AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seeing Theo today will make today that much better. For an hour, I rummaged through my closet trying to find something to wear. I’ll regret that later when I get home and have to hang it all back up. I know, acting like a teenager. The silly thing is it’s not like he would snuff his house at anything I wear. My everyday outfit outside of work is jeans and a t-shirt. Very rarely you will catch me in a dress. I don’t like the feeling of exposure. They always feel too short like my ass is going to fall out of the bottom. With jeans, I know I'm covered.
I pull the double doors of the lecture hall open, and Theo isn’t in our normal spot. He must be running late. I take a seat four rows back, and pull out my notebook. It’s not like I ever actually put anything in it from class. For a senior class, it’s self explanatory. The lectures aren’t giving us anything that isn’t already covered in the book. So coming to class is useless besides the roll call sheet the professor fills out to give to the college. If you miss a certain amount of classes, then you get dropped from the course. Otherwise, I would just sit at home and read the book in my pajamas, instead of coming here. But then there is Theo.
Speaking of him, where the hell is he? I glance at my watch. He should have been here by now. My phone shows nothing from him either. He could just be sick and needed the day to rest. A heavy sigh escapes my throat because I have been looking forward to seeing him since that kiss last night.
The professor starts on about Non Profit organizations and how some businesses come off being non-profit but in fact are not. I remember reading this in the textbook. There are different types of non-profit based on the sector of the business. Each corresponds with a code by the government. Okay, so maybe I’m actually learning something today, but only because I didn’t read the chapter last night. My date with Theo was more rewarding.
I check my phone throughout class, hoping for a message from him, but no such luck. Did our date not go as well as I assumed? Is he avoiding me now? Don’t start down that road. You are making progress. Don’t set yourself back just because you are feeling insecure. Theo isn’t like that.
The discussion continues until class is over. I’ll admit I daydreamed during some of it, but I can read it later. Right now, I’m worried about Theo.
Class is dismissed and instead of racing toward the door, I pull up Theo on my phone and stare at the message screen.
Me: Everything okay?
No.
Me: As per usual, you missed nothing in class.
I hit send, and wait to see the three dots appear. They go on for about thirty seconds and then stop. It’s obvious he has read my message, but isn’t responding. Fuck, I need some wine.
Me: You have tonight off, right?
Jennifer is the only person I can talk to about things like this. The other girls at work are busy bodies and I don’t need them to run their mouths to others. Since she goes out on dates all the time, maybe she can shed some light on my situation. Maybe it’s normal for them not to reach out for a couple days afterward.
Jennifer: Yes, thank god. Worst of all, it’s cleaning day.
I laugh because she is the only one I know that has a designated cleaning day. She isn’t the neatest person, and working third shift makes it harder to get on a normal sleep schedule. So once a week she goes through a cleaning binge. Sweeping, vacuuming, and doing laundry.
Me: You could come over here, drink some wine, and drool over Derek Morgan with me.
Our obsession with him is healthy. We know he is a fictional character, and the actor is probably nothing like him, but he is a gift. The way he treats Penelope and all the other women. Not like objects, but people. I could watch him all day.
Her: Sold!
I gather up my things and head straight for my car. A lot of people may think drinking before two in the afternoon is a sign of being an alcoholic, but for overnight workers, that’s our nighttime. So when you think about it like that, it makes more sense.
The quad is bustling with students waiting around for their next class to start. Some throw around a football. Others standing around drinking their cold coffee and chatting away. None of them understand the corrupt world and how no one thinks bad things to happen to them, but they can. Oh well, let them be oblivious for a few more years until they get sucked into the real world.
When I pull into the driveway, Jennifer is already there waiting for me.
“Damn, girl. How do you always get here so damn fast?”
She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. “I only live a couple blocks away, remember.”
Jennifer doesn’t even wait until we are inside the house before she is questioning how the date went last night. I sit my backpack down in a kitchen chair and grab two wine glasses.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Get some advice. I’m not sure what to expect now.”
She takes the bottle from mine and pours. “What do you mean now?”
“We kissed, and I thought the date went amazing, but he hasn’t called or texted me. It’s making me anxious as fuck.”
She hands me a glass and starts to the living room, plopping down on the couch before answering. “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Cut the guy some slack. The way he looked at you in that hospital bed, he isn’t going anywhere.”
I turn the crime show on and sip on my wine, letting it do its trick.
“I’m not ready to move into that house yet. Am I crazy? I could just keep this place and keep paying rent.” The conversation shifts. I haven’t been over to my grandfather’s house since I signed the papers, and it's feeling like a trigger. Going back to the house where the assault happened, living there, even if rent free, seems a little too much. If Thomas did ever try to locate me, that would be the first place he would look.
