Not Like You

Chapter Fifty-Nine

When I walked into writing with all of my missing assignments, everyone stared at me. Professor Scott was frowning but accepted the assignments without question. Standard protocol said I'd be getting fifteen percent off each of those. I should be able to hold a B. Plus my extra credit for the writing contest.

I was nowhere near back to normal. I was wearing sweatpants and t-shirts to class. I kept my hair up again. My migraines were still pounding my forehead. But I was making progress. My goal was talking to Max tomorrow. And I was scared as Hell.

"Rose?" Mickey asked, shocked. I apologized for my absence with a grim smile. he wrapped me in a hug.

"I heard about you and Max, kid. I'm sorry," I nodded and hugged him back before pulling away, walking to my car and sliding on an apron. Mickey gave me a few papers on engine fixes and coolant leaks. I took them happily and checked my car. It was more than halfway done, and I was almost to the point of scanning paint colors. I was leaning toward something crazy, but I loved the light-blue it had come with.

My walk back to campus was almost bearable. The temperatures were slowly rising. The February wind still felt like death, though.

My dorm was empty when I got back. It always was. Part of me hoped Harlow would come back. I knew she was in pain from what I put her brother through. I knew she was angry. But she was all I had. And I lost her too.

I worked on catching up on my writing class before I got hungry.

I still didn't eat as much as I used to. I tried. I tried hard, but things weren't normal yet.

I walked down to the dining hall and ordered a grilled cheese, but was only able to finish half.

I threw away the other half before grabbing a bathing suit and change of clothes. I discovered a pool on campus and went daily. It was heated and indoor, surrounded by plants and it even had a waterfall. The building also had a library attached to it, which I barely got a glance at.

I got there and changed into my bathing suit before walking into the warm water, my hair loosely tied with a simple hair tie.

It was like a warm bath but never got cold.

Surprisingly, almost no one came here. It was almost always nearly empty. I swam to the deeper section and treaded water there for a while.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a small group of people come in.

Jet, Nash, Belle, and... Max. 

When our eyes met, my cheeks got hot. Belle followed Max's eyes, and when she saw me, she pulled Jet and Nash back. Max didn't seem to notice at first. When he finally looked behind him at the retreating three, Nash gave him a small thumbs up. I almost laughed.

I watched as Max took off his shirt and revealed his tattooed torso. My eyes were driven to that small patch of red. Max dove in the water flawlessly and he appeared next to me. I looked at him and he looked at me.

"Hey," I said sheepishly.

"Hey," his voice sounded distant.

"I was going to talk to you tomorrow," I said, pushing the strands of hair on my face away.

"Really?"

"Yeah,

"I heard you went through a rough spot," he said. I looked away and nodded. He looked at me.

"You look like you lost some weight," he said. I nodded. The way he said it, it was almost like he knew I hadn't been eating. No one loses this much weight in three weeks otherwise. I still wasn't skinny, but my clothes were hanging off my frame more.