My Professor's Secret

09|

nine

"Alex, he made me laugh the entire time. And not that I'm laughing to inflate his ego type laugh, but he was genuinely funny. Hmm," Tay sigh, peeling off her heels before falling back on her bed. "He's the one. I just know it."

Her and Lynn headed to a frat party earlier tonight which apparently hadn't died down until three in the morning.  I on the hand had assignments demanding my attention while also managing to kick my ass at the same time. Partying was the furthest thing from my mind. Not to mention avoiding Wyatt and Rachel played a significant part in my staying home.

"Are you sure you're ready for something serious right now?"

Her eyes were glossy and glazed as she stared into oblivion. Alcohol paired with the lingering stench of cigarettes absorbed into her clothing distastefully filled the air in the room. I watch as she shifts to the other side of her bed, a groan slipping from her lips in response, though I felt no obligation to press the issue any further.

"Do we ever really know?" Taylor slurs in the midst of a yawn that pulls her to sleep.

»

By the time afternoon rolled around, Taylor slept away the majority of her hangover so we headed to the dining hall for lunch. Not too long after, the guy she met from the frat party the night before called to hang out—which she wouldn't let me out of—so we ended up at the mall walking around for about an hour. Taylor almost begged me to hang out with them for the rest of the day, but I decided against it. A part of me just wanted to be alone for a bit to spend some time studying and sulking over the fact that my brother and dad were both treating me like the outcast.

Not once had I admitted it aloud, but I was desperately starting to feel homesick. I missed dad more than words could describe. I even missed my brother despite us being an apology away from each other. We were still technically arguing, but I did miss him. It took everything in me not to call him last night apologizing for an argument that caused such discord between us, but I didn't. He needed to be the one to apologize. All pridefulness and pettiness aside, despite how what I said made him feel, it was no excuse for him to treat me that way.

The blame wasn't only on him because I wasn't a saint. Some of things I said to him prompted an apology that he deserved from me too. And perhaps I was being immature to wait for him to make the first move, but at least that was something I could admit.

I spent most of my time at the library writing and putting myself ahead of my workload after Taylor and I departed. It was a goal of mine to excel with honors and I refused to fall short on my studies.

A small mini mart was a block down from the library so I walked over to in search of goodies to stock the refrigerator with for this week. I noticed Taylor was a snackoholic—if there were fruit involved. We couldn't keep a bag of grapes longer than three days without her indulging in the entire bag. I didn't mind though. She always made sure to pack extra things for me that she knew I'd enjoy on account of her fruit addiction.

The sky was a slither away from fading into navy blue darkness, but swirls of pinks, purples, and blues vibrantly decorate the sky for the moon's arrival. Remembering how beautiful the sunsets were in Dreycott was one thing I hoped to never forget. It was a sucky town, don't get me wrong—but the sunsets were out of this world. I loved to look up at them with mom. We'd sit on the patio, polaroid in hand, just waiting for the perfect moment to snap a photo of the colors filling the sky. Somehow she'd always have the perfect story of her earlier days with dad to reminisce about as we watched night arrive.

Nothing could compare to that. Nothing has ever compared to that.

When I finally made my way to the mini mart, I pulled out my phone to call dad. Mom would be disappointed in me if she knew I snapped on him for simply trying to understand the situation between Christian and I. It wasn't fair of me to shut him out or automatically blame him for trying to fix an issue he didn't cause. Or maybe it was simply because the homesickness churning in my belly was suddenly beginning to get the best of me.