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I hesitantly reach forward and shake his hand. “Kayleigh.”
“So, Kayleigh, what are you trying to avoid?” He asks as he starts cleaning the table next to mine.
“What do you mean?”
He finishes wiping down the table, then pulls out a chair and sits across from me. “Well, people who
stay here all day either don’t want to accept the fact that they got stood up, or they’re avoiding something.”
I rest my arms on the table and lean forward. “What if I got stood up?”
He waves me off dismissively. “Nah, you’re not the type. You would have left by now.”
I chuckle softly, knowing he’s right. When he sits there waiting for an answer, I finally give in. “I hooked up with my roommate’s ex-boyfriend and she found out. So, I have to wait until she’s asleep before I can sneak back into my dorm.”
“Ouch.” Dawson hisses. “That’s rough.”
Somehow, the two of us end up in a deep conversation that lasts two hours. I learn that he has a girlfriend back home, and he’s a freshman here as well. I end up confiding in Dawson, telling him everything that has happened between Bree, Holden, and I – sans eating disorder, of course. Normally, I wouldn’t share information in such a public place, but the coffee shop is almost completely barren except for the two of us. He makes me see that I may have overreacted a bit and I was wrong to blame all of this on Holden.
By the time I leave, Dawson gives me his number and makes me promise I’ll text him and let him know what happens. I smile happily, feeling a little less alone in this place. As I walk back to my dorm, my phone vibrates. I had forgotten I’ve been ignoring text messages from my mother and Holden all day.
I shake my head, not reading any of their messages, and type a quick reply to each of them.
Me: I’m ok. We’ll talk tomorrow.
I put my phone back in my pocket, not willing to stress myself out any more today. My talk with Dawson has left me feeling in a much better mood, and I’d rather hold onto that.
When I get back to the dorm, it’s a little after eleven. The darkness of the room tells me that Bree is sound asleep. I tiptoe over to my bed and climb in, drifting off almost as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Chapter Thirteen
I wake up to music blaring. I groan, opening my eyes to see Bree on her computer, her eyes narrowed and her fingers playing the drums on her legs.
“Do you mind?!” I yell, my head already pounding.
She ignores me, raising her eyebrows and laughing dryly. I roll my eyes and shove a pillow over my head, pressing down to try to drown out the noise. It’s no use. I’m stuck awake now and there’s nothing I can do about it.
I clamber out of my bed, refusing to acknowledge Bree’s glares at the back of my head as I grab clothes and escape into the bathroom. By the time that I’m done getting ready for the day, she’s long since turned off the music – her goal of waking me up already accomplished.
When I exit the bathroom, my roommate is doing her makeup. It’s clear to me that she has a lot less strength when Taylor isn’t here. I start to wonder if I should try talking to her. It’s obvious she’s still very angry, not saying a single thing to me all morning. However, if I don’t, she may think I don’t care.
“Can we please talk?” I ask carefully.
“I’d rather not.” She scoffs. “You have Holden. Go talk to him.”
I sigh. “I don’t want to talk to him. I want to talk to you.”
She throws her makeup brush onto the desk in front of her and turns toward me. “What, Kayleigh?”
I can feel the tears starting to build, but I swallow it down, willing myself not to cry. “I never meant for you to get hurt in this. You need to believe that.”
She laughs humorlessly. “I don’t need to do anything. You stole my boyfriend. How was that not supposed to hurt me?”
“I didn’t – steal him I mean. I had nothing to do with him breaking up with you.”
“Bullshit.” She spits. “Him and I were great until you stopped thinking he was Satan in the flesh. Then magically a couple weeks later, he doesn’t want to be with me anymore?”
I wince at her tone. I’ve never seen her this angry before. “We’re friends, but that’s it. Nothing more. And when he broke up with you, I yelled at him for it. You can ask him if you don’t believe me.”
