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9
Kimberly
Idon't know why, but when I didn't see Dennis in class, I started to get worried. He was a football player and admittedly, he skipped class quite a bit. He was good enough of a player that he was a detriment to the school and if he didn't play, then they wouldn't win. That made them pretty fast and loose with the criteria that was needed to stay playing when it came to academics. He kept his nose clean most of the time, but I know for a fact that Dennis was getting help with his studies. He got help so he didn't have to study, but I don't know why, today, I felt weird about seeing his empty chair.
It was that same strange, eerie feeling that I had the night before when I was passing, and Chelsea was going into the dorm. She gave me the dirtiest look and even though I didn't look over to see it, I could feel it burning the back of my head. I half-expected her to jump me while I was in bed, but she didn't. I woke up the next day and everything was fine.
Now, it didn't feel fine, though. Now, Dennis was gone, and I had no idea where he was. I tried to call him twice and I didn't get an answer. That was not like Dennis at all. He was always busy, but he always found time to answer my phone call.
Maybe he was finally listening to me and leaving me alone. Of course, it would be at the exact time that I didn't want him to.
When I got out of class, I ran into Chelsea in the hallway, and she had this weird grin on her face. She asked me how my day was going, and I asked her why she cared.
“Oh, I don't, I was just wondering if you knew yet or not.”
That sinking feeling had doubled.
“Knew what?”
“I'm sure you'll hear about it. You know, since you and Dennis had gotten so close. I'm sure you'll hear about it soon enough.”
I wanted to ask her more, but she practically skipped away and was just so full of satisfaction. Why did I feel like I had underestimated her? I had thought that she would be nothing much to worry about, but maybe I was wrong completely. Maybe Chelsea was a lot worse than I had imagined.
I was concerned about what she said because I didn't know what it meant. I tried to call Dennis again, and I was just getting frustrated at this point. I didn't understand why he wouldn't answer the damn phone. Didn't he know that I was worried sick about him?
I had another class a little while later and when I got out of it, I still hadn't heard from Dennis. I left several messages and emails and I started calling him again. I don't know why, but I just needed to hear his voice to know that everything was okay. Why I thought it wouldn't be, was again something that I didn't quite understand.
I did something after that that I had never done before. I went over to his dorm and asked around for him. I ran into this guy named Tommy and he took about a good full minute to check me out, before he would even answer my question.
“What are you looking for him for? A pretty girl like you would do well here.”
I wanted to tell the redheaded freckled face guy that was grinning in the most peculiar way that I just needed to talk to Dennis. I didn’t know him, but I knew he was the type of guy that I needed to stay away from.
“I heard that he had an accident. I don't know when he's going to be back in school.”
That alarmed me. I had all these scenarios that were in my mind, but none of them included him actually being hurt physically. I thought about the scratches on my car, and I wondered if Chelsea could have done something.
Undoubtedly, I wouldn't put it past her, but why did this guy think it was funny? I was so confused. I didn't know what to do and I hadn't gotten the information that I came for, but at the same time, there was just something inside of me that urged me to get away from Tommy. I needed to get away from all of the people that were now staring at me. It felt like I needed to get away as fast as I possibly could. Why, though, I couldn't say for sure what the answer to that was.
Once I realized that I wasn't going to get the answers I was looking for at the dorms that Dennis stayed at from time to time, I went to the next best place, his house. It was a rather large affair, one of many, but this one was actually used on a regular basis.
I had been there once or twice while he picked something up or dropped something off. I had even officially met his father, but I can't say that his father had been all that happy to meet me. He had actually mentioned Chelsea and wanted to know where she was. Apparently, Chelsea was a better fit for his son than I was. I told myself that it was fine, considering that we couldn't really be together anyway, but it bothered me. It was probably why, after that, I only sat in the car waiting for him. I would never get out because I was so afraid that I would see his dad. He had left that kind of impression with me. He was the type of guy that I just had to stay away from. And that was that.
I pulled up and there was that eerie feeling back again. The place was lit up quite brightly and there was a police car outside. When I tried to get out of my car and go up to the house to knock, someone stopped me who must have been in one of the parked cars, maybe even the police car. He was tall and dark-skinned, his expression grave. He asked me who I was and what I was doing there. I gave him my name and told him that I was there to see Dennis.
“Dennis can't see anyone right now.”
“What? Why?”
“Because he has been attacked. He will not be able to see anyone for a while.”
The guy was looking at me closely, like he was trying to see my reaction. I'm sure that it was one of shock. I know that something bad had happened, but I never would have thought something like that. Was that what Tommy was going on about earlier? How weird was that, that he’d framed it all in such a way?
“Well, can I at least see him for a minute? I didn't know that he was hurt. I just didn't see him at school and wanted to make sure that everything was okay. He would want to see me.”
“No, he doesn’t want to see anyone. You need to leave. This is private property, and I will arrest you if you don’t.”
Part of me wanted to sit there and argue with the guy, but I knew better. I was being nice, but not-so-nicely told to leave. If I didn't leave, I had a feeling that there would be dire consequences, more than what was mentioned. The guy standing in front of me right now would probably be the one to give them too, and he was kind of scary looking, so I didn't want to think about what kind of consequences he could serve up.
