Are you Brooke Harrison?” he asked, pen poised above a pad of paper.
“Um, yeah. Why?”
“Where were you two nights ago?”
“I’m no law major, but if I’m not under arrest, I don’t think you have a right to ask me that question.”
He scribbled something onto the paper.
“Look, miss. You’re possibly in a lot of trouble.”
“Possibly?”
“Your friend Jocelyn really hurt someone the other night. She’s saying you were there with her and that it was your idea to attack the woman.”
“Attack who?” I asked, utterly confused.
“Where were you two nights ago?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re going to have to come with me down to the station.”
“That’s fine,” I said. “I’ll be calling my attorney.”
“It’s certainly your right.”
“Can I get dressed, at least?”
“I’ll have to come in.”
I sighed.
“This is nuts. I’m getting ready to move out on Jocelyn because she’s been lying about a lot of things.” He stared at me, not looking convinced. “She’s probably lying about this.”
“If you gave me an alibi, it would help.”
