Chapter 3

• Rhys’ apartment was the first in the second row of apartments. There were three rows, 10 apartments on each row.
• I made my way across the garden to his apartment and knocked on the door, a huge stupid grin on my face.
• Rhys opened the door, his forearm pressed to the wall as he leaned outside with a smirk on his face. His dark eyes checked me out from my face to the tip of my shoes, his smile widening.
• “Looks like Christmas came early.”
• “Yes, baby,” I purred. “And I’m here to make your dreams come true. Now, have you been naughty or nice?”
• “Why don’t you come inside and find out?”
• He opened the door wider, stepping back for me to walk in. Unlike me and Aaliyah and a few other of our classmates, Rhys and opted to stay alone so the living room, single room and kitchenette were his alone to use.
• Which meant we had enough privacy to ourselves.
• But as soon as I walked into the living room I stopped short.
• Bags and boxes were strewn everywhere. Clothes and hangers were flung over the couches, shoes littered the floor, everything everywhere was scattered and disorganized.
• “Rhys you haven’t cleaned up?” I threw him a glance over my shoulder.
• “What’s the big deal? I can clean up later.” He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. “Come on, let’s go into the room.”
• “Is it any better than this place?” I raised my brows.
• He groaned. “What the hell, Lucy? What does it matter? I’ve missed you, I want you, I don’t care about what the room looks like. I just want to have you.”
• “Oh I care what it looks like because there’s no way you are going to bend me over in a place like this.” I turned and pulled away from him. “And don’t tell me you’ve missed me when you couldn’t even call or text throughout the holiday.”
• He groaned louder, this time throwing his hands up. “This again? I thought we already talked about that? What the hell do you have to keep going back to that?”
• “Because I was hurt okay?” I said softly, trying and failing to not show my pain show.
• He got that look on his face that he always has whenever he shuts me out. He started to walk away in the direction of the room. I didn’t want him to go.
• We had only just resumed. I didn’t want to fight.
• Last term we fought so much I thought our relationship was going to end. Aaliyah had been so certain that I would never go back to him. she gave me all the lectures she could about how it was a good thing that we fought and how I could begin to respect myself better to show him that he couldn’t treat me anyhow he liked and expect me to come back to him.
• But Rhys and I ended up reconciling before the session ended that was why I was so hurt when he didn’t even care to check in during the holiday. Then again, he had been busy.
• I stopped in front of me. “Rhys come on. Look I’m sorry, okay? I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
• “You always do that,” he retorted. “Why do you always have to bring up past things every time we have a new argument?”
• “I said I’m sorry okay?”
• “It’s fine. You should probably go back. I need to get this place cleaned up. I’ll let you know when I’m done.”
• “No, no. You’re still mad at me aren’t you?” I looked into his face. He wouldn’t even look at me. “Come on, Rhys please don’t be mad,” I begged.
• He pulled his arms away. “I said it’s okay. Geez. I was excited to see you and show you how much I missed you and then you… look it’s okay. I’ll text you, okay.”
• I panicked. “Let me show you how sorry I am.”
• I went on my knees in front of him. That stopped him in his tracks.
• He looked down, his fingers touching my face as a slow smile softened his lips.
• “You are such a naughty girl do you know?”
• I smiled. “And you like me like that, don’t you?”
• “You know I do.”
• I spent the next 10 minutes making him happy. When I finished he threw his head back laughing and groaning loudly.
• “Damn, Lucy, you’re going to be the death of me.”
• He pulled me to my feet, his lips finding mine as he wrapped his arms around my body. “That was amazing. I definitely missed that.”
• I pulled back to eye him. “Was that the only thing you missed?”
• “One of the many things,” he whispered sweetly against my mouth. “Come here.”
• I let him pull me close and kiss me again, enjoying the feel of his hands on my body. I love it when he touches me, in moments like this he makes me feel like I’m the only one in the world. I pressed my body into his, wanting more and more of him when he suddenly pulled back.
• His fingers dove under my shirt. I thought he wanted to take it off but he surprised me by pinching my waist on both sides, his fingers pressing my flesh.
• “Did you gain some weight, babe?”
• Whatever euphoric feeling I had been feeling before evaporated, leaving me empty and hurt all over again.
• “What?”
• He pulled my shirt up to pinch my waist again. “Look at that.”
• Sure I had gained some weight but it was because I was stressed and worried about him throughout the holiday. I love to eat but I eat a little more when I am stressed physically and emotionally.
• I wanted to tell him that it was all his fault but that would only cause another argument.
• I jerked my shirt down, pissed but I held my tongue. “I have to go.”
• “But we haven’t even…”
• “We don’t have to. I have to go. I haven’t arranged my room and my stuff. Aaliyah is waiting for me so that we can do that together.”
• “Come on, now are you mad?”
• “No I’m not.”
• He stopped me just as I was about to leave. “Lucy, I know you better than anyone. You’re mad aren’t you?”
• “I said I’m not! Geez.”
• “No need to yell at me,” he frowned. “Christ why does everything have to be an argument with you? I was hoping you would let me spend the night, we’d clean up together and then I spend the rest of the night making it up to you but whatever.”
• “Whatever? That is all you have to say?” I gaped.
• “What more do you want me to say? All I need was make an observation and you found a problem with that. Why do you always do that?”
• “I always do that?” I raised my hands in surrender. “Okay, that doesn’t even warrant a response. I’m not gonna be here for that right now. Just…have good night, okay?”
• “Lucy…”
• I pushed past him. I didn’t want to hear anything he had to say.
• What if I added a little extra weight during the holiday? Couldn’t he have waited until later to say it or mentioned it differently?
• I pulled the door open and slammed it on my way out which I probably shouldn’t have done since by now most of our classmates had resumed and many of them were dragging their bags into their rooms.
• Some paused to see what was going. I quickly feigned a smile and wave. Everyone in class knew about me and Rhys’ volatile relationship. We weren’t always volatile until last year and it hurt.
• Tears burned in my eyes as I turned away, nodding greetings, waving and saying ‘Hi’ to the friendly greetings around me.
• “You look good,” someone said.
• I didn’t care to know who it was. I didn’t want them to see the tears burning in my eyes so turned my face away and walked off.
• I didn’t want to go back to Aaliyah and her lessons. I loved the girl and I know she had the best intentions but now was not the time to hear about how Rhys wasn’t the boy for me, so I kept walking without looking back.
• With nowhere to turn to I walked into the new apartment.
• It still smelled of fresh paint.
• I wrinkled my nose as I put my hand on the door and opened it.
• It was empty.
• Strangely though the lights were on. All of it.
• The living room was larger than Rhys or mine, or even any of the other apartments. Well that was to be expected since it was bigger on the outside.
• I shut the door behind me wondering who the hell needed a space as big as this and it didn’t look like anyone had moved in yet. The living room was speck, span and spotless. The furnishing was new; new couches and a coffee table.
• An open door led in an extremely bright kitchen. There was an even bigger fridge in it.
• When my stomach grumbled I knew that it was time to have a snack. Without thinking at all about what I was doing, I opened the fridge and was surprised to see that it was stock up with chocolates, didn’t look like anyone would notice if something went missing so I helped myself to some Snickers bars. A quick peek at the cupboard overhead revealed bags of chips so I helped myself to some.
• I couldn’t wait until I was out of the apartment to enjoy my loot so I opened one of the chocolates and began to eat.
• “Are you going to pay for that?” a deep voice drawled from behind.
• I yelped, nearly jumping out of my skin. The bag of chips fell and so did most of the chocolates. With my arms up to guard myself I turned around and came to a perfect stop.
• It was him.
• The new kid.
• The strange boy on the hill.
• And he was … gorgeous. More than the shitty picture Monica sent and certainly more than I remember some 3 – 4 years ago.
• He was taller, broader and he must have just gotten out of the shower because drops of water made locks of his raven black hair cling to his forehead – and his naked chest.
• Thank God he was wearing a pair of black sweatpants, I definitely would have embarrassed myself some more if he wasn’t.
• Still I couldn’t resist staring, not until my gaze returned to those eyes to see him frowning at me.
• “Oh I – I didn’t realize you were in, I mean it didn’t look occupied.”
• “Last night,” he said.
• “What?” I intoned stupidly.
• “I moved in last night.”
• And then without warning he bent to retrieve the rest of my fallen loot and held them out.
• “Here.”
• “What?” I dumbly intoned.
• “Take them with you.”
• I collected them.
• He rose and I stepped aside. Why the hell is he so tall.
• And hot.
• “Anything else you wanted?”
• “I – no…” I finally broke the spell by looking away. My heart was thudding heavily in my chest. I suddenly felt self – conscious. “I’m so sorry about this. I – I don’t even know what to say, I’m sorry.”
• “It’s cool.”
• He doesn’t remember me, I realized.
• For some reason that stung.
• There has never been a time that I, Lucinda Castello, hasn’t left a lasting impression on someone.
• Especially a boy.
• I wanted to remind him that I was that girl he had spoken to more than 3 years ago but then again, one look at him and I knew that I would be wasting my time because, one, our time together was brief and even if it wasn’t, he would definitely have trouble recalling my face when he had so many other faces to choose from. Two, he didn’t too happy that I was still standing there, clutching my loot to my chest.
• “Uhm…,” I said feeling awkward. “I should probably go.”
• “You should.”
• I hurried out of the kitchen, clutching my snacks to my chest. What the hell? What the fucking hell was that?
• I didn’t stop walking until I was out of the house and walking down the path to my own apartment. I heard him turn the key in the lock and I looked back.
• Okay that was a little scary. It wasn’t until I reached my apartment that I realized I nearly peed my pants.