Chapter 4
Alondra
“I can’t believe you never watched this show before,” Ellie says, throwing popcorn into her mouth, distracting me from the medical drama she introduced me to a few days after we moved in together. We’ve since gone through three seasons, with plenty more to go, and I’m hooked.
“Be quiet, you’re talking through the whole episode,” I whisper, reaching for my own handful of popcorn.
After Rose told us she was transferring to the same college as her boyfriend, Macy and I entered the portal for university housing to be paired with a random third roommate.
We went into it knowing we might not like our new roommate, and it didn’t sound like a bad idea.
Thankfully, Ellie is so easy to get along with, I couldn’t help but like her, even after learning her brother is one of my dad’s players.
Coop’s nice, but he doesn’t say much whenever he pops by, which is kind of a relief, but the best part is there’s zero recognition in any of our exchanges.
I shouldn’t expect anything less, though.
I guarantee my father has not once gone to practice and told a bunch of young men overflowing with testosterone about his daughter named Alondra.
It’s hard to pretend it doesn’t hurt, even after all the years I’ve had to get used to it.
God, I should have known who Jack was, especially with him being Dad’s star player and all.
It’s finally biting me in the ass for not looking at their pictures because I’ve always cared more about their stats and the way they move on the ice.
It’s a rare occasion when I give in to my genetic predisposition to love hockey by actually watching a game, but I don’t care to look at their pictures since it doesn’t matter to me what they look like.
“I’m not talking through the whole episode,” she retorts, pulling me from my thoughts, and I feel a piece of popcorn hit my cheek.
Grabbing the remote, I pause the television to turn toward Ellie. “Did you just throw popcorn at my face?”
She smiles and shrugs. “Whoops, I guess I missed my mouth.”
I pick up the piece and toss it back at Ellie, causing laughter to bubble from her. “Oops,” I say, holding my own laugh back.
“Just unpause the show. I think they’re about to bang in an on-call room,” Ellie says, grabbing more popcorn from the bowl. I roll my eyes, hitting play, immediately getting sucked into the world playing on the screen.
Ellie was right—the doctors did bang in an on-call room.
“I honestly can’t imagine wanting someone so badly, I’d fuck them at my place of employment,” I say, shaking my head as I adjust the purple blanket keeping me warm. Unfortunately, the blanket also reminds me of Jack and his annoying persistence in wanting to know where I got this one from.
I should be relieved Jack didn’t continue following me after class, but I haven’t been able to put one part of the whole exchange out of my mind.
Does he actually need a tutor?
On the other hand, I can’t believe he asked me if we hooked up last year because he couldn’t remember. If that doesn’t tell me I was right not to give him my number at the bar while letting him believe my name was Alex, I don’t know what would.
“I can’t say it’s something I would do either, especially in a hospital knowing there’s sick and dying people around you, but I think if it were the right person, maybe it’d be different?” Ellie ponders out loud, pulling her bright blonde hair back.
“I guess. At least they had enough common sense to lock the door behind them.”
“Only because they didn’t a few episodes ago, and her ex-boyfriend walked in on them,” Ellie says, securing her hair up with a ponytail. “Have you ever had anyone walk in on you during sex?”
“Nope,” I answer, trying to keep the details vague like everything else I’ve shared when Ellie asks about my past dating experiences. I don’t want to talk about Bradley in the slightest.
She tilts her head, wrinkling her nose as her eyebrows knit together. “Just nope?” she asks, and I roll the soft fabric of the blanket between my fingertips, trying to focus on the feeling instead of remembering what it was like to be used by Bradley.
“Yep,” I say, my stomach souring, but I try to maintain the lightness of the room.
Ellie chews her lower lip, her eyes scanning over my face while I fight the urge to turn away.
“I haven’t been walked in on, but I definitely saw more of Coop than I’ve ever cared to when he and a girl forgot to lock his door at one of the parties they threw at their house last year.
I don’t think I was able to look him in the eyes for two weeks after,” she says, continuing on like I didn’t make things awkward a moment ago by clamming up.
I cover my mouth with my hand in shock. “Why would you go into your brother’s room during a party? That’s just asking for trouble,” I say, and she groans, dragging her hands over her face.
“I know. Literally not even at the worst part of the story yet. He was with my roommate at the time, and Willow was a nightmare to live with afterward. Poor girl thought because she sucked his dick once, it meant they were supposed to be together, and she never stopped talking about him after that. I love my brother, and I’m aware of his flaws—emotional intimacy being one of his biggest ones.
Coop stupidly believed Willow when she hit on him at that party, asking to fool around, and couldn’t see she was obsessed with him.
To be fair, I didn’t see it either until after. ”
“Holy shit, Ellie,” I say, understanding why she made it clear the first time we met how it was better I wanted nothing to do with hockey players.
Ellie had made a couple of comments in passing over the last three months, but it wasn’t enough for me to piece it all together.
I have plenty of my own shit I don’t want to talk about, so how would it be fair for me to ask the same of her?
“Still not to the crazy part yet,” she says, grimacing. “Willow had asked me to grab her laptop for her since my next class was in the building next to hers, and I found some photographs of Coop and me, where she had cut me out of the pictures and taped herself into a wedding scrapbook.”
“What the fuck?”
Her old roommate sounds insane. Who does something like that?
“So, honestly, you hating hockey players is the best thing to ever happen to me after that experience. I made Coop fix the lock on my bedroom door that was broken in case she decided to ever use those scissors for something other than pictures, but it was a long six weeks after that,” she says, shuddering, and I can’t even blame her.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, trying to sound sympathetic, but in reality, I start laughing instead. “Okay, shit,” I say, stumbling over my words as I try to stop. “I don’t mean to laugh, but . . .”
Ellie crosses her legs and begins laughing too. “No, it’s okay. It’s funny now, but my brother is not allowed to ever come near any of my friends with his dick ever again.”
“Valid,” I say, reaching for my emotional support water bottle always nearby to take a drink. “Want to watch another episode?” I ask, exchanging the water bottle for the remote, and she beams.
“I am always looking for an excuse to avoid doing my homework. Do we need more snacks?” Ellie asks, holding up our mostly empty bowl of popcorn.
“Sure. I also have a bottle of wine in the fridge if you want to open it?” I ask, but Ellie stands before I can.
“You don’t have to ask me twice,” she says, walking toward the kitchen.
I pull my phone out, scrolling through a few notifications, and I roll my eyes when I see there’s a request from Jack to send me a direct message. He’s persistent, I’ll give him that.
“I think this is the dinner of champions,” Ellie jokes over the sound of the popcorn kernels popping in the microwave.
I turn my phone off, deciding against reading the message from Jack when there’s a knock at the door. “Are you expecting anyone?” I ask, but Ellie looks confused too, taking her phone out of her pocket to check.
“Oh, I think it’s Coop. He sent me a text earlier asking if I was home, and I never responded,” she says, shooting an apologetic smile in my direction. “Is it okay if I see what he wants?”
“Go for it,” I say because I really don’t mind her brother. He’s a little intimidating at first because of his height and the way he carries himself, but despite being a man of few words, he’s nice—for a hockey player, that is.
“Door’s open,” Ellie calls out, opening the microwave at the same time my phone chimes with a text from Macy, and I’m distracted when the door opens.
“What are you doing?” she asks, and I jerk my head up, my mouth falling open in surprise at the sight of Jack shutting the door behind him, his backpack slung over his shoulder.
“Heard you say ‘door’s open,’ implying it was fine to come in,” he says, his mouth tilting into a smile before his gaze lands on me. “Hey, darlin’.”
“Don’t call me that,” I say, frowning immediately.
His smile widens, a dimple peeking out. “Does it bother you?”
“Why are you here?” I say, ignoring the question. Is he really standing in our apartment again?
Jack takes off his backpack and takes a seat at the counter. “It’s Tuesday. Pretty sure we have a tutoring session,” Jack says, taking his time to enunciate every word as if I don’t understand.
Ellie’s eyebrows skyrocket, giving me a bewildered look, but I don’t have any clue what’s going on. I thought we covered this yesterday after class.
“There is no tutoring, Jack. I literally only said it to save my ass with my dad. Pick any of the other girls fawning over you in Comp II, I’m sure you’ll be fine,” I say, and he sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I’m not fine,” he argues, and even if he’s not, isn’t there anyone else Jack can go to for help?