Falling Helplessly

Chapter 5 | Good Gossip

5

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ISABELLA

"Bell," Addy says as I push my coffee mug around, letting it skid across the table of Rosie's. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

I don't reply. Instead, I stare out the large windows beside our booth, trying to collect my thoughts. Ever since Jake's call, I have been miserable while avoiding the topic. Of course, I want to tell Addy, but I can't muster up the courage to tell her he's been cheating on me all because I wasn't rushing to have sex with him.

She sighs. "You tell me everything."

She's right, Bell, and talking about it might make you feel better, I remind myself, then draw in a deep breath. "He called me at the party. I'm not sure if he was at one himself, but I know for a fact he was drunk." I divulge everything that occurred, refraining from leaving out any details so I don't have to repeat myself. She listens intently, grabbing my hands to give them a tight squeeze.

"Oh my God, Bell." Her face falters. "I'm so sorry, and I wasn't even there for you."

I smile wearily. "It's okay. I might feel like utter shit, but I would feel worse if I had sex with him."

"You know what?" she says, her voice quieting. "I'm going to fucking fuck him the fuck up!"

I burst out laughing, and it feels incredibly nice. When our laughter dies down, and people in the café stop staring, she says. "But seriously, Bell, you deserve so much better."

I give her a quick thank you, then change the subject. "You didn't tell me how your night went, so spill it."

I see her fighting a smile, but she gives in, letting it spread across her face. "It was so good. His name is Jasper, but you already knew that. We talked twice around campus, and I never thought much of it, until the party." She tells me how their conversation started, and how she ended up leaving to go back to his place. "And get this, he wouldn't have sex with me."

My eyebrows rise. "Wow, how chivalrous."

"I know." She leans back in her seat. I'm extremely happy for her. At least something good came out of that dreadful night.

We sit in silence, absorbing all our newfound information. I watch the rain trickle onto the sidewalk, and it reminds me of my walk home from the party. That's when I realize I left out a key detail of the night that has nothing to do with Jake but everything to do with Miles. "I forgot to tell you who I ran into. Miles."

She sits up, intrigued. "Again? Jeez, one more time and I wouldn't call it a coincidence anymore. What did he want?"

"He saw me walking and offered a ride home. Did you know he lives in our apartment complex?"

Her eyes grow wide. "Seriously? How come we've never seen him?"

"I'm assuming he lives on a different floor, but it's strange we've never crossed paths in the elevator or something."

She takes a sip of her coffee. "He might take the stairs. We never take the stairs."

We both laugh at the thought. Maybe we should take the stairs more often.

Later that day, my microbiology professor dismisses us from class. Since I haven't started my research paper for psychology, I gather my books and head to the library. It will be an efficient way to distract myself, especially from any thoughts of Jake.

I sit in the corner of the large room, with my face glued to my computer screen and my headphones blasting music to eliminate any sort of noise. I tediously take notes on every article I read, compiling information for the paper.