The Stroud Family and I

Chapter: 2

Chapter 2: A Horrific Day

"Crap! Crap! Crap! Why won't this stupid thing work?!"

Yeah, that's me, the amazing Cleo Tatum talking to herself while repeatedly hitting the stupid washing machine because the darn thing would not work, even after I entered in my three quarters of money. It won't even give my quarters back to me. After about five more minutes, I decided to just give up and picked my basket full of dirty laundry to head back to my room.

I guess you could say that so far in my 'wonderful' six weeks here at university, it has not been going very well. I didn't exactly get the classes I wanted, I haven't had a really amazing day since I got here, Kale won't leave me alone even though he is sweet and everything, and to top it all, I can't even get my own laundry done correctly because the stupid washing machine won't turn on! Oh, and just to place the icing on the cake, I'm over here in Florida having a horrible time, while I repeatedly see Colton posting pictures on FaceBook about how he is having the 'time of his life' over in Seattle.

I'm bummed to say the least. I mean, I kind of feel forgotten. Colton and I continually Skyped and stuff the first couple of weeks, but then they started minimizing and minimizing to the point where he always has some sort of excuse as to why he can't Skype me. For example, he'll say:

"Sorry baby, I have to study," or

"Sorry babe I'm busy," or

"I'm going to a party tonight, can I call you back later, I promise I will" in which Colton never calls back whenever he promises. So, I guess you could say that I'm mad and jealous with Colton at the same time. Jealous because he looks like he is having a blast while I'm over here having the worst bad luck days possible, and mad because I feel like he doesn't care for me as much as I seem to care for him. It truly sucks, and I sort of feel heart broken.

I finally made it to my dorm room, so I entered quietly. Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against it, using it for support, and that's when I finally felt the first tear fall. I slid down the door and placed my head in my hands while sobbing. Does Colton still love me? Do I really like this school? Am I happy? The answer to the last question is a definite no, otherwise I wouldn't be crying on the floor right at this very moment. A few more minutes passed before I suddenly heard the ringtone of my phone. I didn't move for a second, hoping it would stop ringing, but when it didn't, I sighed and stood up to retrieve it. I still had not gotten a new phone from when I dropped it six weeks ago, so it's screen is still beautifully cracked. The moment I saw the caller id, my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach.

It's Colton.

Shoot. Do I answer the call or not? Before I even realized what I was doing, my thumb was already sliding across the screen to answer it.

"Hey baby."

That's it? That's all I get? Not even an automatic apology for the fact that he hasn't made any sort of effort to keep in contact with me for about three and a half weeks. Silence. I didn't say a word, too afraid I would just automatically start balling my eyes out over the phone.

"Babe? You there?"

Squeezing my eyes tightly shut, I replied

"Colton."

Shit, that came out weak. My voice sounded extremely croaky and raw, and I automatically knew Colton would know something was up just by the one word I said.

"What's wrong? Are you alright? Why does it sound like you've been crying?"

I almost laughed. Almost. Mostly because he doesn't even realize that I'm crying mostly over him, and a little bit because of my sucky college life so far. On accident, I let a little whimper out, and that seemed to throw him over the edge a bit.