Page 55 of Obsessions of the Heart

I wanted to bask in their attention. I wanted to feel loved and wanted. I wanted to be needed so that maybe, possibly, I wouldn’t be alone anymore.

He took me back home and unloaded the clothes. That was when I realized I couldn't take all of this back to the dorm by myself. When I worked up the courage to tell him that I might need to take the clothes back in stages, he laughed and said most of them would stay at their place.

Then he ran up the stairs, threw all of his clothes out of his dresser, and grinned, telling me this dresser was now mine. I fought with him for another twenty minutes about how wrong that was, but he wasn't having it. He just folded the clothes, nodding the whole time, and put them into the dresser, while his cloths were shoved in a pile in the corner. He let me vent it all out until I was blue in the face, and when I finished, he got up, kissed me silly, and told me this didn't change a thing. He wanted his room to basically be my room too.

That was when Rion came in and proposed a schedule to make sure I switched what room I stayed in whenever I stayed over. Ravi argued against the proposal with flared nostrils, baring his teeth like he was an animal protecting his meat, until Rion reminded him that we all deserved one-on-one time with each other. Ravi caved after that, his only caveat being that my clothes would stay in his room. I didn't say a word, just letting them talk because I was still fascinated with how easily it was going for them to share me. I was either one of the luckiest girls on the planet, or the dumbest.

Ravi offered to take me back to my dorm, but I politely refused. On the chance that Cin was back, I didn't want to roll up with “Ambros.” She would just grill me about it. I grabbed a few of the clothes, put them back into the store bag, and took it with me. This way, I had an alibi.

Rion and Ravi were at the door, each of them giving me a kiss goodbye. It was awkward to kiss them in front of each other, but neither said anything or acted weird, so I just went with it. Roux was over by the stairs, and he gave me a simple nod when I waved. Ravi and Rion had said that all three of them were willing to share me, but Roux had consistently kept his distance. Maybe the “ours” they were talking about was just them two.

Shaking that off, I got into the Uber and went back to my dorm. It was by pure luck that Cin showed up fifteen minutes after I got back. She immediately saw my bag and gushed about wanting to go shopping with me next time. My mind recalled the memories of what I had done on my shopping trip, and my face got hot as I told her that I would definitely go with her next time. It would be a much different kind of trip.

When I asked about how stuff with her family had gone, her face fell and she quietly mumbled about how it was the “same old shit.” A minute later, I learned that meant an argument with her mother and brothers. When I asked about Elio, she laughed, saying that he was good and it was the first time the two of them had ever mutually disagreed with the family.

When I tried to probe for more details, she brushed me off, saying that it wasn't a big deal and she could handle herself. She quickly changed subjects, asking how my meeting with “the Ambros boy” went, and I told her the truth—I was really starting to enjoy him and his fresh perspective on life.

After another warning lecture, I walked up to her, grabbed her shoulders, and said, “Cin, I really like you. I want to be friends with you. I think you're a loyal, badass person that truly has my back, but he also has the same complaints about you and your family.” Her whole body stiffened and her eyes narrowed. “But I told him what I am telling you now.” I took a deep breath. “Whoever I choose to be friends with is my choice. You can advise me and tell me your thoughts, but in the end, it will always be my choice. I need you to respect that.”

She looked like her head was about to explode, so I calmly followed with, “And if I get burned, I would hope that you, as my friend, would be there to help me pick up the pieces.” When her lips pursed, I smiled. “And maybe come up with a revenge plan.”

It took her a second before her face relaxed. Laughing hard, she belted out, her fist in the sky, “Now, that's what I'm talking about! Revenge sisters!”

After that, we watched a scary movie, which we wound up laughing at, an action movie that we complained about, and a romance, which we pretended to complain about but got sucked in so hard that afterwards we gushed about how amazing the main guy would be if he were real. It was a fantastic girls night.

When Sunday came around, I woke up to a string of texts. Ravi had made a group chat with me and his brothers, which made me giddy and smiley all day. I had a lot of schoolwork to catch up on, so I stayed in for the day, bouncing between texting them back and doing work.

I was surprised to get an email from my English professor saying that instead of coming to class on Monday, we were to meet up with our partners and come up with an outline to submit to him by Wednesday morning. Not two minutes after I read the email, I got a text from Elio. This time, I took the reins. The library was a safe and public location that was most definitely not a date. A couple of the text bubbles popped up then went away a few times until I received a text saying he would meet me there.

Monday morning, Cin laughed in my face when I asked for directions to the library. “Why the hell would I go there when I have the internet?”

Packing my bag, I huffed, “Well, I’m supposed to meet Elio there, and I don't want to be late.”

Cin immediately jerked back around, her eyes doubling in size. “What? He’s never been to the library! I would be surprised to learn he even knew how to read.”

Rolling my eyes, I put my hand on my hip and shook my finger. “That's not nice, Cin.” She shrugged, picking at her fingernails and mumbling that he was her idiot cousin.

“Anyways,” I called out, putting my backpack on, “I can figure it out.” With no help from Cin, who claimed she’d never cracked open the "student thing", I found the student handbook in a drawer, and it had a map.

We walked out with each other, agreeing to meet up in Art History, and went in opposite directions. My first stop was to get some coffee, and while I was in line, I got a text from Ravi.

Ravi: Good morning, my beautiful and stunning Rin

I bit my lip to keep from full-out gushing and typed back.

Rin: Morning, boys. Hope you have an awesome day.

Rion: Where are you going to meet with Elio today?

Several pings came after that text.

Ravi: What the hell?

Ravi: Why are you meeting him?

Ravi: He doesn't deserve any of ur time.

Roux: Meeting him alone?

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