Second Chances

Chapter 10

By the time we leave, it's well past four. Drew and I follow them back to our dorm, saying goodbye when we reach our room. I go into my room and grab my phone. I have a billion notifications. Some from my parents. Some from Instagram. The rest from Cole.

I call him since he left me like a thousand messages.

"Hey." I say when he picks up.

"Where were you? I've been trying to reach you for hours." He exclaims.

"I don't know if I should tell you. You might get mad again." I say sarcastically.

"Aubrey." He sighs.

"Fine. I was out with Drew and some of his friends. They showed me around then we got food." I say.

"Was it fun?" He asks.

"Actually, yeah. We even went to the gym. I have gym class. It was a schedule mix up. I'm stuck with it till next semester when I can switch." I explain.

"Wow. Aubrey. The gym. That's great." Cole says.

"Don't get excited. I'm not playing again. And all they did was show me where it was so I didn't get lost." I say.

"You can't write it out of your life. Like it or not, it's in your blood." He says.

"Well, it's not anymore." I snap.

"Okay, okay. I gotta go. My mom needs me. But we're cool?" He asks.

"Yeah. We're cool. Bye." I say.

"Bye." He says. I hang up. My parents called like five times. I call them back.

"Hello." I say.

"Oh my god, Aubrey. You need to answer your phone when we call." My mom yells.

"No hello?" I ask.

"Not now. You scared us." She says.

"Mom. Seriously. I'm like 10 hours away. Different time zones. And I can't pick up every single time. I have classes. Oh yeah. And I have this thing called a life, believe it or not." I say, rolling my eyes.

"What were you doing that made you not be able to answer your phone?" My mom questions.

"I was getting a tour with some friends. And then we got a late lunch." I say.

"What friends?" She asks.

"Jesus Christ, Mom!!! I have a fricking life. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not totally ruined." I yell, hanging up my phone. I sit on my bed, trying to calm down. There's a knock on my door.

"Yeah?" I call, wiping my eyes. My door opens and Drew comes in.

"The walls aren't soundproof." He says sheepishly.

"Oops." I say, trying to laugh.

"That sounded intense. Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But that's just my mom. Miss Social butterfly. She's a fashion designer. Wanted me to be just like her. We've never really gotten along." I explain.

"Ahhhhh. I can't really relate. My mom died when I was young. So my dad and I, it's been just us. We're pretty close." He says.

"Before...my accident, my dad and I were close. He was my coach. Always knew what to do. Now, it's just tense. He blames me. I know he does. He thinks it's my fault that I can't play. Honestly, I was getting pretty sick of being Aubrey Miller." I sigh.

"What do you mean? Sick of being you?" He asks.

"Not necessarily. Sick of being basketball star, Aubrey Miller. I just wanted a normal life. I wanted to play and still have a social life. But basketball took social and turned it into I don't even know. Every event, I had to be there. My dad made sure of it. That's the only reason we weren't like super close. I don't know. It's hard to explain." I say.

"I can't say I get it. Or I know what you're going through. Because I don't. Not even a little bit." He says.

"Not many do. Don't get me wrong, I love basketball. And if I had the choice, I'd redo that entire night. I want to play. But I can't. I'm done with it. For good. And now that I'm done, there's more press than ever before. After my att-" I stop short.

"What?" He asks.

"Never mind. Anyways, it's just hard sometimes. Being who everyone else wants you to be." I say.

"It is. It really is." Drew nods.

"Anyways, any ideas for what we can do?" I ask.

"Um. Well, I don't tell many people this. But I ride horses. And there's a barn here and my horse is borded here." He blurts out.

"Wow. That's so cool. I used to ride when I was younger, I really missed it as I got older. And don't be afraid to tell people. If they make fun of you, they're jealous. They're jealous that you can do what you love and not be ashamed of it, and they can't." I say.

"Thanks." He smiles.

"We should go see your horse." I say.

"Aren't you cold? We were just outside. And you only have shorts. Don't you have sweatpants?" He asks.

"I don't own any. And I was stupid, so I didn't buy some." I sigh.

"I have some that you can borrow." He says, standing up. Then he walks out and into his room, returning a few seconds later.

"They might be a little big." He says.

"Thanks." I smile. He holds my arm and my crutches while I slide the pants on. They're a little big, but they work. He hands me my crutches and my phone.

"You might wanna bring it this time." He laughs. I groan.

"I'm ready." I say. Drew holds the door open and we go into the kitchen where he gets his shoes. Then he holds the other door open for me and we walk into the hall. All around us, people are talking and catching up. But when we step into the hallway, they go silent.

"Drew." I whisper.

"Don't ask me." He whispers back. Some blonde walks up to us.

"Hey Drew." She says, tossing her hair.

"Hey Alexis." Drew smiles.

"Who's this?" She asks, glaring at me.

"Um. This is my roommate. It was a mixup." He explains nervously.

"You're rooming with..her?" She asks, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah." He coughs.

"And now you're hanging out with her. That's great. I asked if you wanted to hang out and you said you couldn't. That's nice." She says.

"I'm sorry, did I do something that I'm unaware of?" I ask.

"Yeah. This is my boyfriend. So back off. Find someone else to give you a tour." She says, glaring at me.

"And find someone else's clothes to wear." She snaps.

"Um. I can wear whatever I want, bitch. And I can do whatever I want. I don't need some stuck up bitch telling me what I can and can't do." I retort. She narrows her eyes at me again.

"My boyfriend. Back off." She says.

"Alexis. Aubrey. Please." Drew pleads. We're glaring at each other.

"Fine. Forget it Drew." I say, turning and going back to our room.

"Aubrey-" Drew starts.

"Forget it. Go hang with your bitch." I say, slamming our door.