Текст книги "Twisted Ties"

Автор книги: K. A. Robinson

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 14 страниц)

Chapter Eight: Emma

I didn’t tell Andy what had happened with Sam or Jesse. I didn’t want to make things hard for him at work with Sam, and I knew what would happen if I told him. Andy would beat the shit out of Sam for me. One thing was for sure—Andy never passed up the chance to fight. I didn’t tell him about Jesse for an entirely different reason. I knew he’d be mad at me for letting Jesse get that close. Plus, if I told Andy I’d ended up at Jesse’s, he would want to know how it had happened. Then, I’d have to tell him about Sam. It was a never-ending cycle of screw-ups. Andy and I would both be better off if I kept my weekend to myself.

Besides finding out that his sister was pregnant with his ex-best friend’s baby, things were going well for Andy. He really liked West Virginia. He was making friends with the guys at work, and he had even spent a few nights out with them.

I was happy for him. I just hated the fact that it meant I was alone a lot more. I didn’t tell him that though. Whenever he asked if I would be okay by myself for a night, I always smiled and pretended like I would be. Just because I was miserable didn’t mean that he had to be miserable, too.

I always spent the evening at his house if he wasn’t out or working. My dorm room was too quiet, and right now, I couldn’t handle quiet. I started thinking when things were quiet, and that always led to tears. I was tired of crying over Jesse all the time.

As hard as I’d tried, I couldn’t get that morning out of my head. He’d been cautious around me, like he was afraid that I’d run away, but he’d still been Jesse. It was the first time that we’d actually talked since he’d left California. We hadn’t discussed anything that mattered, but we’d talked nonetheless. I kept telling myself that it didn’t matter if we started talking, but my heart clung to that morning like it was something important.

I kept having dreams about the night of the party, too. I dreamed that I would wake up in Jesse’s bed, and he’d start kissing me. As soon as I started to move to the next stage, he’d push me away. It seemed so real that I often wondered if it was. I knew it couldn’t be though. He was with Ally now, and he would soon be a dad.

“Emma?”

I looked up to see Abby walking next to me.

“Hey, what’s up?” I hadn’t made much of an effort to get to know Abby better since school started. I’d been so preoccupied with finding Jesse and then trying to accept the fact that he was really gone that I hadn’t worried about making friends. I knew it was too late to start trying now. Most of the girls in my dorm had already formed groups, and I wasn’t welcome in any of them.

“I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight,” Abby said.

“Um, I don’t think so. Why?”

She stared at the ground as she said, “Today’s my birthday, and I wanted to go out. I just don’t have anyone to go out with. You’re the closest thing I have to a friend.”

“Oh,” I said, shocked at her words.

Abby was a sweet girl, and I felt horrible for her. No one should have to spend her birthday alone.

“I understand if you don’t want to or if you already have plans. I just thought I’d ask.”

“No, I’d love to go out with you. Where do you want to go?”

“I don’t know. Clubs really aren’t my thing, so I was thinking we could just go watch a movie and maybe grab some dinner?”

“Abby, are you asking me out on a date?” I asked with a serious expression.

Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. “No! I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not…you know.”

I started laughing. “I’m just messing with you. Do you want me to drive or do you want to?”

“I can drive. I live in the same dorm as you, so we can just meet in the parking lot.”

“Works for me. What time do you want to meet?”

“I’m finished with classes for the day, so whenever you’re done, I guess.”

“I’m finished, too. Can you give me an hour to get changed and do a little bit of my homework?” I asked.

“Sure, that works for me.”

We finished walking to our dorm together. I waved good-bye as I exited the stairs at my floor. I spent the next hour trying to get some of my homework done. After I finished, I changed and hurried downstairs to meet Abby. She was already waiting for me at the edge of the parking lot. I’d never seen her look so excited before.

“Ready?” she asked.

I stopped in front of her. “Yep, let’s go.”

We drove to the mall where the movie theater was. She tried to get me to pick the movie, but I refused. It was her birthday, so that meant that she got to pick. We debated for a few minutes before deciding on one that was about zombies. Her choice surprised me. I never would have picked Abby to be the zombie-movie type.

I paid for her popcorn and drink as a present to her. I couldn’t help but frown at how excited she was. It was obvious that she’d never really had a friend. I sat through two hours of zombies popping out of random spots. The movie wasn’t bad. I just didn’t like scary stuff. I rolled my eyes as I realized I’d be sleeping with all the lights on tonight.

“That was awesome!” Abby said as we walked back to her car. “Did you like it?”

“It was great,” I lied.

“Are you hungry?”

“Starving.”

We drove back through Morgantown toward campus. My hand tightened on the door as we pulled up at the restaurant where Ally worked. Abby didn’t seem to notice my discomfort as she stepped out of the car. I looked around and saw Ally’s car parked a few spaces away.

This is going to be a disaster.

I followed Abby into the restaurant, scanning the place for Ally. I didn’t see her anywhere, but I knew she was here. I made sure to take the seat where I could see the waitress station and the counter. There was no way that I was going to let Ally sneak up on me.

“You okay?” Abby asked.

I tore my eyes away from the restaurant to smile at her. “I’m fine.”

“You seem kind of nervous. Do you not like this place?”

“No, I love it.”

“Okay, I just wanted to make sure. I was going to say that we could go somewhere else if you didn’t.”

I was tempted to tell her that I hated it, but I decided not to. It was her birthday, and I wouldn’t let Ally ruin it for her. If Abby wanted to eat here, we would eat here.

“What can I get you guys to drink?” a familiar voice asked.

I looked up to see Ally standing by our table with a pen and a pad of paper in her hand. I’d been concentrating on Abby so much that I hadn’t even noticed Ally walking up.

“A water for me. What do you want, Emma?” Abby asked.

“The same,” I said as I stared at Ally. There was no way that I was going to let her out of my sight.

“I’ll be right back,” Ally said sweetly.

She made sure to push her stomach out as she turned to walk away. I wanted to vomit.

“She seems nice,” Abby said, completely unaware of what was happening around her.

“Yep.”

My eyes never left Ally as she walked to the waitress station and filled two glasses with water. When she returned, she was just as sweet as before.

“Are you ready to order?” Ally asked.

“Yeah, I want a cheeseburger and fries,” Abby said as she handed Ally her menu.

“And you?” Ally asked as she stared at me. Her back was to Abby, so she didn’t try to hide the hate in her eyes.

“The same,” I answered calmly as I shoved the menu in her hand.

She stumbled back a bit with the force of it, but the smile never left her face. “Great. I’m going on break, but I’ll put your order in before I go. I should be back by the time your food is done. I’ll be sure to bring it out to you.”

There was just something about Ally that made me nervous. I hadn’t given it much thought when I’d been with Jesse, but now, the feeling wouldn’t go away. She was a hateful bitch. I had no idea why she hated me so bad. She’d won—she had Jesse. That was all that mattered to her.

I sipped my water and chatted with Abby as we waited for our food. Ally had disappeared into the back room as soon as she put our orders in, so I tried to relax while she was gone. If I didn’t like Abby so much, I would have left the second I realized Ally was our waitress.

Ally came out of the back room just as our food was placed on the counter. Another waitress walked to the register to ring someone up, blocking my view. I cursed as I tried to watch Ally. I didn’t want her to spit in my food or do something gross like that. By the time the waitress moved away from the cash register, Ally was already walking toward us with our food. She placed them on the table in front of us and walked away without a word.

I inspected my food closely before I finally took a bite. It seemed to be okay. I laughed at myself as I ate. I was being ridiculous. Ally was hateful, but she wouldn’t do something that could cost her a job that she desperately needed. She had a kid to support after all. I lost my appetite as I thought about her baby. I felt like a horrible person for having any bad feelings for a baby, but I couldn’t help it.

We finished our burgers, and I paid. Abby tried to fight with me, but I won. I knew it was mean of me, but I didn’t bother to leave a tip. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Ally smiled as I walked past, but I refused to acknowledge her. The sooner I get out of here, the better.

Abby was grinning from ear to ear as she drove back to the dorm. “Thank you for coming out with me tonight. It means a lot.”

“No problem. I had a lot of fun,” I told her.

Despite seeing Ally, the night had been fun. It had been so long since I’d had any girl time that I’d forgotten just how much fun it was.

“We’ll have to do it again sometime,” I said.

“That would be great!” Abby said as she pulled up to our dorm.

It wasn’t that late, but I was exhausted. I told her good night as I walked slowly to my dorm. As soon as I hit the bed, I was out.

* * *

I barely made it to the bathroom. The second I dropped down in front of the toilet, I started throwing up violently. I heaved until there was nothing left in my stomach to expel. After that, I just curled up into a ball and willed myself to die. My stomach was cramping so badly that I honestly felt like I really was dying. I’d never experienced anything like it.

I felt another wave of nausea hit me. I sat up and started dry-heaving into the toilet. I couldn’t breathe. Sweat was sliding down my face as I tried to move. I half-walked and half-crawled to the sink to wet a washcloth. My hands were shaking so bad that I could barely turn the knob. I finally managed to get the cold water turned on. I ran the cloth under the water until it was soaked, and then I ran it across my face. I wiped my mouth before tossing it in the general direction of the hamper.

I waited until I was sure that my body wouldn’t revolt again before I crawled back to my bed. My stomach was still cramping to the point that it actually hurt to breathe. I took shallow breaths as I reached for my phone. I pushed Andy’s speed dial number and prayed that he would answer.

“Emma? What’s wrong?” he asked groggily.

“I need help. Sick,” I whispered. I bit my lip to keep from crying out as my stomach started cramping again.

“I’ll be right over. Stay put,” he said before ending the call.

Like I could go anywhere right now.

I pleaded with my stomach to stop hurting as I waited for Andy to arrive. Ten minutes later, he knocked on my door. He obviously had no problem sneaking into the dorm and up to my room.

I stumbled to the door and cracked it to make sure it was Andy. As soon as I saw him, I unlocked it to let him in. I had to lean on the wall. If I hadn’t, I knew I would fall over.

“Fuck, Emma, you look horrible.”

“Thanks,” I whispered.

Andy helped me back to my bed. I cried out when my stomach started twisting again. I was going to die. I just knew it. He ran to the bathroom and returned a few seconds later with a glass of water. He helped me sit up enough to take tiny sips.

“What happened?” Andy asked.

“Woke up like this,” I managed to gasp out between cramps.

“Why don’t you try to go to sleep? Maybe it’ll go away while you’re asleep.”

Nothing short of someone knocking me out would put me to sleep while I was in this much pain, but I didn’t argue. I didn’t have the energy. Andy lay down beside me and put my head on his chest. He ran his fingers through my drenched hair and tried to keep me calm as wave after wave of nausea and cramps attacked me.

I finally passed out around dawn when the cramps started to ease. When I woke up, the clock beside the bed said four. I reached for Andy, but he wasn’t in bed. I winced as I tried to sit up to look for him. My stomach felt like I’d done a thousand crunches during the night. I’d never been this sore in my life, even during cheer camp my freshman year.

“How are you feeling?” Andy asked from the window.

“Like someone killed me—twice,” I groaned.

“That bad?” he asked.

I nodded. “That bad.”

“You seem to be better now.”

“My stomach doesn’t feel like it’s going to fall out at the moment, so I’d say I’m better.”

“You either had one nasty stomach bug or food poisoning. Either way, that was horrible.”

I sat straight up in bed despite the tenderness in my stomach. “That bitch!”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ally! I went to the restaurant with Abby last night. Ally was our waitress.”

“Emma, I know you and Ally don’t like each other, but my sister wouldn’t poison you.”

“There’s no other explanation for it. Think about it!”

Andy shook his head. “I know you think the worst of her, but she wouldn’t do something like this.”

“I think she would,” I said stubbornly.

I could just feel it. Ally had done this to me.

“Look, why don’t you try to sleep some more?” Andy suggested.

“I’ve slept enough. I want to go to that diner and kill your sister.”

“Emma, stop. There’s a difference between two girls who can’t stand each other and two girls who would poison each other.”

“I’m not enough of a bitch to poison her. Obviously, she doesn’t have my morals.”

“I’m not going to fight with you,” Andy said.

I knew I was pissing him off, but I didn’t care. It was too much of a coincidence that I’d eaten where his sister worked and then had gotten food poisoning.

“I have to head to work. Is there anything you need me to get for you before I leave?”

I shook my head. “I’ll be fine.”

He seemed unsure. “Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not,” I said as I slowly stood up. Every muscle in my body protested. I ignored my screaming body as I walked to my dresser and pulled out clean clothes. “I’m going to shower. Go to work. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“Call me if you need anything. I mean it.”

“I will.”

Andy waved as he left. I slowly made my way to the bathroom and pulled off my clothes. I knew Ally hated me, but I hadn’t realized that she hated me enough to do this. There is something seriously wrong with that girl.

Chapter Nine: Jesse

Things had been tense between Ally and me since she’d discovered Emma’s clothes in the bathroom. She tried to pretend that she wasn’t mad anymore, but I could see the resentment in her eyes every time she looked at me. I’d done nothing wrong, yet she was making me feel like I’d betrayed her. Maybe in her eyes, I had.

I had hoped that our talk would help her understand a little better where we stood. It might have helped if she hadn’t found Emma’s clothes. It seemed like Ally had completely forgotten about the conversation as she focused on being angry with me.

I knew it was a douche move, but I avoided being at home as much as possible. Instead, I spent my days in class and my evenings at the library. The only good thing that had come of this entire situation was the fact that I was ahead in all of my classes. I had papers done that weren’t due for weeks. I’d also memorized every song on my iPod. I never thought I’d see the day when either of those things happened.

I was walking across campus to spend yet another night in the library when I saw Emma. I stopped walking, so I could watch her. She kept her head down as she moved in the opposite direction of the library. At least she looked better than the last time I’d seen her. She wasn’t battling a hangover from hell at the moment. I wished that she had stayed like she’d agreed to instead of running away when my back was turned.

I knew I should just keep walking and spend the night with my hot date, the librarian. What I knew and what I wanted to do were two completely different things. I wanted to grab Emma and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe. I wanted to rip off her clothes. I wanted to feel her body pressed up against mine, skin to skin. I wanted to flip her onto her stomach and take her from behind while she screamed out my name.

I shook my head, trying to push away the image of a naked Emma coming undone underneath me. Andy was no longer my friend, but I felt like I was betraying him just by thinking about Emma that way. He’d betrayed me, too, though. He had known she was mine, yet he had still taken her from me. He got to hold her and kiss her every damn day while all I had were memories.

I turned and started walking toward the library. There was nothing left to save between Emma and me. I had to let her go.

I made it all of ten feet before I turned around and started following her. I had no idea what the hell I was doing, but I guessed I would find out. She was several feet ahead of me now, and I had to hurry to catch up. I stayed back a bit, afraid that she would disappear if she saw me.

She entered one of the dorms, and I waited outside for a second before I followed her. I had to talk to her. I couldn’t let her keep thinking that I’d slept with Ally. Even if she was with Andy now, I couldn’t stand the thought of her thinking the worst of me. It would change nothing between Emma and me, and I knew that. I knew Ally would never forgive me for telling Emma the truth, but I’d deal with her later.

Emma disappeared into the stairwell just as I walked into the dorm. I followed, still staying far enough away that she wouldn’t notice. There were a few people going up the stairs between us but not enough to hide me if she turned around. She never looked behind her as she continued up to her floor. She stepped out of the stairwell and walked down a hallway. I watched her through the glass in the door separating the hallway from the stairs to see which door she went in.

Once she was inside her room, I started moving down the hallway. When I reached her door, I raised my hand to knock. I stopped just before my fist connected with it. If I was going to go through with this, it might not go the way I wanted it to. I knew she was angry with me, and she might not listen to anything that I had to say. She might kick my ass right back into the hallway—if she even let me get past the door. Realistically, she’d probably slam the door in my face as soon as she saw it was me.

I stood there with my hand raised, looking like a complete idiot. Several women were in the hallway, and they were all giving me strange looks. Of course they were because I was lurking outside of Emma’s door. I knocked on her door before I lost my nerve again or before someone decided to call security on my ass. Now, I had to go through with this.

Emma opened the door a second later. Surprise registered on her face when she saw me standing there.

“Hey,” I said lamely.

“Hey.”

She raised an eyebrow when I didn’t say anything. “Did you need something?”

“Uh, yeah. Can we talk?”

“I thought that’s what we were doing.”

“Can we talk inside your room?” I looked around at the women who were still staring at me. “It’s kind of hard to talk privately out here.”

She stepped back. “Sure, come on in.”

I walked past her and into the room. I was surprised to see that there was only one bed. I thought it was a dorm rite of passage to get stuck with a sucky roommate. The room reminded me a lot of her room back home. This one was a lot smaller, but it was still just as bare as her old one. There were no pictures, no posters, nothing. There was a bed, a desk, and a closet. That was it.

I turned back to face her. “I think we need to talk.”

“I don’t.”

I knew she wouldn’t make this easy.

“I really think we do.”

She stepped closer to me, and I took a step back. The backs of my legs hit her bed, and I went down. As soon as I landed on the mattress, she was on top of me. Her lips were on mine before I could even process what was happening. I had no idea what was going on, and I really didn’t care. She was kissing me, and that was all that mattered.

No, I needed to talk to her. No matter how much I liked what she was doing, we needed to talk before anything like that could happen.

I put my hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her off of me. “Emma, we need to talk.”

“I don’t think we do.” She smiled down at me. “I can think of something else I’d rather be doing with you.”

She reached down and began pushing up my shirt. Surprised, I let go of her. She fell back down onto me and started kissing me again. I groaned as her tongue teased my lips until I opened them. As soon as I did, her tongue slipped inside to caress mine. She ran her fingers across my stomach, causing me to jump.

She smiled as she sat up and started tugging on my shirt. “Take this off.”

I sat up and pulled my shirt over my head. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head as I threw mine aside. She tossed hers down onto the floor and reached behind her to unclasp her bra. As soon as she had it free, she slipped it off and threw it somewhere behind her.

“Shit,” I groaned as I stared up at her.

I leaned up and ran my tongue across her nipple. She arched her back to give me better access. I sucked one nipple into my mouth as I started tweaking her other with my fingers. I lifted her and laid her on the bed beside me before climbing on top of her.

“I’ve missed you so much,” I whispered.

“I missed you, too. Please, Jesse, it’s been so long. I can’t wait any longer. I need you inside me.”

Emma snapped her fingers in front of my face. “Earth to Jesse. Hello?”

I blinked. After I realized that I’d just imagined that, I wanted to beat my head against the wall.

“What?” I asked.

“You said you wanted to talk, so start talking. Where did you just go?”

“Nowhere. I was just thinking.”

“Okay…why are you here?” she asked.

“To talk.”

She rolled her eyes. “Are you being an ass on purpose? Or does it just come naturally?”

“Sorry, I wasn’t trying to be an ass. I came here to talk about what’s going on between Ally and me.”

Her eyes grew hard. “I really don’t need to know the details. I took sex education. I know how babies are made.”

“It’s not what you think—” I started.

But she held up her hand. “Look, we’re not together anymore. You don’t owe me an explanation. You can stick your you-know-what wherever you please. It’s not my concern anymore, and it hasn’t been for a long time.”

“So, I guess I should feel the same about Andy and you.”

Her eyes widened. I’d struck a nerve.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I got the gist of it. I have to admit, I never saw that one coming.” I knew I should shut up, but I couldn’t seem to get the message to my mouth. “At least you waited until I left to fuck him. I appreciate that.”

“Shut up, Jesse.”

“Why? It’s okay for you to fuck Andy, but you can’t talk about it? Come on, I thought we were having a nice conversation.”

“Fuck you!”

“You already did,” I shot back.

I instantly regretted my words as tears filled her eyes. I was the biggest asshole alive.

“I knew she’d tell you,” she whispered. “She would do anything to make you hate me. It was an accident. We never meant to have—”

“She didn’t tell me,” I cut her off. I didn’t need to know how it had happened. “She just confirmed what I suspected after I saw you two together the first time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Emma, I’m not stupid. I knew you were together as soon as he hit me. It wasn’t that hard to figure out. How did you two end up together anyway? I have to admit I’m curious about that part. Did you guys do it just to get back at me after I left, and then you both realized that you actually liked each other? Or did you already know something was there before I even left? At least I know you well enough to know that you’d never cheat on me while we were together.”

I couldn’t understand why I kept saying every hurtful thing that I could think of. I knew I was hurting her, but I couldn’t seem to stop. I’d come here to make her feel better, and I’d done the exact opposite.

“What about you? Don’t tell me that the first time you slept with Ally, you got her pregnant. You know what they say—practice makes perfect.”

“I didn’t—” I stopped myself.

I’d already screwed up my chances of keeping Emma from hating me. After what I’d just said to her about Andy, nothing I told her would make her hate me any less. I wouldn’t give away Ally’s secret. I couldn’t. If I hadn’t fucked up royally five minutes ago, I might have. But now, there was nothing left to save here. I’d destroyed it all.

“I should go.”

“I think that is the best thing you’ve said since you walked in here,” Emma said as she stomped to the door and threw it open.

I walked by without looking at her. I had just ruined any chance of us even being friends.

“Jesse?”

I turned to look at her. “Yeah?”

“Stay the fuck away from me.”