Page 58 of Collision
My stomach churns, and that familiar nauseous feeling returns to keep me company. Why is he here?
He catches up with just a few long strides, and I begin to tremble. “Where have you been? I spent the whole night trying to call you!” he thunders, making us all gasp. “I asked everyone about you, but no one knew where you’d gone!” He pauses, waiting for an answer that he will not get from me. “I was about to call the police, or, even worse, your mother. You can thank Tiffany for holding me back!”
“Travis, calm down,” his sister interjects in my defense. But it’s time for me to speak up. They need to know the truth.
“Do you really have the nerve to come here and lecture me?” I burst out, gathering my courage.
“I was worried!” He gives me a look that burns with anger. Worried… What a hypocrite. He must not have been so worried when he was slithering into another girl’s bed.
“I can take care of myself. And, for your information, I was at your frat house,” I reply in a scornful tone.
“You’re kidding,” is all he says, as if refusing to believe me. He lets out a deep sigh and starts pacing. Tiffany makes to approach me, when Travis spits out all his vitriol, “You ran off to go to some stoner party? That’s insane. No, it’s stupid. That’s what you are, an idiot!”
The swollen vein in his neck throbs, his eyes blazing with anger.
“Hey! Watch your mouth!” Alex insists, approaching him cautiously.
“Yeah, Trav, calm down,” his sister urges him.
Travis scrubs a hand over his face and takes another deep breath. “Why did you go there?”
“Oh, were you hoping I would stay at Carol’s with you after what I found out? Or maybe you thought I’d go home and cry like a heartbroken little girl?”
“Okay, be straight with us now. Travis, what did you do?” interjects Tiffany.
“Yeah, I’d like to know too,” Alex backs her up.
“Stay out of it!” Travis snaps, glaring at me. Oh, no. He’s not getting off that easy. Not anymore.
“What happened is that, last night, I found out that Travis has been cheating on me all along! He even lied and tricked an innocent girl, Leila! That’s what happened.”
“Travis, tell me she’s joking,” his sister begs him, stunned. I hear Alex curse through gritted teeth.
“No…” He struggles to speak, rubbing his pale face with both hands.
“Do you still have the nerve to speak to me? To show up here, face me, and make a scene like this?” I wipe a tear away from my cheekbone and make to leave. Travis steps in front of me, blocking my way.
“Move aside!” I try to push past him, but he stops me.
“Nessy…” He tries to put his hands on my shoulders, but Alex doesn’t let him. He stands up and shields me with his arm.
“You’d better leave,” Alex commands, without any niceties.
“Now,” Tiffany agrees in a glacial tone.
“Mind your own fucking business. This doesn’t concern you!” Travis growls, out of control.
“What happened to you?” Tiffany turns a disappointed gaze on her brother. “It’s getting worse every day. I don’t even recognize you anymore.” But Travis is so caught up in his rage that he’s not listening to her.
“It’s not like that, Nessy. You know I never wanted to hurt you.” He takes a step toward me, and I freeze.
“You never loved me, Travis. It was just convenient for you to have someone easy to control. Someone stupid enough to let herself be fooled, someone who would believe whatever lies you told. Well, my eyes are open now.”
“I made a mistake, but we can overcome it together.” He moves as if to touch me, but I push his hand back. I see my friends tense up, ready to intervene. And that’s when I snap to attention. My stomach clenches as though trapped in a vise, and an intoxicating scent envelops me. I don’t need Travis’s furious expression to tell me who the person behind me is; I know it from the adrenaline that courses through my veins. From the unmistakable scent that has lingered around me all night long, infused in the shirt I’m still wearing. I can feel it on my skin.
It is Thomas who stops beside me, crossing his arms over his chest. The tension he exudes passes through my body like an electric current.
“Is there a problem here?” His icy voice resonates in the space between us, and a shiver of fear runs down my spine.
