Page 51 of Dire Straights

“Let me see that,” Aspen requested, holding his hand out. I handed it over, and watched as he scrolled through her messages. “Dude, she’s totally guilt-tripping you.”

“Why don’t you just block her?” Arie suggested. “You don’t need that in your life, Ren.”

I winced, a curl of anxiety clenching in my stomach. “Isn’t that kind of extreme?”

“No,” Aspen answered flatly. “You’re not even responding to her anyway, and she’s just bumming you out with all these messages.”

“I know it’s hard putting up boundaries,” Che started, his dark eyes reflecting sympathy for me. “But when someone only wants to hurt and manipulate you, it’s time to cut them out. You’ll be a lot happier,” he promised me. He spoke so rarely that his words held a lot more weight, at least for me. When he finished, I noticed Arie rubbing a hand up and down his arm, like he was comforting him, before kissing the top of his head.

“Well, alright,” I finally agreed. “I’ll block her.”

“I’ll do it,” Aspen said, clicking through a few options before handing my phone back to me. “There. Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding as I stuffed my phone back in my pocket. Part of me still worried about what her reaction would be, but I did feel better already. “So here’s the ideas I have for the project so far…”

MADDOX

NOVEMBER 10TH WASjust like any other day. I woke up early as fuck, suffered through practice with my jackass teammates, and then ate breakfast with them. Everyone was still talking about the trip nonstop. Why did they think it would be so fun? It’s not like we could actually do anything. We’d be stuck together the whole time, working our asses off in the pool.

When I was done, I headed back home and flopped down into my desk chair. As usual, I spent the time between the end of practice and my first class by working on assignments due for upcoming classes, or just getting some studying in if there was nothing pressing.

It was Friday, so I’d see Ren in creative writing. Before walking out the door, I made sure my hair didn’t look stupid and that I was wearing a shirt that fit really well and showed off my body. Not that I was primping for him or anything.

The weeks since we’d spent the night at my dad’s house had been progressively amazing and annoying for me. Things with Ren were perfect. We were fucking pretty much all the time, which was great for me and maybe not so great for my housemates. We tried to switch off between my room and his room when Aspen was at work so we didn’t make any enemies. But no one had complained yet. Ren’s friends seemed to like me, and the feeling was mutual. Even if they were all complete oddballs. Maybe I was one, too.

By the time my first class was over, and I didn’t have any texts from anyone, my mood started to dip. Usually by nowRen had sent me memes or cutesy good morning messages orsomething. And neither of my parents had reached out either. I knew they were somewhat distracted. Dad’s explanation to my mom about his new 27-year-old fiancée hadn’t gone what I would callwell. She was pissed and hated the idea of introducing the twins to her. I think at one point she’d even threatened to contact the courts and have the visitation schedule reconsidered. I wasn’t exactly being dragged into the middle of it, but I hadn’t been totally left out of it either. At any rate, I knew they both had stuff going on.

In creative writing, I took my usual seat, surprised Ren wasn’t already there. He was never late, almosttoopunctual at times. When the teacher started her lecture and he still wasn’t there, I pretty much wanted to walk out and go back to bed.

Where are you?I texted Ren. Maybe he was sick or something. I tried my hardest to pay attention to the professor droning on about showing versus telling as I waited for him to reply.

I’m just in my dorm,he said.Not doing anything,he added with another message.

Are you sick or something? Why didn’t you come to class?

It was a long time before he responded this time.

Yeah, I’m pretty sick so I’m just staying in bed.

He’d seemed fine last night, but it must have come on suddenly for him to feel that bad.

I can bring you some medicine or some soup or something?I offered.

No, don’t bring anything. It’s really bad, so you might catch it. I’m just going to rest and try to get better.

I wasn’t worried about catching anything he had. And anyway, if it was contagious, I was screwed anyway. We’d made out for like twenty minutes the night before. And then fucked.I was definitely full of whatever germs he had. But he seemed worried about it, so I wasn’t going to stress him out by arguing.

Okay. Feel better. I’ll take notes from the lecture for you.

Thanks, Maddy. You’re the best.

Putting my phone face down on the desk, I felt torn between sympathy for him and feeling sorry for myself. It was turning out to be kind of a shitty birthday.

By the time my last class was over and I still hadn’t gotten a text or call from either of my parents, I was kind of over the whole day. It wasn’t the end of the world that they’d forgotten my birthday, but they never forgot to message me to complain about the other one.

I couldn’t get upset about Ren or any of my new friends at college forgetting, because I’d never mentioned it to any of them. I wasn’t sure why I even cared so much, anyway. I’d gotten a lot of happy birthday messages on Facebook from friends and casual acquaintances, but those didn’t really count because Facebook reminded them. Then again, I guess it was nice they’d even bothered. Maybe I was just an ungrateful dick.

I rode the elevator up to Ren’s dorm room, carefully balancing a styrofoam bowl of chicken noodle soup I’d purchased from the cafeteria in a bag along with utensils and salt and pepper packets. And a roll. Because the guy couldn’t get enough carbs. Yet somehow, he still had a sexy, toned stomach even though he never came to the gym with me. Those Japanese genetics were not playing around, apparently.

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