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1
JAKE
“Go back to sleep,”Rob groans, covering his head with a pillow to shield his eyes from the light.
“I need to talk to her before she goes to work. I’ll be out of here in a minute.” I grab my phone and leave the room, quietly shutting the door behind me.
The dorm hallway is empty and silent, a stark contrast from a few hours ago, when people were stumbling back to their rooms after a night of partying. Rob dragged me to one off campus, but I got bored and left. I’m not a big drinker and I’m not looking to hook up so there really wasn’t a reason for me to be there. And seeing other guys with their girlfriends made me miss Haley even more.
I call her as I go outside. It’s early September but still feels like summer, the air hot and muggy.
“Hey, Jake,” Haley says, her voice quieter than normal.
“Hey, are you getting ready for work?”
“Yeah, I was about to jump in the shower.”
I smile, thinking of all the times we had sex in the shower. One time her parents almost caught us. After that, we always remembered to lock the door.
“Wish I was there,” I tell her. “I miss you so much, Haley.”
There’s silence, and then, “Jake, I really can’t talk now. I need to get ready.”
“Okay, well, call me when you’re done in the shower.”
“I won’t have time.”
“It’s only six-thirty. You don’t have to be at work until eight.”
“I know, but—” She stops suddenly and lets out a breath. “Um, yeah, okay. I’ll call you after the shower.”
She ends the call without saying goodbye or that she loves me. She’s probably just in a hurry. She seemed rushed. Maybe she has to stop and get gas on her way to work. She always forgets to fill her tank. I used to do it for her so she wouldn’t end up stranded somewhere without gas, but now that we’re apart, she’ll have to remember to fill up the tank.
I really miss her. It’s only been a couple weeks since we left for college but it seems like months. Haley’s going to school in Kansas City and I’m at a college in Chicago. I wanted us to go to the same school, or at least be at colleges in the same city, but it didn’t work out that way. None of the schools in Kansas had the video game software degree I wanted, and picking some other degree just to be close to Haley wasn’t an option. My brother, Dean, would’ve killed me if I’d done that. He worked his ass off to make sure I did well in school and got into college. He wasn’t going to let me throw away my dream for a girl.
But Haley isn’t just any girl. I love her. She’s my best friend, and the girl I want to marry someday. We met in high school, soon after I moved to Dallas. It took me a few months to convince her to go out with me, but I finally did and we’ve been together ever since. In a few months, we’ll have our three-year anniversary. I’m going to drive down there and surprise her with a romantic weekend. I’ve already booked the hotel. It’s a fancy place downtown. One night there costs what I made in an entire week at my summer job. But it’ll be worth it to see the smile onHaley’s face when I take her there. It’ll be in December so the place will be all decorated for Christmas, Haley’s favorite time of year.
I go over to a bench to sit down. There isn’t a single person around this early in the morning on a Saturday. Back home, I got used to getting up at the crack of dawn. That’s when Dean would get up to go to the gym. He’d try to be quiet, but he’s huge and the sound of his feet stomping around was enough to wake me up. I’ve always been a light sleeper. I think it’s because of how I grew up, always having to be ready to get out of the house and away from my dad. Dean would take me to stay with a friend or a neighbor, then go back to the house to care for Mom.
I miss my big brother. I didn’t think I would. A month ago, I couldn’t wait to get away from him. He had all these rules about what I could and couldn’t do. He was always keeping tabs on where I went. He’d even go in my room and check for drugs, cigarettes, alcohol—all things our parents abused. Dean says craving that stuff is in our genes so I need to stay away from it. I didn’t, and nothing happened. I’m not an addict. And I stopped doing that stuff when I started dating Haley. She’s a good influence on me, and probably the main reason I stayed out of trouble in high school.
How am I going to go four years without her? It’s a seven-hour drive to see her, which isn’t bad, but with a heavy class load and homework to do, I don’t know how often I’ll be able to get there. Now I wish I’d moved with her to Kansas City. I could’ve gone to her college and got a software engineering degree. It probably wouldn’t lead to a job making video games, but I could do something else. Getting my dream girl is more important to me than getting my dream job.
My phone rings. It’s Haley calling back.
“Hey,” I answer. “That was quick.”
“Yeah, I don’t have much time. I need to stop and get gas on the way to work.”
She got a job at a local bakery. She loves baking, and the place was willing to schedule her hours around her classes. I need to find a job too, but I want to see how much time I’ll need to study before I start looking for something.
“You want me to come see you?” I say, only half kidding. If she didn’t have to work, I’d get in my car and drive down there. I miss her so much. “I could take you to lunch. You could show me around.”
“Jake, you know I have to work.”
“Yeah, I know. I just miss you.”
She doesn’t say anything.
