Chapter Three - Thalia
WHEN I WAKE up the next morning, neither of them are here. I feel worse about the whole situation now that I’m sober. I should have done a better job apologizing to Owen and Bash when they returned from practice. The party was a dick move on my part.
I wander around the apartment, curious to see what I’ll learn about my new roommates. Owen and I have always been close, but there are still things we don’t tell each other. I didn’t tell him how I made out with his best friend before my going-away party or why I got into a terrible fight with Sebastian. I’ve had a long time to think about the things I said that night.
And then, when I finally saw Sebastian after my year abroad, he told me what a child he still thinks I am. I swear, I don’t understand what’s so great about Sebastian fucking Walker. He doesn’t walk on water or anything even remotely cool. Bash is only capable of throwing a ball and being bossy as hell.
I roll my eyes, shaking thoughts of him away, when I notice one of the framed pictures on the walls is one I took for National Geographic when I freelanced for them a few months ago.
Owen kept this?
I didn’t realize that Owen was keeping track of my work and saving my photographs along the way. It’s a beautiful picture but even more magnificent in person. I loved every minute of my trip to the Gorges du Verdon. Honestly, my entire year abroad was pretty great.
There’s nothing else for decoration besides a few football trophies and pictures from their high school graduation. The apartment definitely looks like it’s been decorated by boys, but at least there’s furniture.
I could call Vera, but I’m frustrated with her because she totally threw me under the bus with Owen last night. She asked what I expected when I came back and then acted like she didn’t plan the party and bring Stacey and Jeremy in the first place.
I don’t know what I expected.
Part of me was really excited to come back and see everyone, but I’m not the same person I was when I left. Yes, I was a huge party girl and helped throw some legendary ones during high school and my first year here, but I’d like to think I’ve grown up a little since then.
Except all last night did was prove to Owen and Sebastian that I’m still the person I was when I left.
I’m not saying I don’t still enjoy a good party. Clearly, last night and my time in Paris could prove that. But I’ve also learned there’s more to life than being the life of the party.
I peek into Owen’s room, and it’s not surprising to see a freaking disaster. He’s got it all together in every other aspect, but his room has always been a mess. His textbooks and assignments are scattered across his desk, laundry is pushed to one side of the bed, and his football stuff is piled on the floor.
I glance at the door I saw Sebastian disappear behind last night, and my curiosity instantly heightens. He isn’t here, so how would he know if I quickly looked into his room? My conscience immediately tries to counter that thought because I know if he were to find out I went into his room, he would be mad. On the other hand, he’s mad anytime I do anything, so does it matter if I give him a reason to be angry or not?
I’m about to twist the door handle when the front door opens. I jump back immediately, ready to disappear into my room until it’s time to meet with my adviser, but it dawns on me that this is my apartment too. Yes, I fucked up majorly last night, but I can either be the child they think I am and hide, or I can face the music and own up to it.
My confidence wavers when I see Sebastian, instead of my brother, standing in the kitchen, sweaty and shirtless. He must have gone on a run. Sebastian has his back to me as he grabs something out of the fridge, and I wish it wasn’t this hard to look away from the muscles rippling down his back every time he moves. Fuck, they are some really nice muscles…the worst part is, I know exactly what they feel like underneath my touch. I force my eyes away before Bash can catch me staring, clearing my throat. “Good morning,” I greet, taking a seat at the island.
“Mornin’,” Bash says shortly, but at least he’s talking to me. Maybe he isn’t that mad after having time to cool off.
I pause for a beat, allowing him time to say something else, but I’ve always been impatient. “When did you get the car?” It wasn’t what he was driving before I left.
His shoulders tense. “Thalia, we don’t have to do the small talk. Just because we both live here, it doesn’t make us friends. You’ve made it clear how you feel.”
“I’m not saying we have to be friends, Sebastian. I just wanted to have a conversation like normal people who live together.”
“Maybe I don’t want to have a conversation. The world doesn’t revolve around you just because you came back. I’m giving you what you want, remember?” he snipes at me, and I don’t know what to think when Sebastian turns around to look at me. Even wearing a scowl, my heart skips a beat.
I stand up, needing to get ready for my meeting. “Glad to know you’re still an asshole even when I haven’t done anything. I understand you being pissed about last night, but acting like this will make this whole not being friends thing that much easier.” This wasn’t how I wanted our first conversation to go after our fight, but if this is how he wants it, then this is how it will be.
I tear my gaze away from his deep brown eyes. I walk back into the safety of my room, making sure to slam the door behind me.
~
“Thalia! I didn’t know you were back!” An unfortunately all too familiar voice calls out immediately after I exit the history building where my adviser’s office is.
I hold in my groan and force a smile. “Amelia. How nice to see you again.”
Her blonde hair is tied up so high on her head that it gives me a headache just looking at it. “Isn’t it so nice? Owen didn’t mention you were coming back the last time I talked to him.”
Probably because he hasn’t spoken to you in the past six months since you cheated on him?
“Just so nice.” I make sure to use the same high-pitched, ditsy tone she does. “How’s Miles?”
Her smile fades almost instantly, and I feel a sense of pride surge through me. Don’t fuck with my brother. “I haven’t seen him around.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that; Owen said you guys were…close.”
Amelia can’t be stupid enough to expect me to be nice to her after everything that happened between her and Owen. I might not have been here when it all went down, but that doesn’t mean I will let it go if she approaches me. I don’t even know what he saw in her to begin with.
“How is he doing?”
“Sorry, I have to get going. I don’t think it’s your place anymore to ask about Owen, so next time, don’t.”
I turn and leave her standing there, gaping at me. I hold my laughter in because I can’t believe she had the nerve to ask about him. Points to Amelia for attempting to talk to me. We were never friends, but I tolerated her because she was dating Owen.
Vera is going to be shocked when I tell her. I’m not going to mention it to Owen on the chance it’s still a sore spot for him. We never really talked about her when we did talk; all he had said was that she cheated on him with our friend Miles, and they were over.
I pull my phone out to text Vera and see what she’s doing for the day. She always has the worst hangovers the next morning after drinking. Only I’m so busy looking at my phone that I don’t see the person in front of me until I run into her, sending us both tumbling to the ground.
“Ouch,” the other girl mumbles, and I look at all the scattered items around us. Most of which belong to her.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I ask, grabbing her stuff to hand it to her.
She brushes her auburn hair from her bewildered face, “I’m okay. What happened?”
I feel my cheeks grow red because it was all my fault. “I was looking at my phone and didn’t see you. I’m Thalia.”
“Blake. I just transferred here from Alamance. I didn’t see you either; I was too busy figuring out where I am on the campus map. I need to get back to the dorms.” Blake looks around as if to regain her bearings from our collision.
I look at the textbooks in my hand. “You know classes don’t start for a few days? You don’t need to get these yet.”
She looks at me skeptically. “What’s your major?”
“History with a minor in photography and French. Why?”
“Because mine is biomedical engineering, and I have a shit ton of reading to do before classes actually start. It’s almost like a whole class before the real class.”
I’m startled by how bluntly she states it. In a way, Blake reminds me of Owen. I can recall Owen saying something similar my freshman year when I tried to convince him to show me around campus.
I can’t help but laugh. “God, you sound so much like my brother, it’s not even funny. I promise you that the reading isn’t that important.”
“Maybe not if your reading is the same history I’ve been learning since third grade. I’ll probably get tested over this stuff in my first class,” Blake replies sassily, and I smile.I think I want to keep her.
“Do you want to be friends? I think we could be great friends.” And I mean it. Blake seems to have the right amount of attitude in her that she could totally keep up with Vera and me. Just as long as she isn’t as enamored by Sebastian’s looks as everyone else.
Blake smiles in return as we stand up. “What year are you?”
“Sophomore, I just returned from a year abroad in France, or I’d be a junior.”
“France? And you came back here?”
We walk in the direction of the dorms. “Trust me, a part of me wishes I never came back. Unfortunately, my parents have decided that I must have a degree just like my brother, who will never use his when he ends up playing professional football. It feels like a huge waste of money for me, but to each their own.”
Blake adjusts the textbooks in her arms, “I get that. I feel like I just spent so much money on these books only to use them for a few months. College is a huge waste of money, but it’s nearly impossible to get a good job without it. It’s why I did community college my first two years.”
“I wouldn’t say getting a good job without a degree is impossible. There’s plenty of jobs out there that don’t require one, but it unfortunately makes more sense to have one,” I say, kicking a rock into the grass. It’s a nice day; the humidity isn’t nearly as bad as yesterday.
“I know that if I did a gap year in France, I’d probably never come back,” Blake admits, and I look at her curiously.
“It’s great, but they don’t give you ice in your drinks unless you ask for it.”
She raises a dark eyebrow at me. “I can live without ice.”
I gasp loudly, drawing the attention of a group of what I’m presuming to be freshmen by how they’re dressed. “Blake, my dear new friend. Please tell me you’re not one of those weird people who can drink water and soda at room temperature.”
“If it meant living in France, absolutely. Is the lack of ice the only downside of living there?”
“It also smells like cigarettes, but you get used to it. Those are the only downsides I guess. People there are blunt. At least here, people say shit behind your back, but over there, they have no problem saying it to your face. I’m honestly not sure what I prefer.”
“Like what?”
I snort, thinking of the first time I went on a weekend trip with other photographers there. “Like assuming I don’t speak French and talking about how American I looked. They didn’t mean it as a compliment either. They also said a teenager had no business being there with them. Then, when I spoke back in fluent French, they realized I understood everything they said.”
Blake’s expression is one of shock. “Please tell me you proved them wrong?”
I flash her a wicked smile. “Of course. My picture was the one in National Geographic.”
She bursts into laughter, and I can’t help joining her. Walking around campus with Blake is the most fun I’ve had since getting back, and I just met her. I suppose the party last night was fun, but I feel like I’m the better version of myself right now.This is the version I want Owen and Sebastian to see.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Vera and Stacey. It was fun seeing the basketball players, but I don’t know; it felt like I was almost moving backward instead of forward.
“I think you might be right. We’re going to be great friends.”
“Are you busy later?”
She grimaces and lifts her textbooks a little higher. “Studying.”
I shake my head immediately. “No, you’re not. You’re going to come over to my apartment, and we’re going to have fun. No studying allowed. End of discussion.”
“I don’t even know you!” Blake protests, and I roll my eyes.
“I thought you were supposed to be smart. That’s exactly why we’re hanging out later to get to know each other.”