Page 40 of Choosing You

“Don’t put this back on me! I’m only acting this way because you lied! If you would’ve been honest with me I wouldn’t have cared about your last name.”

He shakes his head. “Yeah, right. You would’ve said a quick hello and then kept your distance.”

“Well, I guess we’ll never know because you never gave me the chance. You just assumed what would happen and took it upon yourself to lie to somehow protect me from your scary rich parents. Ooh, I’m so scared of them. Their money might come and attack me in the night. Is that the best excuse you can come up with, Garret? You’re just like every other spoiled rich kid. You get caught in your lies and then expect everyone to forgive you. But daddy can’t buy your way out of this one.”

Garret slowly nods and looks down, then starts the car and drives back on the road. He doesn’t say another word. I can’t tell if he’s mad or offended or what. He almost seems hurt, but I refuse to feel guilty about it. His lame explanation did nothing more than leave me more confused. When we get back to campus, he doesn’t bother walking me back to my room. He just goes straight up to the second floor.

It’s late but I’m not ready to go to bed. I have to release this anger that’s been building inside me all night. I’m angry at Garret but I’m even more angry with myself for letting my guard down and trusting him. For letting myself have feelings for him that I never should have had.

I change clothes and run sprints up and down the long road that leads to and from campus. It’s about a half mile each way and I run it back and forth until my legs give out.

After a long shower, I try to sleep but my mind keeps thinking of Garret. I keep remembering how he looked when he tried to explain everything. He was almost panicked, like he was desperate for me to believe him. Maybe he wasn’t lying. Maybe his parents do have these deep dark secrets that he doesn’t want me involved in. If so, it’s just another reason why I need to stay away from him, even though it’s the opposite of what I want.

CHAPTERTWELVE

Wednesday morning marksmy first official day of college. My first class is Psych 101, which I find ironic given that lately I can’t explain the psychology behind my own behavior. Like why I can’t stop thinking about a guy who lied to me since the day we met. And why I’m thinking about a guy at all when I told myself I wouldn’t get into a relationship until after college.

Hoping to get some type of explanation, I examine the syllabus only to find that the whole semester will be spent learning basic theories of well known psychologists. That’s not at all helpful. I need an in-depth psychoanalysis course in order to figure out what’s going on in my head.

Next is biology, which was not my favorite subject in high school and I’m already predicting will not be my favorite subject in college. The class itself isn’t so bad but I hate the lab part. Biology labs always have that weird smell. To make things even worse, the lab partner I’ve been assigned to informed me that he has no interest in biology and doesn’t care if he gets a bad grade. So I’ll be doing all of the work and he’ll get an A for doing nothing.

I meet up with Harper for lunch. She’s all smiles and full of energy, which I’ve figured out is just her normal disposition. At first I thought she drank too much caffeine or was taking some type of prescription medication that made her that way. But nope, it’s all natural.

“How was class?” She sits across from me eating the biggest salad I’ve ever seen one person attempt to eat. It has more green stuff in it than I’ve eaten in my entire life and she plans to eat it at all in a single meal.

“It was okay. No major disasters.”

She eyes my tray of food, which consists of a plate of French fries, a sugar cookie, and a glass of chocolate milk. “I don’t know how you eat that way and stay so skinny.”

“I run a lot. But I probably do need to eat a little better.”

“So I ran into that Blake guy this morning on my way to class. You’re right. He’s a total jerk.”

“Did he use one of his disgusting pickup lines to try to get you to sleep with him?”

“No. Just the opposite. I went up to say hi and introduce myself and before I could get a word out he said, and I quote, ‘Sorry, babe. I had a blond last week. Brunettes only this week. Try again in a month.’”

“Yeah, that sounds like Blake.”

“Why would Garret be friends with a guy like that?”

“They’re not close friends. They went to high school together and they’re both on the swim team.”

“Speaking of guys, I met this really hot guy in sociology and he asked me out for Saturday night. Can you believe that? And it’s only the first day!”

It isn’t that hard to believe. Harper is gorgeous. “Guys must ask you out all the time.”

“Are you kidding? I hardly ever get asked out.” She opens a bottle of some type of green juice drink that I’m guessing is supposed to be good for you. “In LA, everyone’s super hot. They all have work done. Add in the fake tans and the ultra white teeth and guys out there don’t even notice a girl like me.”

“That’s completely messed up.” I dip a wad of fries in my ketchup. “You’re one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen.”

“Thanks, but you should see my sister. She’s way prettier, which is why she’s a model. But between you and me, she’s had some work done. My dad said I’ll never make it in broadcasting unless I fix my nose and get my eyes lifted so they’re not so tired looking.”

“Are you serious? That’s insane.”

She shrugs as she tosses her salad with her fork. “That’s what I say. My talent should get me the job, not my looks. It’s so sexist, you know? Just think about all the ugly men on TV, especially on the sport shows I want to work on someday. Anything’s better to look at than the guys they have on there now.”

I take a bite of my cookie as I get up to leave. “I have to run to class but we should have dinner tonight unless you have plans.”

---