“This is our year. This is our time. This is our moment!” He raised his drink in the air and everyone did the same. “So let’s have a toast. Here’s to a great year and hope to see you at the games and all hail the mighty falcons.” He dropped the microphone and stalked off, and the packed group of people somehow separated, leaving a path with the ending near Kenzie and me. Panic shot through me. I faced Kenzie keeping my back to him, hoping he’d just pass by and not even take the time to notice me. I felt the rush of air whoosh by me and a familiar all-male scent, and the blaring of Travis Scott’s “Highest in the Room” indicating the party was back on. I inhaled deeply whether out of relief or relishing a high I hadn’t experienced in years, I couldn’t be certain. However, I kept my head down staring into my drink contemplating slipping away and walking back to my dorm.
Raucous laughter was heard over the loud music. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him standing around a group of girls a few feet away. Then a brunette stepped into his group and leaned in, kissing his cheek. Nausea threatened to rear its ugly head. If I could just convince Kenzie to go outside, away from him…
She bent to my ear. “Hey, I’ll be right back. Justin wants me to help him bring some more alcohol from the basement since the bar is running low. Will you be okay here for a sec?”
“Yeah, go. I’ll be fine.” I sure as hell hoped my voice sounded more confident than I felt. There were so many people packed in here, I could lay low for a bit, couldn’t I? Justin took her hand as I watched them walk off. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and kept unwillingly glancing his way. Soon, some of the girls in his orbit moved off toward the back of the house, while he stayed and looked like he was having some serious conversation with the brunette because he wasn’t smiling. I couldn’t see her face because her back was to me. The next thing I knew she threw her hands up in the air storming off while he glanced around with a look of indifference and took a pull from his drink.
I took one step to the side planning my exit because the group of people between he and I was thinning out as people pumped hands in the air bouncing by me to the beat of the music blaring around us.
“Roman!” a male voice called out behind me. “We’re gonna do it this year, man.” He sounded well on his way to drunk and tipped his cup in his direction. He struggled to stand up straight holding his cup high as alcohol sloshed over the side. I cringed in apprehension as Roman lifted his head, searching for whoever spoke, and the air left my lungs. He nodded at him, and then his eyes shifted until they landed on me. A shiver crept up my neck when I saw his eyes. Not only were they cold. They were filled with hate.
Tortuous seconds ticked by until his lips twisted down. “Get out.” I saw the words slip out of his mouth, although the noise was too loud to hear. It was easy to read his lips, and his warning was directed at me. Why did I stand paralyzed when I should’ve slipped out when I had the chance? Yet, I felt planted to the floor still harboring a sense of denial.
This was my Roman.
The boy I’d known all my life.
Who I didn’t know anymore.
His glare never wavered from me, and his next words hit me directly as though he were standing in front of me instead of several feet apart. “Get the fuck out!”
“Damn, bro. What did I do to piss you off?” Mr. Overserved behind me called out defensively. The few people around us shifted their head in puzzlement wondering why this football god was trying to throw someone out of a fraternity party. My cheeks flushed in embarrassment because I knew exactly who he was talking about. Fortunately, there weren’t too many people around to see what was unfolding. However, the public humiliation would only get worse the longer I stood here and stared. And there was no doubt he’d keep at it. When Roman set his mind on something he always followed through, and he had the minions beneath him to carry out his orders. Always had.
Turning, I pasted a smile on my face, hid my rising mortification, and made my way quickly out the front door before everyone at the party knew me as the girl who got kicked out of an open house mixer.
I swiped at my face rushing down the sidewalk and bumped someone as I passed by nearly losing my balance as one of my pointy heels turned beneath me.
“Hey. I got you.” Hands held my arms steadying me.
“Thanks,” I murmured giving a brief glance to the tall broad-shouldered guy with a kind smile. I looked over my shoulder hoping to avoid seeing him again. All I wanted was to make it back to my room.
“You leaving already?”
“Yup. Thanks again.” I started walking off.
“Where are you headed?” He asked behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder. “Home.”
“Nick! Where the fuck you been, bro?” Someone yelled in the distance, and I picked up my stride.
“Wait,” he called out behind me, but I waved him off.
“I’m fine. Really.”
I kept up my pace fighting the sickening feeling of humiliation.
As I neared the dorm, I kicked off my heels and padded up the front steps. I heard my phone buzz.
Kenzie: Where r u?
Me: Walking home. I don’t feel well.
Kenzie: Tell me where you are. I’ll walk with u.
Me: No. Stay. I’m almost to our room. Enjoy your evening with Justin.
I could tell she really liked him, and right now I just wanted to be alone because I knew Kenzie would bombard me with questions I didn’t want to answer. What could I say? Roman and I shared a long history. The little girl who never knew her father, raised by her mother who lived in the poor part of a small country town, went from squalor to living in a mansion. I remembered the first day I set eyes on him when we moved in with his family because my mom had been hired to take care his mother.
He was a few years older than me, and I’d always had a crush on him over the years. Eventually, he’d returned the feelings. I thought we’d be together forever, but I was a naïve and idealistic girl. You don’t know what love is. You’re too young. Those were the words my mom uttered the summer between my freshman and sophomore year. Soon after, everything fell apart. Whatever love that had blossomed between Roman and I long ago was only a pipe dream.
My first week of classes had gone smoothly so far. It was Friday morning and I had classes until noon. Luckily, I had a job interview at one of the local college restaurants a few blocks away this afternoon.
I walked down the sidewalk, observing the stately, red brick buildings surrounded by lush trees. It really was a quaint but beautiful campus nestled among rolling hills covered in rock and foliage. As I came closer to the older building named after someone who’d probably contributed money to the campus years ago when it opened, I noticed a group of people lounging around the front. After walking this path for a few days, I’d recognized the same people congregated here. Most of the guys stood out being tall and muscular, probably athletes of some type, as a few girls laughed and flipped their hair or put a hand on their hip as if enraptured by whatever was being said. I didn’t know any of them, but some of the faces looked familiar in a way. Probably because they were at that ill-fated PIKE party last week. When I passed through here the first time, I’d felt some of them watch me in morbid fascination and whisper amongst themselves. At least that’s how I saw it. Perhaps some people were paying attention the other night when I had to keep myself from making a mad dash out of the party. I held my head high nonetheless. I dealt with whispers and petty bullshit before.