22 The Test
The Test
It was weird for Mike not to joke around. But that morning, he’d hardly said a word. Even Jack was starting to worry about him.
We assumed it would pass, but the next day was no different. All he did was watch TV and stare at his phone. I figured it had to do with his dad, but since I kept being told that they didn’t want to talk about it, I stopped asking.
My classes that day seemed like they would never end…
What else was new? Naya and I were supposed to meet for lunch.
But when I saw her, she had Lana in tow.
My first reaction was to turn and run, but I tried to remind myself I had made a resolution to get along with her.
Even if it was just for Jack and Naya’s sake.
So I smiled and acted cordial and the three of us walked to the cafeteria.
I don’t think I had ever heard Lana talk about anything except for the guys she’d hooked up with and her dozens of trips to Europe.
She never said anything about her homework or her classes.
Maybe she was one of those people who didn’t need to study?
Chris had said she got excellent grades.
Remembering Chris, I asked Naya, “Hey, how’s your brother?
It’s been forever since I talked to him. ”
“Same as always. The Enforcer , they call him. He never met a rule he didn’t like. But oh well. I still love him.”
“I still remember when I was in the dorms,” Lana said, smiling. “I almost had a heart attack one time when I came back and Ross had climbed in through my window and had been hiding in my room all night…”
She stopped herself, remembering that I was there. I think it was the first time she felt bad for mentioning something about her and Jack. When her cheeks reddened, I said, “It’s OK, Lana. I know he had other girlfriends before me. You’re not going to kill me.”
She looked at me with uncertainty, then the tension eased.
I guess we were getting along now? I hoped so.
My phone vibrated. Ugh…Monty again. He had called me a million times by then.
I was starting to hate seeing his name on my screen.
I silenced the phone as both girls looked at me and Naya asked, “Is it him again?”
“Who?” Lana asked. “Your ex?”
For some reason, I felt like telling her the whole story. Well, not the whole story, but everything Naya knew. I kept the worst details for Jack, who was the only one who had seen my bruise. A bruise which, thankfully, was finally almost gone.
I had actually taken out a restraining order against Monty, with Jack’s urging.
He drove me to the courthouse. I had to fill out a form, explain the situation, and show the judge my bruises.
It was only temporary—to get a permanent one, there was a hearing, and Monty could be present to defend himself—but at least for now, I felt safer.
It was ugly, and I wasn’t happy about it, but it had to be done.
Lana was shocked when I told her the details and asked me why I didn’t block his number. He actually wasn’t allowed to call me according to the terms of the order, but of course that didn’t stop him.
“Listen,” I murmured, “if I block him, he’s the type who would just show up here. He’s unbelievably stubborn and he just doesn’t want to accept the truth.”
We talked a while about how Monty had treated me in the past, his jealousy, and men in general, the way three friends would who had known each other their entire lives.
And that sudden feeling of comfort gave me an idea.
I needed to take advantage of this opportunity because I didn’t know when a similar one would arise again.
And so I did something…something I’m not very proud of.
Looking at Naya innocently, picking at my food with my fork, I said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” she replied.
“Do you know why Jack and his father don’t get along?”
I turned to her because it was obvious Jack wasn’t going to tell me, and Mike wasn’t the type to talk about his emotions.
Will would never betray his friend. Naya and Lana, though…
I felt I could overcome their resistance.
I had imagined they’d look back and forth at each other, wondering whether it was all right to tell me, but they both just shrugged.
Did they really not know? That was the last thing I had expected.
“I don’t think even Will knows,” Naya murmured.
“It’s just always been that way,” Lana added. “Even back in high school. Ross used to sleep at Will’s house a lot of the time because he couldn’t stand being under the same roof as his dad.”
I tried again. “He told me before he went through a phase in high school…that he was a little less chill then than he is now. That he used to get in trouble, that he hooked up with random girls, stuff like that.”
“’Less chill’ is the euphemism of the century,” Lana said, almost laughing.
“For real,” Naya seconded her. “Jenna, when Ross was in high school, he was…”
“A total fucking disaster,” Lana interrupted her.
“How so?” I asked.
“He skipped class,” Naya began. “He talked back to his teachers, he got in fights, he was nasty to everyone, he would do weird random shit like get that tattoo of that giant eagle…”
“And he drank,” Lana added. “A lot.”
“But that’s not the worst of it,” Naya said. “Because… Well, you’ve seen his family. He had more money than sense. So he got into drugs, too.”
What? Jack? My Jack? Impossible!
“Nothing too strong,” Lana objected. “Well, let me correct myself. He didn’t get too deep into the hard stuff. But…”
“I thought Mike was the one who was into drugs,” I interrupted her.
“Mike’s issues came later,” Naya corrected me. “Back in those days, Mike used to actually take care of Ross.”
Was I in a parallel universe? Everything I thought I knew was being turned upside down.
I asked them to tell me more about the drugs, and they said he used to throw lots of parties and started hanging out with a rough crowd.
And it happened suddenly, in a matter of weeks, his transition from a nice, sweet, responsible guy to a gruff rule breaker, and that was what made them think something bad had happened to him.
Naya told me he changed a little when he moved in with Will.
He left the drugs alone, at least, because he’d wanted to help Mike, who was now starting to lose his head.
But personality-wise, he was still thorny and hard to be around.
“I think it was his dad,” Lana said.
“So what, then?” I asked. “You both think he just needed time away from his family to start settling down?”
Naya and Lana looked at each other and then at me, as if each of them were daring the other to say something they were both thinking. The responsibility fell on Naya, who told me the real change hadn’t happened until I had come along.
“That can’t be,” I said. “He’s been the same guy the whole time we’ve been hanging out.”
“Exactly,” Lana replied. “You didn’t know him before. Between the time I left and now, there’s been a hundred-and-eighty-degree turn. It was like the guy I’d known before he fell apart in high school was back.”
“I don’t know if you remember this,” Naya said, “but the day we were moving into the dorms and I told him not to scare you away, I wasn’t joking.
He was one of those guys who would just hook up with a chick and then throw her aside like an old pair of shoes.
Then I introduced you all and everything was suddenly different.
Ask Will. Even he was surprised. I remember that first night the two of you went to his room.
I just took it for granted that you were finished, that he’d do what he wanted with you and leave you hanging like the others… ”
I remembered then how Naya had burst in on us and asked if we were doing something inappropriate. I had thought it was just a joke, but now that I thought about it, she did seem to be wanting to rush me back to the dorm.
“Yeah,” I responded. “He was an absolute gentleman, though. Always has been.”
“That’s surprising,” Lana said.
“Do you think that’s one of the reasons Sue was so pissy when I showed up?”
“It could be,” Naya responded. “She must have been tired of seeing all those girls coming and going. Remember that day Ross cooked and she made that nasty remark about how he wanted to fuck you and we all just froze? Now you understand.”
“Why wouldn’t Ross tell me all this?” I asked.
“Jenna,” Naya said, “Ross is terrified that you’ll think he’s not the person he tries to be with you. He’s in love with you. I don’t know if you haven’t realized that yet, but it’s obvious to all the rest of us.”
Lana hung her head a bit. It must have stung, hearing that her ex-boyfriend loved someone more than her. I felt bad for her, but I didn’t know what to say.
“Just him stopping drinking was a major change,” Naya continued. “I don’t think I ever saw anyone who could put it away like him.”
“I noticed he stopped smoking, too,” I said.
“Yeah, Will told me that,” Naya responded. “Oh, your idiot ex is calling again.”
I looked down at my phone, which I’d left on the table. Monty’s name was on the screen. I wondered if I should tell the police as I sent the call to voicemail.
“If Ross finds out, he’ll solve that problem permanently,” Lana said.
I responded that I didn’t want them to ever cross each other’s path.
I had seen how violent Monty could get. I was surprised by how they laughed nervously then.
They reminded me that I’d only met Ross in his good-boy phase and informed me that he knew how to handle himself in a fight.
After that, we moved on to other subjects, and eventually I went back to class.
But I was bored and distracted, and the hours seemed to drag on as I turned those two girls’ words over and over in my head.