To all the amazing women out there who continue to power through the dark days and support others. Thank you!
Don’t let me go. Please. It’s not too late. Come back with us. I’m not ready… I’m crumbling before everyone’s eyes, but they can’t see it. I hide behind my smile, while holding tight to my anchor that I’m about to lose for the summer.
Alice wraps her arms around me. “This is goodbye, only until you’re back here at the end of summer.”
“Ha. If I can pull this off.” I still have to complete summer school to graduate a whole year early. Honestly, I’m surprised I’ve pushed myself this far. The school work is not what I’m nervous about, it’s not knowing how many more days I can walk those halls, before I lose my mind.
I’ve tagged along with the Randall family to help move Alice in to the dorms. She’s moving in early, despite Melissa’s guilt trips. I don’t blame Melissa, really. Alice Randall had been kidnapped when she was a baby, and it was only last year that her family got her back. Then, her youngest son, Landon Randall, who was my best friend, only recently passed away in a tragic accident. I don’t blame the woman for wanting to hang on to her daughter for a little while longer. At this point, I’m not sure if I ever want to have kids. I already know the heartache of losing a best friend and an unrequited love; I don’t think I could handle any more.
Melissa stares at Alice with teary eyes. “How soon will you come home to visit?”
“Next weekend?”
They both laugh and hug. Melissa squeezes Alice against her, so tightly, that I see the veins in her arms popping out. “Tomorrow would be even better.”
Denise, the youngest Randall, rolls her eyes. “Gah. No way would I be going back to Lumberton. Did you see the biceps on the guys who helped us carry Alice’s stuff up? Noah has competition.”
Alice frowns and crosses her arms. “Hardly.”
Denise mocks her. “Hardly.” She’s so immature. “How could I forget? Noah is perfect.”
I try to lighten the mood. “I wouldn’t go that far.”
Richard chuckles. “Has anyone heard from Trent yet?”
Denise grumbles, “how come he got out of helping move?”
Melissa wraps an arm around Denise. “He’s helping out at the hospital. We didn’t want to bother him. But he did offer.”
I step out of the room and check out the activity board in the hallway. While I’m reading all the exciting information about sororities, clubs, movie nights, and, basically, all the opportunities for me to have a new life when I come here, the elevator rings, and I hear the doors sliding open. I look over and inwardly groan.
“Rachel.” Maggie Tyson struts toward me.
“I came to help Alice.” I raise my chin and try to put on my best bitch face. She’s a head taller than me, but I refuse to allow her to look down at me.
She nods her head toward the dorm door. “Are you still planning to enroll here in the fall?”
I nod and look over at the open door. I guess nobody has heard the ‘oh mighty and bitchtacular’ Maggie’s arrival. She’s a brunette like me, but her hair is darker, shinier, and seems to always fall perfectly around her face. I self-consciously tuck a loose strand, that’s fallen from my messy bun, behind my ear. While I’m standing here in jean shorts and a Pink Floyd shirt, she’s in fitted beige pants and a white button up. The top button is undone, revealing her perfect sun-kissed skin. Maggie has a face that deserves to be on the cover of a magazine; it’s gorgeous like Trent’s. Her voice is typically sweet and soft, unless she’s speaking to me. Then, it turns cold and sharp.
“Trent and I are going through something. Has he mentioned anything? I know you’re like a sister to him.”
“No.”
“I’m sure we’ll work it out. We always do. I’m far from being out of the picture.”
I stumble back and stare at her wide-eyed. “Maggie, I don’t understand.”
She rolls her eyes. “Of course you don’t.”
I flinch, and then hate myself for letting her words sting. Granted, Maggie has every right to hate me. I did sleep with Trent, not that she knows that. It was after Landon’s funeral, and we were both grieving. Where was she? They broke up after his brother died. How could she not still be there for him? I was there for him, and he was there for me. I purse my lips and try to school my features. As I struggle to find my backbone, the elevator dings. I look over to see a group of girls step out. And followed behind them is Trent. Gorgeous, perfect, God’s gift to everybody with a pulse, Trent Randall. His jet-black hair is disheveled, and he’s still wearing blue scrubs. That sculpted, strong jaw hardens when he sees us. Not sure if his eyes just turned ice blue over her or me—maybe both. Those gorgeous semi-full lips go paper thin as he walks toward us.
“Maggie,” he clips. I look between them. She smiles sweetly. How does she do that? She disguises herself so well.
“Trent, honey, you didn’t return my call, and I saw Alice moving in. I just came to say hello.”
Add stalker to her resume. This is not a conversation I need to be here for. I slide along the wall past Trent to avoid touching him. The smell of clean aftershave, expensive cologne, and sandalwood assault my nose. I clench my teeth and hold my breath. I ease back in the dorm room and bump into Denise. Melissa is still holding on to Alice, while Richard gently tries to pry her loose.
“Did I hear Trent?” Richard asks.
Denise answers in a bored voice. “He’s in the hallway with Maggie.”
Melissa perks up. “Maggie and Trent are here?”
“Let’s go see them!” Alice practically sings as she eases out of Melissa’s hold.
They all think Maggie is perfect, and she does look it, but she doesn’t deserve Trent. She’s a royal bitch who does a marvelous job hiding her true colors. Trent has covered for her with his family. Making excuses for her absence during Landon’s funeral and keeping their breakup low key. I won’t forget his tears after their phone conversation the night Landon died. The pain in his voice at how she wouldn’t be there for him and was too busy to ‘deal with this.’ I witnessed the pain in his eyes and held his strong body as it broke down over losing his brother. There’s nothing she can do or say now for me to ever see her as anything other than a selfish cold-hearted bitch.
Trent’s broad shoulders practically fill the door frame. “There’s our college girl.” He smiles those pearly whites that are perfectly straight. His teeth are slightly large, but they work for him. When he flashes a crooked smile and his dimple shows, I turn to goo.
Melissa rushes up to him and takes his face in her hands. After she kisses him on each cheek, she peaks her head around him. “Where’s Maggie?”
Trent walks over to Alice and hugs her. “She had to run, but she said to tell you hi.”
His eyes find mine, and I can’t look away. I swallow and slowly follow the family out the door while he holds the door open. As I walk by, I feel the feather light touch of his fingers swipe across my wrist. It was so light and subtle, I almost wonder if I imagined it. But the sparks shooting through me is evident that Trent Randall touched me. Only his touch can get that reaction from my body. Unfortunately, I need to make sure he doesn’t do it again. I’m barely hanging on by a thread, and he is the one person who can unravel me.