Page 79 of Damnation
I check my cell phone, hoping to find at least one text to explain his absence, but there’s nothing. Vince gives me a pitying look. “Do you want my advice? Let him cool down for a little while. As soon as he calms down, everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
If he was intending to reassure me, he hasn’t remotely succeeded. In fact, the only thing his words have done is reawaken the anger that I pushed aside.
“Let me see if I have this right,” I snap. “I’m supposed to just wait until he calms down? I already spent a terrible night worrying about him, waiting for him to come back to me while he was out having fun! It doesn’t work that way!” I yell, not caring if I wake the others.
I stride away from Vince with determined steps, blood pounding in my temples as I head for the door.
“Where are you going now?” he asks wearily, still lying on the sofa with his head bent to keep looking at me.
“I’m moving out!” I leave the house, slamming the door behind me.
I walk down the path toward Howell Hall, flanked by red maples and aspens. Anger has my whole body trembling. The cold wind makes a mess of my hairstyle, strands sticking to the corner of my mouth.
About five minutes later, I heard Vince’s still-sleepy voice from behind me. “Hey, hey, slow down, come on!”
“What do you want?” It’s more of an accusation than a question, and I continue to walk briskly, arms folded tight.
He pulls alongside me, keeping pace. “I’ve got nothing to do, so I thought I’d keep you company.”
I give him a sideways look. He’s wearing the same clothes as yesterday, now much dirtier and more malodorous. His hair is disheveled and wild, his blue eyes still swollen and red from lack of sleep.
“I don’t need company. Just go back to the house and sleep. Or bathe. Whatever you think is more important.”
“Are you insinuating that I stink?” He lifts his right arm and bringshis nose close to his armpit. “Shit. Yeah, I stink,” he confirms, his face twisting into a grimace of disgust. But then he gives a shrug, as though it doesn’t really bother him all that much. “So where are we going?”
“I’mgoing to Howell,” I grump through gritted teeth.
“You’re moving in there?”
I nod, staring straight ahead.
“Dope. That dorm is full of next-level pussy. I have a feeling I’ll be visiting you frequently, Little Gem.” He rubs his hands together gleefully.
I don’t even bother answering; I’m in no mood to indulge his idiocy.
When we arrive in front of the building, a girl is waiting for us, tapping her foot with a listless air. She has a cup of coffee in one hand, some papers clenched under her arm, and a set of keys dangling from the fingers of her free hand.
“Hey!” I move toward her with a smile, trying to show her nothing but serenity. “Are you Athena?”
“Cute…” Vince whispers in my ear, earning himself an elbow to the ribs.
“In the flesh,” says the girl with electric blue eyes in front of me as she brushes her honey-colored bangs away from her face.
“I’m Vanessa; it’s so nice to meet you.”
“Little Gem, you drag me out of bed, I sacrifice my morning for you, and you don’t even bother to introduce me?” Vince interrupts, pushing aside my hand and inserting his own to shake with Athena.
“I’m Vince; it’s a pleasure.” A sideways smile forms on his face, creating a dimple in his right cheek. Athena scrutinizes him without interest and frowns, not remotely impressed by his attempt at flirting. She pulls her hand out of his grasp. But Vince doesn’t seem demoralized by her rejection. On the contrary, it seems to wind him up even further. So much so that he gives her a cheeky smile, and the moment she turns to lead us away, he follows close behind her.
“Cute and tough. I think I’ve just fallen in love,” he whispers to me again, his eyes locked on our guide’s backside, for which he receives another elbow in his side.
“Ow! Thomas is a bad influence on you; violence is your first instinct now!” He rubs his side with a grimace while I feel a pang in my heart at the mere mention of Thomas’s name. Vince seems to understand this, because he puts an arm around my shoulders as if to console me.
“So the building has four floors,” Athena breaks in as she moves toward the elevators and presses the call button. “The apartments are occupied only by second-year or international students, no freshmen.”
The elevator doors open, and the three of us walk in. Vince just stares at Athena, but she pointedly ignores him. She pushes the second-floor button, takes a sip of her coffee, and continues talking. “You can use the laundry for free, but you need to buy all your own laundry supplies. Newspapers are left outside the door every morning, and your mail will be delivered to you at Arnold Service Center.” She doesn’t stop talking until we get to the second floor. She’s the first out, leading the way to apartment F22.
She puts the key into the lock and lets us into what will be, from now on, my new residence. “And here we are; welcome to your little home.” She smiles at me without the slightest bit of enthusiasm. I wonder how many times she’s had to repeat this same spiel.
