“It’s never an inconvenience, Penny. Besides, James has classes. We can’t ask him to miss them,” my mom said.
“I can cancel them. I mean, skip them. Not a big deal at all.”
“Well, if you’re sure it’s okay, James. And if that’s really what you want to do, Penny,” my mom said.
My dad lifted up his hand. “Nonsense. You’ll be coming back with us, Pen.” His tone was the same one he would use when I got in trouble when I was younger. It meant that it was the end of the discussion. He wasn’t even giving James a fair chance. I was just about to protest when there was a knock on the door. Melissa burst into the room and ran over to me.
“Oh my God, Penny!” She threw her arms around me. “Have you been here this whole time? I thought you were okay.” She turned to James. “Thanks for keeping me in the dark, James.”
“I didn’t know she was here either. I would have told you.”
“Then where were you, Penny? I haven’t heard from you since Friday night. I can’t believe…” she let her voice trail off when she saw the expression on my face. “We can talk later.” She squeezed my arm and walked over to my parents. “Thanks for calling me, Mrs. Taylor.” She hugged both my parents at the same time.
My parents loved Melissa. Whenever they visited me at school they always took Melissa and me out to dinner. I was pretty sure they thought Melissa being my roommate freshman year was the best thing that ever happened to me. And they were probably right. Having a best friend that was outgoing and fun had definitely been good for me. And without her forcing me to go out all the time, I never would have run into James in the rain that night.
“Oh, I have someone I want you to meet.” Melissa let go of her embrace and walked over to the door. “Hey guys, it’s okay, you can come in.”
Josh came in, followed by Tyler.
What the hell?
She grabbed Josh’s hand and steered him toward my parents. “Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, this is my boyfriend, Josh.” She looked up at Josh. “These are Penny’s parents.”
“Nice to meet you,” he said and shook both of their hands.
My father didn’t look nearly as cold when he shook Josh’s hand. Maybe because he hadn’t expected that Josh had just had sex with Melissa. And he also lacked a black eye.
“And that’s our friend Tyler.” Melissa pointed over at him. He was hovering by the door. Tyler still had bruises around the inside corners of his eyes.
My dad looked at Tyler’s face and then glanced over at Professor Hunter’s. His brow furrowed.
“Nice to meet you both.” Tyler smiled at them but didn’t move.
My parents started talking to Josh and I tuned them out. I looked over at Tyler. He was staring at me. It looked like he wanted to come over, but he stayed where he was.
“Thanks for coming, Tyler,” I said quietly. I was more than a little surprised to see him. But we were still friends. It was nice of him to come.
He glanced at Professor Hunter and then shook his head. He walked over to me. “Yeah, well, Melissa needed a ride.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “It’s hard to say no to her.”
“Right.” I smiled at him. He didn’t want to be here. “Well, thanks for bringing her.” We had gone from so much to so little. “My parents can take them back. You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
“What? No, that’s not what I meant. I wanted to come.”
Professor Hunter was gripping my hand tighter and tighter with each word Tyler and I spoke to each other.
“How did you end up in here?” Tyler asked.
“I fainted. On Main Street.”
“Penny,” his voice sounded strained. “I knew I shouldn’t have let you leave. You’re so stubborn.”
Professor Hunter loosened his grip on my hand.
Shit. I hadn’t told him about going to Tyler’s. But he wouldn’t be upset when I did. I had gone there to call things off between us. “I’m okay, Tyler.”
“That’s what you said yesterday too. So I don’t believe you.”
Professor Hunter let go of my hand and stood up. “Does anyone want some coffee or something to eat?”
No one said anything.
“I’ll be right back.” He ran his hand through his hair and walked toward the door without looking back at me. My dad quickly got up and followed him out of the room. Not good.
“Penny?”
I looked back up at Tyler.
He gently took my hand between both of his. “It’s hard for me to see you like this.”
“I’m not in pain. I’m fine, really. And this time I mean it.”
He crouched down by my bed. “Look, I know what I said the other day,” he whispered. “But I need you to listen to me now. I don’t care that you were with Professor Hunter. I forgive you for hurting me. I forgive you for everything. Please stop making the wrong choice. I need you to choose me. I need you to know the truth…”
“Tyler, stop.”
“I was wrong before. I can take care of you. I want to take care of you. I want to be with you. Please stop doing this to me.”
“I love him. I love him, Tyler. I don’t know what else I can say.”
“Okay.” He let go of my hand. “Right.” He stood back up. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll see you in class then.” He gave me a forced smile.
“Wednesday probably.”
“Okay.” He walked away from my bed. “I’m going to get going guys. Are you staying?”
“Just a minute,” Melissa said. Melissa came back over to my bed.
“I’ll be waiting outside.” Tyler walked out of the room. It was so hard to see him upset. And it was even worse knowing it was my fault.
“What did Tyler say to you?” she whispered.
“That he wants to be with me.”
“And?”
“And nothing. I’m in love with James.”
“We have a lot to talk about.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that. I sighed. “I know.”
“When will you be back?”
“Tuesday.”
“Okay.” She squeezed my arm again. “Text me.” She gave my mom a hug goodbye.
“Feel better, Penny,” Josh said. The three of them left.