Find Her, Keep Her (CFTM Sequel)

Chapter 18 (Part 2)

(*Note: Click the Youtube link above to listen to the Audiobook Version of this chapter voiced by kaelking12 (Kristen M.) featuring music by Peace, Conor Maynard/Gnash, Ok Go, This Will Destroy You, and Explosions in The Sky.)

Elias

I pick up a piece of cracked wood and chuck it across the room. It crashes against the door and thuds onto the ground, but the sound doesn't stop.

Three muffled knocks echo across the quiet.

I open my mouth to ask who it is, but my voice is just about gone. So I force myself to move. I get off the ground, wipe my eyes, and walk over to the door hoping to God Jersey's waiting outside.

I crack open the door and Indigo's standing there with a huge jar of green shit in her hands and a shadow of a smile on her lips.

"Hi, Elias. You look like shit. Want some smoothie?"

She lifts up a hand to offer it to me, but I wave it off.

"No, thanks. I'm kinda busy right now."

I start closing the door, but she shoves her foot in the way before I can shut her out. She sticks her head inside and looks at the mess I've made, but I don't even have the energy to stop her.

"Remodeling?"

My face heats up as she steps past me and stares at the state of the floor. I open my mouth to try to explain things, but I don't even know what to say.

I don't know how to tell her how fucked up everything is, or how fucked up I am, or how fucked it is that I did all this.

I can't believe I did this.

The whole room looks like my house did after dad tore through it. Maybe we're not that different after all. We ruin things the same way.

"Look, I appreciate you coming by and everything, but I've kinda had a fucked up morning ."

"I heard. The RA's downstairs were about to come up here with security to see what all the noise was about, but I offered to check on you instead."

"Shit, really?"

"Yeah. You're lucky I stepped in before UCPD did. Otherwise, it would've been off to proverbial prison for you."

I lean out into the hallway and look around for anyone else who might be trying to worm their way into my problems, but the quad's quiet.

Thank God.

"Was I--that loud?"

Indigo nods her head, and my lungs lock up.

"I'm pretty sure the whole second floor heard you, but don't stress about it. You're not the first person to go super nova around here. The day before you moved in, two sophomores got into a fight over fantasy football and one of them put their fist through the common room window."

Shit. At least, I'm not that bad. Not yet anyway.

"Yeah, but they're not me. If anybody finds out 'Elias King' trashed his dorm, I'm gonna be screwed."

"There are worse things."

"Not really. If the Dean hears about this, my special privileges are gonna disappear. Seriously, Indigo I can't have anybody on my case about--"