Love Again ✔

2. One Year Later

Maddox (Theo):

One year later.

"God, I hate early practices. Especially when I'm hungover." Tyler complains as he falls on his bed across from mine.

"Be glad you can at least go back to sleep. I have a lecture in twenty minutes. I barely have time for coffee." I mumble as I tie my shoelaces, my muscles already aching from the cruel practice coach just gave us.

"You're right, but you're sober enough to go through that. Big thumbs up to you." He mumbles against his pillow, stretching his arm far enough for me to see his middle finger instead.

I chuckle at that. "I warned you last night, didn't I?"

He sits straight and looks at me, his blond hair still damp and sticking out ridiculously. "Dude. We're twenty one year old college students. It'd be a shame if we don't go to parties, get drunk and have sex. Shame, I tell you." He waves a finger in my direction as he adds, "well, at least that goes for all of us except you, since you're still hung up over your angel."

My heart aches at the mention of Ella. "I'm not hung up over her."

He looks at me skeptically, his green eyes piercing through mine. "Right. How many girlfriends have you had since she dissapeared? None. How many girls have you asked out? Also none. How many girls have asked you out? Too many to fucking count. How many dates have you actually gone on in the past year? Two. Two first dates and you were never interested to go on seconds. How many times have you had sex? Three, Theo. Three fucking times in twelve long months. Once with Karen, and twice with Lola. Now tell me again you aren't hung up over her." He challenges.

I glare at him but remain silent because I know that he only speaks the truth, as ugly as it is.

He sighs and his tone turns a lot softer and a lot more serious than before. "That shit isn't healthy, man. You have to move on."

"I just want to know what happened. I just want to know she's okay, Ty. I mean, I finally grow a pair and have one half-assed conversation with her, and I think that's it, I finally have my chance. But then she suddenly falls off the surface of the planet. It doesn't even matter anymore, all I want to know is that she's fucking okay. That's it." I sigh deeply, confused as shit with myself.

"We've asked around and no one knows what happened, dude. They said she decided to continue her degree online, so at least we know she's alive and safe enough to study online somewhere, right? You just have to find peace with living with that little bit of information and move on." He tries to convince me and as much as I love him for trying to look out for me, I still can't stop my temper from rising.

"Do you think I haven't tried? Fucking hell, man, I've tried so damn hard to get her out of my head, but I can't. She's the first thing I think of every fucking morning and the last thought in mind every goddamn night. I've tried to move on, I've tried going on those stupid dates you've mentioned and I even tried having sex with random chicks, but nothing works. I don't even know why I feel so much for someone I haven't had a single decent conversation with, but it just fucking happened, okay? And I can't really help it, so quit trying to make me feel like shit for wasting my fun college life because I don't feel like getting drunk and fucking women." I breathe heavily by the end of my rant.

Ty swallows with a frown etched between his brows before he shakes his head. "Shit, man. I'm sorry, alright? I'm not trying to make you feel bad about anything. I only want what's best for you. You know I love you, dude, and it bugs me a great deal to see you like this. But you're right, I'm approaching this the wrong way, and I'm sorry. Just do what you gotta do, yeah?"

"Yeah." I mumble, picking up my backpack and heading to the door. "I'll see you later."

Huffing once I shut the door to our dorm room, I make my way to the coffee house down the street before hurrying to the lecture hall.