Science and Technologyclass started at three. I’ve been constantly checking my watch while trying to keep up with the lecture. I think whatever I’ll find at the library has to do with Boyles.
Shaking my foot impatiently, I check my watch again. It's 3:31.
“Shit,” I mutter as I close my CompBook, stuff it in my backpack, and thrust myself out of my chair. I sit in the back of the classroom just so I can leave early without creating a commotion.
I’m on automatic pilot as I jog down the hallway with Jillian’s map in hand. I keep my pace as I run up the sidewalks until I reach the library, which is on the humanities side of campus. Never breaking stride, I bolt up the wide, tall steps to the front of the building. I only stop to show my school ID to enter the library. The guard raises his eyebrows as he checks the info. I’m sweating, but since I’m an avid runner, my breaths are under control.
He hands my ID back to me. “Late for something?”
“I think so,” I say and take off, walking fast instead of running.
Now that I’m inside, I follow Jillian’s instructions closely. I pass a reference-books checkout desk and then walk through the door on my left marked2A. I’m in a quiet room full of stacks. I continue straight up the aisle in front of the door until I reach the back of the room. I turn right. I see the double doors. I go through them and then up three flights of concrete stairs. I’m fine with completing the mission, but I can’t help but wonder where in the world Jillian is leading me.
At the top of the stairs, there’s only one door to enter. The placard in the middle of it reads,Study Area,and, beneath that,Silence Appreciated.
I enter. Book stacks fill the large room. The scent of old paper, which I find enticing, expands through my senses. I walk mostly on the balls of my feet so that my steps remain quiet. I even slow my breathing to further help me keep silent. When I make it to the back of the room, I turn left. To my right are more stacks. Along the wall are study booths made with two tall side walls and a narrow opening. Inside of each, a table is in the center, and a wood bench horseshoes the perimeter.
Even though I can't see anyone yet, I know there are others around me. Passing an aisle, I sense movement to my left, which makes me look. A couple is making out feverishly against the books. I slow to a near halt to get a better look at them. I’ve never seen the two before. The same thing is happening in the next aisle. What the hell is going on here?
Consulting Jillian’s map, I see that my final destination isn’t an aisle—it’s a booth. However, I’m more than book smart. The pieces have already been put together. Boyles is somewhere in this large room, making out with a girl.
Slowing my pace, I wonder if I actually want to see him cheating on me. I ponder turning around, going back to my dorm, and then calling him. If he doesn’t answer, I will leave a message saying, “Boyles, this is me, Paisley, informing you we’re officially over. I would’ve said this to you in person, but you won’t answer my calls. I guess I could’ve gone to your dorm, but I think this way is best. Have a nice life.” The longer I’ve known Boyles, the more sure I’ve been that he isn’t my forever guy. Sure, he’s charming, but his eyes wander a lot. He also cares too much about what everyone thinks about him. The one thing that always attracted me to Hercules was his confidence. Deep down, in places I'm not searching right now, maybe I hope that when I lace up my shoes tomorrow and go for my run, I'll encounter Hercules and tell him who I am. In the text message he sent me on graduation day, he said he hoped we would meet in Massachusetts. Well, we have—only he didn’t remember me. Funny, I’ve never deleted his message, but I haven’t read it in a long time. Maybe sometime tonight, I’ll reply with “We met in Manhattan. This morning, near the track, that girl you ran into was me, Paisley Grove. How are you, Hercules?” That’s good enough to break the ice.
Finally, I reach one of the two booths Jillian directed me to. The first booth is empty. Standing still, I turn my attention to the one next to it. I faintly hear groans and moans from a male and a female. After a few tiptoeing steps, I get close enough to peek through the narrow opening.
I slap my hand over my mouth as I gasp into my palm. What I’m seeing cannot be real. Boyles is sitting on the bench, and Dandi, wearing a miniskirt, straddles him. He's banging her.Holy shit—he’s inside her, and he's banging her.
Now, they’re watching me in horror. Cry, Paisley. Call him a cheater and her a traitor and a slut or something.
I can’t speak. All I can do is shake my head and walk away as fast as my feet will carry me.
Chapter Twelve
Him Again
Paisley Grove
Up the winding paths, I walk back to my dorm. I’m ready to cry but not in public. I don’t want anyone to see the Grove girl weeping. Everyone I pass seems to exist light-years away from me. When I make it to our dorm, finally, my tears roll. I close myself in my room, strip out of my clothes, put on my oversized T-shirt, and then hide under my sheets and comforter. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.
Dandi? My boyfriend is banging my roommate? How could I have missed that? For being so smart, how could I be so stupid?
My crying turns uncontrollable. I’m sobbing because I think my parents will be so disappointed in me for not choosing a more respectful boyfriend. They would think I’m smarter than that. And my heart—my aching heart. It feels like a strong hand has reached into my chest and is squeezing the living daylights out of my heart. I picture Treasure sitting on her beach chair and proudly introducing me to my new floozy of a roommate. My instincts warned me about Dandi. She’s always staring at me, and she tries too hard to make me like her. Plus, all the guys she brings through our suite—who can screw that many boys, anyway? I had a hard time banging one, and she had to fuck him too. I should have changed rooms a long time ago.
I sit up and reach for my cellphone. I’m so angry that I’m dizzy, but still, I call Treasure. As usual, she answers on the first ring. That's the good thing about her. If she’s able to, she'll take my calls. That's more than I can say for Boyles.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of this call, my dear sweet cousin?” she says as if she hasn’t a care in the world.
“I just caught your fucking friend, the one you made me room with, fucking my boyfriend in the fucking library!” I shout at the top of my lungs. I pause to catch my breath.
“What?” Treasure yells in my ear. “Which one?”
“Your friend Dandi was, or still is, sitting on Boyles's dick in the library.”
“You have a boyfriend?”
That’s right—I never had the time to call her and tell her. “Yes.”
“Wait. Your first boyfriend?”
