Addiction - Chapter 29
Friday
I rolled over to snuggle up to James, but all I felt were empty sheets. I slowly opened my eyes and yawned. James wasn't beside me, but there was a note on his pillow. I smiled and slowly sat up.
Penny,
I went for a run. I probably won't be back before you leave. Good luck on your speech today. Although you don't need it. As long as you don't curse and stray off topic.
Text me about lunch. I can pick you up and take you somewhere off Main Street. And call me if you need to talk. Or if you decided to drop Comm, which I still hope you do, I'll see you soon.
Love,
Professor Hunter
P.S. Try not to fall in love with your new Comm professor.
I smiled and climbed out of bed. He had nothing to worry about.
My speech would be fine. Today would be fine.
After brushing my teeth and putting on minimal makeup, I went into the closet and found a pair of jeans and a tank top.
Melissa was right. These clothes were amazing.
I pulled on a leather jacket. My new clothes smelled like James.
Which was really comforting. And I wasn't even that nervous about giving my speech today because he wasn't going to be the one sitting there analyzing what I said.
Besides, my whole class already seemed to hate me, so who really cared if I messed up. I just needed to get it over with.
I pulled on a pair of matching brown leather boots and walked out into the kitchen.
I was kind of relieved that Ellen wasn't there.
She seemed really nice, but I had never been alone with her.
I felt weird about the dynamic. And I wasn't sure if James had told her I was moving in with him yet or not.
I grabbed a granola bar and my backpack and retreated to the elevator.
I walked out of the side exit of the parking garage that I had found before. It was the only way that I knew how to leave the apartment. And since it was a weird place to leave, there were no news vans parked outside. So far so good.
It was strange walking on Main Street toward the lecture hall.
I was used to walking along the brick paths of the green.
It was nice though. No one seemed to know who I was.
And there were still fall leaves to step on.
One of my favorite parts of autumn was crunching leaves.
I smiled when I walked past the small coffee shop where I had first met James.
It was nice that I'd get to walk by that every morning.
I put my hand in my pocket and ran my fingers along the note he had left me this morning.
I had brought it just in case I needed some reassuring throughout the day. Whatever happened, it was all worth it.
"Hey, Penny!"
I turned my head and saw Tyler running up to me. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. Running into him already made me feel better about the day. "Hey, Tyler." I smiled at him. He lived on a side street off Main Street. He probably walked this way to class all the time.
"I never see you on Main Street. Kind of a strange way to get to class from your dorm."
"Oh, yeah. Well, I was actually staying at James'." I didn't want this to be awkward. I really, really hoped we could be friends.
"Where does he live?"
I pointed over my shoulder. "The apartment building on the end of Main Street." I was hoping to be vague. I wanted to change the subject as fast as possible.
"Wait, you mean The Monroe? The mega expensive one?"
"Yeah."
"Sweet. That must be nice."
"It is."
"So how are you doing? How's your head?"
"I'm fine. It really wasn't a big deal at all. I don't even feel it anymore." The bruise on my stomach was almost gone and I could easily cover up the stitches on my forehead if I didn't tuck my bangs behind my ears. "What about you? How's your nose?"
He laughed. "It still freaking hurts. Professor Hunter knows how to take a swing."
"I'm so sorry."
"Geez, it's fine." He laughed and put his hand on my shoulder for a second. "At least it looks better now."
"It does." The bruising in the corners of his eyes was gone. We locked eyes for a second, but I quickly looked away.
"And how's everything else?" he asked.
"Good. Well, weird, actually. There's all these news vans outside his place. And I feel like we have to sneak around even more than before. It's just really frustrating. But things with James are good. We're in a really good place."
"Good."
We walked in awkward silence for a minute.
"How's Natalie?" I finally said.
"Good. We've just been hanging out. I don't think I'm looking for anything serious right now, you know?" He looked away from me again.
I pressed my lips together. Because of me? My phone buzzing in my pocket was a welcome distraction. I looked down at the screen. It was an email from Professor Nolan.
Penny,
Class is going to be canceled until further notice.
You should be getting a call from Dean Vespelli soon.
The investigation didn't go the way we all hoped it would.
If I had any other information, I'd give it to you, but that is all the dean told me.
I'll be making this announcement in class today because I only just found out a few minutes ago.
But hopefully you see this before you come. I think it's best if you don't attend.
- Professor C. Nolan
I stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
"Hey, Penny, are you okay?" Tyler turned around and walked back to me. He put his hand on my elbow. "Penny?"
"Yeah, actually, I think I'm just going to skip class today." I didn't want to talk about this with Tyler. I didn't want him to look at me like I knew he would when I told him about the two other girls. Because they were lying. I believed James. This was such a mess.
"What are you talking about? You can't skip. We have to give our speeches today. You'll get an F if you don't show."
"Yeah, well..." I let my voice trail off.
"You asked me to stay in the class with you. I wanted to drop it. I did this for you. Come on, we're both going."
"I can't."
"Penny." Tyler smiled at me. "You don't have anything to worry about. I'll be right there with you."
"No, it's not that." I didn't know what else to do. I handed Tyler my phone.
He looked down at the email from Professor Nolan. "Oh."
"Yeah, so you should probably go so you can listen to what he has to say. I'm just going to head back."
"Wait." Tyler put his hand on my elbow again. "Let's go get breakfast."
"You should probably still go to class."
"I'd rather hang out with you."
"Tyler..."
"If class really is canceled, then I'm never going to get to see you anymore. And I doubt that Professor Hunter will just let you hang out with me outside of class. We don't exactly get along."
I didn't want this to be the last time I ever saw Tyler. But what if he was right? Tyler was one of my best friends. I didn't want that to happen. "Tyler, we'll still get to hang out."
"Maybe. You're one of my best friends, Penny. I don't want to stop seeing you."
"You won't." I hope. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. "But okay, yeah. I haven't eaten anyway."
He smiled. "I'm craving a bagel since we've been standing outside this bagel place." He pointed to the door. "How does that sound?"
"Fantastic." I followed him inside. I had never been there before, and I wasn't sure why. I loved bagels and it smelled amazing.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"We can just order separately."
"It's crowded, you can go find us a seat while I order."
"Umm...a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese."
"And to drink?"
"Orange juice."
"Okay, go find us a seat." He walked over toward the counter. The place really was busy. I got us the last open table. It was tucked in the corner of the small restaurant, but somehow seemed kind of private.
My phone started buzzing again. It was a number I didn't recognize.
I didn't want to answer it. If it was the dean it could wait.
I didn't want to hear what he had to say.
I didn't even understand why any of it mattered.
The investigation was superficial. James had already quit. I just wanted all of this to go away.
Tyler placed two wrapped bagels down on the table along with two bottles of orange juice.
"Thanks, Tyler. Which one is yours?"
"I got the same thing as you." He grabbed one and tossed it at me.
"Thanks for skipping class for me."
"Thanks for getting class canceled indefinitely." He held up his bottle of orange juice.
I laughed and tapped mine against his.
He scratched the back of his neck. "At least there's one perk to you hooking up with our professor." He gave me a small smile and took a bite of his bagel.
I wanted to be able to laugh about all this with him.
I wanted him to not look hurt when he joked around about it.
But at least he was joking around. That was a good sign.
I really just wanted to move past this. I wanted to go back to being friends.
Despite what Melissa said, I really thought we could be just friends.
"Do you want to talk about that email?" he asked.
I shrugged.
"Have you heard anything about the investigation?"
"I was interviewed by two detectives last night. They said something about these other girls that claimed James...well, it doesn't matter. It was all nonsense. Either the detectives were lying or the girls or both."
Tyler put his bagel down. "Why would his students lie about something like that?"
That was the same question that I had. But I wasn't going to doubt James. He had asked me to trust him. So I was going to trust him. Even if it was still nagging at me. "I don't know. But they were."
"Okay." He didn't sound convinced at all.
I knew it would be weird to talk to him about this. I took a bite of my bagel. It was delicious. My phone started buzzing again.
"Are you going to answer it?"
"I don't recognize the number."
"Well, maybe it's the dean."
"That's kind of what I'm afraid of."