“It’s not about that, do you remember Jackson?” She nodded vigorously. “The guy I kissed at the party was him, he got my number and won’t stop sending me slightly disturbing messages and calling me. Nick only knows he called once, I kept the other calls and messages hidden from him.”
“Wait! You kissed a guy? Why? Because you wanted to get back at Nick for kissing Cady? Speaking of which, why did he kiss Cady?”
“I didn’t kiss him, it was an accident. I fell and our mouths collided, I pulled away but he kissed me again against my will. And Nick kissed Cady for that reason. What he doesn’t know is that the guy who kissed me was Jackson, I didn’t know it either until he called me on Saturday to tell me. I’m worried about what Nick can do to him. He was furious just knowing he has my number, imagine if he finds out he kissed me. He’ll kill him. That’s why I’m hiding it. But either way he was very distant with me after that call, he barely spoke to me and just held me.”
I let out a sigh and right then Aaron walked through the door. As always, he didn’t even look at me, he just taught. I would have liked everything to have ended on good terms between us. I tried my part, but he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me anymore and I understand that.
“Samantha, you have to tell him. It’s going to cause more problems if you don’t. You know what Nick is like, you know he doesn’t take these kinds of things lightly. Besides, the idiot deserves to get a couple of punches, he’s a jerk. And I’m sorry to tell you that I would have ended it with Nick the moment he kissed Cady, he should have talked to you and not kissed a slut for simple revenge,” she murmured. I nodded and looked forward.
I know. I shouldn’t be with Nick. But I can’t just leave him. I need him. His kisses and caresses are like a drug that disconnects me from everything around me. It’s a drug I’m not ready to give up yet and I don’t think I ever will be.
I also know I should tell him the truth, but I can’t. I know how he reacts, and it’s not in a cordial and reasonable way. He doesn’t speak and he doesn’t think, he acts.
“You all know how this works. Just have the things you’ll need for the exam and then put away your cell phones and books.”
“Exam? Oh my God, I forgot the damn exam.”
I was so absorbed in my problems with Jackson and being in bed with Nick all weekend that I forgot.
They handed me the sheet and I read all the questions…
“I’m screwed.”
“You have thirty minutes from now,” Aaron sat down, gave me a fleeting look, and looked away.
I read each question a thousand times. I didn’t remember any of them.
When the thirty minutes passed, I wanted to bang my head against my locker. I was the last one to turn in. Aaron looked at the sheet and then at me. He was surprised.
“It’s blank,” he told me. It’s the first time he’s spoken to me directly since he left Nick’s building.
Embarrassed, I nodded.
“I didn’t study,” I said simply. Eva was waiting for me leaning against the door frame.
“Samantha, I don’t want to meddle in your life. But this… should not be happening, do you understand? You need to focus on your studies. You have a scholarship and you know well that if you fail any class, they’ll take it away.”
I nodded again and gave her a forced smile.
“It won’t happen again.”
“I hope so.”
We both looked at each other for a few more seconds, then I turned around and left the class. Eva didn’t say a word.
I headed to my next class and felt a knot in my throat. What’s happening to me? Me, forgetting an exam because of a guy? I can’t let my relationship with Nick influence my studies. If I start dropping grades, I’ll lose everything I’ve worked for these years.
The professor came in and gave the instructions. Ten minutes after the class started, Eva tapped me on the shoulder and told me to look to my left. Nick was outside the door signaling me to come out.
I shook my head many times, but he kept insisting.
Eva started to laugh.
“Is there something wrong, Miss?” the professor asked Eva.
“No, just… ” she looked at me and winked. “Oh, no.” “Samantha is not feeling well.”
I glared at her and then looked at the lady who was coming up to me.
“Don’t you feel well, Benson?”
I looked at the door again and Nick was still waiting for me, I let out a sigh and shook my head.
“My head hurts a lot and I feel really sick to my stomach,” I said resignedly.
She looked at me for a couple of seconds before telling me to leave the class and go home.
I took my things, went out, and looked at Nick. I approached him, ready to tell him how wrong it was for him to come here and make me leave the class.
Before I opened my mouth, he gave me a hug and pressed his body as close to mine as possible.
“I find it extremely hard to be away from you. I left you here less than an hour ago and I can’t be alone in the apartment if you’re not there. I miss you.”
What was I going to tell him…?
“Me too.”