10. Zoey
CHAPTER 10
ZOEY
I wake up in the middle of the night, pain spasming in my abdomen.
Oh no .
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” I chant turning the light on.
I knew my period was due to start in a few days, but I didn’t think it would start this soon. I went off birth control after Todd and I broke up. The one I was on never suited my body, but he was so adamant on not wearing a condom that I couldn’t risk going off of it to switch. My doctor suggested I give my body some time without it before I tried something else. I wasn’t keen on the idea since I’ve always had horrible periods, but I went along with it.
I’ve regretted it ever since.
I can feel the wetness in my pajama pants but it’s nothing compared to the pain that woke me.
Reaching over, I turn on my bedside light and toss back the covers to reveal the murder scene. It’s not the worst I’ve seen, but bad enough to let me know a blood clot probably burst.
The joy of being a woman.
I make a mental note to make an appointment at the student health center as soon as possible. Screw my old doctor, I’m not dealing with this shit any longer.
Easing from my bed, another cramp clenches my body and I bite down on my lip to stifle the whimper that’s desperate to escape.
I grab a clean pair of pajamas and the granny panties I save for Aunt Flo.
Okay, I wear them other times too but that’s because they’re so comfy.
I tiptoe into the hall, sweat on my brow from the painful cramps. Shutting the bathroom door as quietly as possible, I sit down on the toilet to deal with the blood bath. Reaching across to the bathroom cabinet, I reach for the bag that I keep my tampons and pads in.
I flail through it.
Nothing.
Zilch.
Nada.
I silently curse myself for not restocking. What the hell was I thinking?
The truth is I was focused on preparing for my move here and forgot to buy more.
I cringe, knowing what I’m going to have to do because there’s no way I can drive to the store in pain like I am.
After cleaning myself up, I stuff some toilet paper in my underwear for the time being and treat my soiled clothes, tossing them in the washer. I don’t start it. I’ll have to add my sheets too.
Whimpering as another painful cramp hits I knock on Cole’s door and ease it open.
“Huh?” His sleepy voice is gruff, deeper than normal. “Zoey?” He turns his light on, blinking from the brightness. “It’s three in the morning. What’s wrong?”
I scrub a hand over my face. I hate doing this—asking anyone for a favor. But desperate times call for desperate measures. “I need your help.”
“Sure.” Cole rolls out of his bed and I have to catch my breath at the site of him in only a pair of black boxer-briefs. He’s so tall and muscular and perfect . It’s annoying really, for anyone to have a face that gorgeous and the body to match. It’s unfair to every other male on the planet.
Now’s not the time to stare at him, Zoey!
Rubbing my eyes as he grabs a pair of sweatpants, slipping his long legs into them, I sigh and say really fast, “I need you to go get me pads and tampons. I’m out. Honestly, my intense craving for red velvet Oreos should have tipped me off that it was coming, but even if it had, I didn’t realize I was out of everything I need and?—”
I jolt at the feel of his warm hand on my elbow. He lowers himself so he can look me straight in the face. He has a shirt half-tugged on and he looks fully awake now. “Zoey, it’s fine. Just tell me what you need and I’ll get it.”
“Really?”
My brain instantly goes to Todd who turned his nose up at anything female product related.
“Yeah.” He grabs his wallet and keys off his dresser. “Do you need any medicine?”
“Some Midol. Extra strength.”
“Okay, and what kind of pads and tampons do you want? I know you girls can be really specific about that kind of thing.”
I blink at him in awe. Who is this man? He’s too good to be true.
“Girlfriend?” I ask.
Somehow, he knows exactly what I mean despite my vague question.
“Four sisters, remember? I’m a pro at this despite being the youngest. They made sure I was well-versed in dealing with this very situation.”
Tears prick my eyes, because in this moment I’m just so freaking grateful. I wince when another bad cramp rips through me. Cole’s grip on my elbow tightens, his gaze sympathetic.
“I’ll text you what I want.” My body feels heated all over from the pain. “Let me get you some money.”
“Zoey,” he says in that deep, steady voice, “don’t worry about that right now. Just text me what you want, and I’ll get it. You’re hurting.”
“Thank you.” A tear falls.
Before I have the chance to swat it away, he captures it with his big thumb. “Don’t cry,” he practically begs.
“Hormones.”
It’s so much more than that. In the past five minutes this man who’s my roommate, and maybe slowly becoming my friend, and yeah that I’m attracted to, has shown me more kindness than Todd ever did in our relationship and I was too blind to see it. I hate that I stayed so long and got even more hurt in the end.
“You’re just not enough for me, Zoey. You aren’t what I want.”
I remember his words so clearly when I caught him in bed with Liza.
Liza with her pale blonde hair, her big blue eyes, and pert small boobs was the complete opposite of my darker complexion, black hair, and brown eyes. I’d always thought I was pretty enough, but in that moment his words brought back a long-ago buried fear that I was too different to truly be beautiful.
“Hey,” Cole whispers, rubbing his thumb over my cheek. “Where’d you go in that pretty head of yours?”
I smile faintly at the word pretty. “Thinking about people who aren’t worth my time. Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”
“It’s not a big deal. I’d do this for anyone.”
I know he means that too. It hasn’t taken me long to realize that Cole is a special, rare kind of guy.
The most amazing thing is I think he’s completely unaware of it.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I feel cold when his hand falls from my cheek. The door closes behind him a few seconds later.
I waddle back to my room, uncomfortable thanks to the toilet paper stuffed in my underwear. Grabbing my phone, I text him what I want and get my comforter off the bed and one side of the fitted sheet before I feel wetness seeping down my leg. I look down, cursing at the line of red.
I hurry back to the bathroom, whimpering at the mess.
I do the best I can and start a bubble bath, grabbing a fresh set of pajamas from my room for the second time. It’s the only way I’ll truly feel clean. I send a text to Cole, letting him know that I’m getting in the bath and to hang the bag on the bathroom door, along with another long-winded thank you.
The bath helps immensely with the cramps and helps slow down my flow as well.
Slipping out of the bath, I dry myself off and wrap the towel around myself before I take the bag from the door.
Bless him.
Coming out of the bathroom, I pause at the entry to my bedroom in stunned silence. Cole looks up, giving me a half-smile. “I saw the…” He flicks his fingers at the bed. “Anyway, I started the laundry and I’m almost done putting these on.”
He’s putting clean sheets on for me.
I woke him up at three in the morning for tampons and he comes back and doesn’t crash like a normal person. No, he sees the state of my bed and finishes removing my sheets, adding it to the washer and starting it, and then proceeds to put clean sheets on.
Hormones, get ahold of yourself. I’m not going to cry again.
“Thank you. I can finish this.”
“Nah, I got it. Go take some medicine. I also got you a hot water bottle. It’s in the kitchen.”
“I don’t want this to go to your head or anything, but you’re really kind of amazing.”
He gives me a small half-smile. I know he’s going to say it’s not a big deal again or something of the sort so I leave before he can. I take the Midol and fill the bottle. I didn’t even think about how much help one of these might be. But he did.
I wander back down the hall to my room, just as he’s finishing putting the pillows back on my mattress.
“Is there anything else I can do to help you?”
It’s on the tip of my tongue, to ask him to stay, because I hate being alone when I’m hurting, but I don’t. It’s not right to ask him of that, especially when we’re still getting to know each other and when I’m already fighting my attraction.
“I’m good, thank you.”
He walks around me to leave. “If you need me, just wake me up again. I don’t mind.”
I jerk my head in a nod.
Setting the hot water bottle on the bed, I grab a towel from the bathroom and lay it down. I’m praying the worst is over, but I’d rather mess up a towel than my bed all over again. Burrowing beneath the covers, I hold the heat against my stomach. The Midol starts to kick in, and I fall back to sleep easily.
“How are you feeling?” Cole asks, when he ventures out of his bedroom in the morning. I got up earlier than normal, paranoid about bleeding through my clothes again. The few hours of extra sleep I did get were a big help.
“Better. Thanks to you.”
He waves off my praise, heading for the fridge. He pulls out the orange juice and pours it into a cup. “I’m going to make an omelet, you want one?”
I frown at the idea of eggs. “No thank you, but would you mind bringing me one of my Oreos?”
I’m currently laying on the couch, burrowed beneath a blanket and don’t want to leave my comfy spot if I don’t have to.
He grabs me two Oreos—smart man—and brings them over.
I nibble on one, not allowing myself to worry about how this is hardly a suitable breakfast. Sometimes you have to say screw it and eat the dessert first.
There’s a knock on the door and he arches a brow. “Are you expecting someone?”
I shake my head.
He crosses the room to the door and swings it open, revealing Teddy standing there with a Krispy Kreme box.
“Morning, Dad. Mom.” Teddy smiles in my direction. “I come bearing gifts. The light was on.” He lifts the box. “Hot and delicious glazed donuts. Except for the cake batter one—the yellow with sprinkles—that’s mine, don’t think about taking it.”
“Why are you here?” Cole asks him as Teddy pushes his way inside, setting the box on the coffee table. He picks up my feet, blanket and all, and sits down, letting my legs rest back on his lap.
“My spidey senses were tingling and I knew you guys were missing me. Surprise! Here I am.” He tosses his hands in the air.
Cole shakes his head, locking the door. “Trust me, we weren’t missing you.”
“Dad, don’t hurt my feelings. They’re fragile.”
“Yeah, talk nice to our doggy.”
Teddy grins at me. “I like belly rubs.”
“Go somewhere else for those. But I will take a donut.”
Teddy leans over and opens the box, passing me a glazed. Cole shakes his head, resigned to the fact that we just can’t seem to get rid of Teddy, which is honestly comical since he was supposed to be his roommate. I’m not going to complain, though. I’m happy that didn’t work out and I ended up with a nice place to say. Honestly, this is way better than living in a dorm and Cole’s much easier to get along with than a girl can be.
“We should do something fun today.”
“No,” Cole and I say simultaneously.
He’s chopping some peppers, preparing the ingredients for his omelet.
“Fun suckers,” Teddy mutters, picking up his donut. It’s just as bright and colorful as his personality. Glancing at me, he inquires, “Do you like baseball, Zoey?”
“No.”
He gasps. “But I play baseball.”
“This is good news then. You can be my favorite player.”
“Damn straight.” He grins, holding up his fist.
I reluctantly pull my arm from beneath the blanket and bump my hand against his.
“You better be cheering me on in the stands in the spring.”
“Keep dreaming.”
“Leave Zoey alone,” Cole grumbles from the kitchen. I can’t help but notice the way his back muscles flex, even in his cotton shirt.
“Zoey loves me.”
“Did she say that?” Cole retorts.
“Well, no, but?—”
“Why aren’t you with Jude?”
Teddy pretends to gag. “He went for a run. Asked me to go, but no way in hell am I doing that. Learned my lesson with Mascen. Running’s the devil.”
“Who’s this Mascen you guys are always talking about? Am I ever going to get to meet him?”
“He was at the bonfire. Sorry we didn’t introduce you.” Teddy gives me a sheepish smile. “It seemed like you two had a good time, though.” He winks, reminding me of Joey from Friends. Honestly, they even have similar personalities.
I was kind of surprised he didn’t bring up the bonfire yesterday, but maybe he was still hungover enough to not remember.
“It was fun,” Cole replies in a monotone, sliding his breakfast onto a plate. He grabs a fork and starts digging in on his way over, where he drops into the chair.
“I enjoyed it.”
Teddy grins, eyes darting between us. “Uh-huh. I might’ve been making out with one of the sorority girls—Jessica? Or maybe it was Savannah? No, it was definitely Kayla. Anyway, that doesn’t matter, what does is the fact that I saw you two.” He waggles his finger between us then smacks his hands together. “Fireworks. Boom. Pow. Chemistry.”
Cole’s eyes connect with mine for the briefest second before we both hastily break eye contact.
“You know, I once met a fortune teller at a fair and she told me I have the Eye for these kinds of things. I’m telling you now, you two…” Teddy gives a low whistle. “Something is there.”
Cole gives his friend an incredulous look. “You know that shit isn’t real. She was just fucking with you.”
“She was legit man, I’m telling you. Long flowing skirt, beads, all those dangly bracelets that clinked when she walked. The things she told me man … she was the real deal, I know it.”
Cole stares down at his eggs, lips twitching.
“Fine, don’t believe me.” He takes a massive bite of his donut, eating almost half of it in the one bite. “But I know the truth.”
I look back at Cole, our eyes connecting for the briefest of seconds.
I swallow past the lump in my throat. Yeah, I think we know the truth too, but we’re both going to keep lying to ourselves and each other because it’s easier.