All these people pretend to give a damn, and the only one who really does just drove off. At least I thought she did. I guess it’s true, hard times reveal the true colors of the people in your life.
“Where’d she go?” Knox asks, as he hands me a full cup of beer.
“She left, and I think she just dumped my ass.” I laugh it off to hide what it’s really doing to me on the inside. I thought she was different. I thought she’d be the one by my side through this. I guess I thought wrong. “Time to drink until I don’t remember any of this fucked up day.” I tip the beer back and slam the contents.
She may think it’s over, but this isn’t the end.
Far from it.
1
One Year Later
Axel
If time could stand still, I know the exact day I’d pocket and keep forever. It would be the day before my life went to hell during senior year—it was a day I felt alive. Feeling like my heart beat for someone other than myself. Like I could actually be a man worthy of loving someone, a man worthy of being loved.
Unfortunately, time passes, people change, and happiness fades. My heart still beats, but its purpose has altered. The blood inside me has run cold. I’ve always struggled to try and feel the warmth of the sun. Now, I hide from it. In the darkness of my soul lives a man who has constant thoughts about revenge. If you hurt me, you are the one who will feel the pain.
It just so happens the reason for my pitch-black heart has followed me to this state. She may not have actually followed me, but she’s here, nonetheless.
“This is the last one. Now the fun begins.” Knox, my best friend and now roommate, drops a box onto the old hardwood floor of our new house, snapping me out of my treacherous thoughts.
“Hell, yes, it does. The housewarming party starts in—” I look at my phone, “two hours.”
“Leave it to you to plan a party in a town you just set foot in less than twenty-four hours ago. Who’d you invite, the landlord?”
“As a matter of fact, noble Knox,” I hook my arm around his shoulder, “I’ve done my research and got an ‘in’ with one of the biggest fraternities at UCLA. One that is well-known for its raging parties that sexy sorority girls swarm.”
“Of course you did.” He tosses my arm off from him, “I’ll be at Claire’s tonight, so you enjoy your orgy fest.”
“Oh, come on,” I throw my hands in the air, “you can’t miss our kickoff to an epic school year.”
“I can, and I will,” he says point-blankly, before stacking a couple boxes.
“I’ll take that.” I grab my hoodie he’s had for the last year out of the top box.
“What?” he scuffs, “That’s mine. I wear it all the time.”
“Negative. You took this from me last fall and never gave it back.” I ball it up and chuck it on my box on the floor. “Now, you did. Thanks.” I’ve always loved getting under his skin, and he makes it so damn easy.
I watch him walk away, wondering how I’m even best friends with my roomies. We’re polar opposites. I suppose our differences are what brought us together in the first place. Knox and Kip, our other roommate, have been friends since they were tots. I didn’t come into the picture until a bit later. Both are upstanding citizens who make good choices and obey the law, aside from underage drinking and the fact that Knox had an affair with our then-married teacher. (Side note: he’s our hero for that one).
Anyway, Kip and Knox were the first guys to befriend me when I moved to Redwood in the second grade. I sat alone on the time-out bench, and they thought I needed a couple friends, turns out, I did. Then came the girls of our group, Harper and Taya. Harper has since been eliminated from our circle, though she doesn’t seem to grasp that. It could be because I’m the only one who cut her out, and my asshole friends still treat her like she’s one of us.
Even at the tender age of seven when I met the guys, I walked into that school with a chip on my shoulder and planned to dominate. I’m a schemer, and I was raised under the impression that, if we allow people to walk all over us, they will. I never gave anyone that opportunity; instead, I do the walking, and they do the following. I’m a natural born leader, what can I say.
I’m not a pompous asshole who walks around like my shit doesn't stink, but I will say that if you don’t let people smell it, they don’t even know it’s there. I don’t put my personal life on display, and I certainly don’t show when I feel something—which is rare, with the exception of my feelings toward one person.
I see movement across the street, outside the living room window, and shuffle over to it, curiosity getting the best of me. I draw in a breath and exhale slowly. I still can’t believe this girl had the audacity to move directly across the street from me. After everything we’ve been through, she should know better. I don’t know how much clearer I can make myself when I tell her that I never want to see her again. Yet, she pops up everywhere I go. Even in a different state, she’s here. She’s there. She’s fucking everywhere.
I have many character flaws, but my absolute worst trait is my inability to forgive and move on from something that has cut me. Harper Ambrose cut me deep. Every time I see her, I’m reminded of that knife she stuck in my heart. Now I’m expected to see her every damn day.
Because of that, I have three rules for this school year.
Party hard
Kick ass in the ring
Make Harper miserable
Tonight, I’m working on one and three.
I swing the front door open and push the aluminum screen door. “Hey ladies,” I holler across the street. “Party tonight at our place. You coming?” My foot holds the door open, as I stand there shirtless, in only a pair of gym shorts. The heat is fucking killer today, and Kip still hasn’t called the landlord about the AC unit. Harper turns her head quickly at the sound of my voice.
The other girls, one of whom is okay in my book, Taya, all speak to each other with body movements and no words. “We’ll be there.” The tall brunette, I’ve never seen before, flashes a smile.
“Great. Party starts at 8pm. See you later.” I pause, looking back at Harper. “All but you, Adara.”
Her face scrunches together, and her forehead wrinkles as she sticks up her middle finger. I grab the gesture in the air and stick it in my invisible pocket. “Always such a tease,” I shout, “But I’ll save it for a rainy day.”
I step back inside and let the screen door slam closed.
“Was that necessary?” Knox pushes past me, catching the door before it latches, his black backpack draped over both shoulders. “Harper,” he cups his hands around his mouth with his foot wedged in the door, “you are welcome in our house.” He turns to me when he emphasizes that it is our house, not just mine.
I can’t hear her or see her, but I know she’s probably telling him not a chance. I grab Knox by the straps of his bag and pull him back inside. “Dude, what ever happened to bros before hoes?”
“Harper isn’t a hoe, and she isn’t just some girl. You need to drop this shit now before you ruin everyone’s year.” He jerks away. “I’ll be home tomorrow. Have the remains of your party cleaned up, and you better be nice to her, Axel.”