Banging the heel of my right hand against the wheel, my mind drifts back to the girl I nearly hit. With her brown hair and wide eyes behind a pair of glasses she looked vaguely familiar. She reminded me of a different life, one before I became so jaded.
Sometimes I really miss those simpler days, the summers spent running through the grassy fields beside my family’s Victorian home in Virginia. I always preferred it to our time spent in L.A.
With a shake of my head I grab my workout bag off the passenger seat and head inside.
“Yo, Cole, you home man?” I call out, heading for the stairs.
I don’t hear a reply as I go up, but when I reach the landing his door opens. “Where the hell did you go?” he asks, taking in my sweaty appearance.
“Field,” I answer, pausing outside the master bedroom door.
He raises a brow, his eyes narrowed. “Didn’t know baseball practice began this early. School hasn’t even officially started.”
“It hasn’t.” I take off my baseball cap, pushing my sweat damp hair back from my eyes. “Needed to blow off some steam.”
He cracks a grin. “You could’ve used a pussy for that.”
“Not in the mood.”
“Suit yourself man, and shower while you’re at it. You smell like shit.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “That was the plan.”
Ignoring whatever dumb thing will come out of my best friend and roommate’s mouth next, I shoulder my door open and close it quickly behind me. Tossing my bag on the bench in front of my bed, I head straight for the bathroom. He’s right about one thing, I do smell.
Kicking the door closed behind me I turn the knob of the walk-in shower, letting the water heat up. Shucking off my clothes I toss them in the empty hamper. My boxers miss and out of habit I walk over and pick them up instead of leaving them on the floor. My mom hates when dirty clothes are left lying around, and apparently I picked up that quirk from her. Also a penchant for drinking hot tea, but not many people know that. I have to keep my man card.
Stepping beneath the spray, I watch the water swirl down the drain. My shoulders sag with exhaustion from a burden I don’t know why I even bother carrying. I know it’s pointless for me to care so much about what certain people think of me, and yet I can’t stop.
Grabbing my soap, I scrub my body free of dirt and sweat. I wash my hair too and in the end my whole body smells like the Atlantic Ocean, or I assume that’s what I’m supposed to smell like according to the label on the bottle. I don’t pay much attention to this kind of shit, but my mom stocked me up on all the good smelling stuff for Christmas. I don’t know whether she was just being nice or it was her subtle way of telling me I stink.
Despite the fact I’m in the shower, and soapy, I raise my arm to smell my armpit.
With a shake of my head, I rinse the bubbles from my body before stepping out on the rug. Learned shit the hard way when I didn’t have one and stepped out and slipped on my ass. Told people I took a baseball to the ass, because it sounded cooler than the fact I slipped on the wet tile floor because I’m stupid.
Grabbing a towel, I tie it around my waist and grab another smaller one to rub over my hair.
Padding over to the sink, my phone vibrates with a text. My nose crinkles when I see a text from Jules, one of my regular hookups from last year letting me know she’s back in town and settled in her dorm.
“Not interested,” I mutter to myself, blacking out the screen and sliding my phone away.
I’m in too pissed off of a mood to even enjoy getting my dick sucked.
Today, like most days, I find myself wishing I wasn’t the son of Maddox Wade.
After putting a small amount of gel in my hair and styling it somewhat, I grab a pair of cotton shorts and tug them on.
Downstairs Cole is sitting on the large sectional couch in front of the flat screen. I head past him to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water to replenish my liquids.
He looks over the back of the couch at me. “Some of the guys and I are headed to Harvey’s tonight. You wanna go?”
I gulp down the last of the entire sixteen-point-nine ounces. “Nah.”
Cole arches a brow. “Why the hell not man? It’s freshman hunting season. Some beer and pussy will make you feel better.”
I think back to Jules’ text and scrub a hand over my stubble-free jaw. “Just not in the mood.”
It’s not that Harvey’s is that bad, but I don’t really have a desire to sit in a dim bar with loud country music and dancing. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with the guys here, but if they’re after girls Harvey’s is the place to go.
“Fuck you really have had a shitty day.” Cole gets up and joins me in the kitchen, grabbing a beer. He pops the cap and hands it to me. “You don’t want to go out, that’s cool. You can get shit-faced here and maybe you’ll be in a better frame of mind.”
I crack a half-smile. “That sounds like some bullshit advice.” I lift the bottle to my lips, downing a few gulps. Setting it back down on the counter I cock my head. “What do you know, I already feel better. You’re a real Dr. Phil type, Cole.”
He shrugs, lifting his palms. “I try. You sure you don’t want to go? I’m going to head over to Teddy’s if you’re not going.”
“I’m not.”
Cole knows once my mind is made up on something it isn’t changing, but it doesn’t stop him from trying.
“Fine. I’ll see you later, man.” He claps me on the back, swipes his keys, and disappears down the stairs to the garage.
Dumping the rest of the beer out in the sink, I toss the empty bottle in the trash. I make myself a sandwich, grab another water, and head upstairs.
Getting in bed I stretch my long legs out in front of me and set the plate in my lap. There’s something eerie about being in the three-thousand-plus square foot townhome by myself. I guess I’ve never really liked being on my own all that much, but when you grow up in a large family, with security trailing you everywhere, you’re never alone. Now that I have the freedom of being in an empty home it’s weird, even though this is the beginning of my third year living here during the school year.
Picking up the remote, I look for something to watch, settling on a rerun of Wizards of Waverly Place.
Cole would give me hell if he caught me, but fuck it, who doesn’t like some childhood nostalgia?
Besides, Selena Gomez is hot.
Chapter Three
Rory
A few hours later, I return to the dorm with bags of goods for my room, including things that weren’t a necessity but will make my room more personal. After years of saving and hiding every penny I figure I deserve it. I also picked up some supplies for school, dumb stuff like highlighters, pens, and notebooks. I even swung by the school store and bought a laptop. With the student discount, plus by getting one refurbished, I was able to walk away with a shiny gold Macbook Air. I’m more than a little giddy about it. I’m sure I’ll be caressing the precious later.
Depositing everything on the bare mattress in my room I get to work.
Li and Kenna are nowhere to be seen, probably having gone to the dining hall for a bite to eat.
I make my bed first, the white sheets and gray comforter the plainest ones I could fine. Much better than the teal and hot pink options. It doesn’t reflect my personality much, but if I’m being honest with myself, I don’t really know what that is anymore. My entire life has centered around survival for so long that along the way I lost who I was.