Five #2
Fed up, I look away from the scene in front of me.
Just because Thomas looked after me in my time of need for one night doesn’t mean things have changed between us.
We aren’t together. Thomas is not my boyfriend.
And he’s not going to be. We are both free to do what we want, aren’t we?
I have no right to throw a fit if I see him with someone else.
Theoretically.
In practice, I can feel my blood boiling in my veins, and I hate myself for giving him this power, for letting him make me feel so vulnerable.
But I push aside these intrusive thoughts and instead take my laptop out of my bag.
Time to consult the various rental sites, flagging the listings most likely to be in my price range.
Several minutes pass like this, until I spot movement to my right. Thomas takes a seat next to me, setting his lunch tray on the table.
“Am I understanding this correctly? Did you ditch me to hang out with your little friend?” he snaps, not bothering to hide the irritation in his voice.
“Pardon me?” I answer vaguely.
“He’s your ‘unexpected situation,’ I suppose?” he notes and, from the corner of my eye, I can see him glaring at Alex’s table.
“We ran into each other in the hallway; he needed advice, and I didn’t want to leave him alone,” I inform him, not taking my eyes away from the screen and continuing to scroll slowly.
“So you left me alone.”
When I finally choose to look up, the blazing intensity in his eyes gives me a start.
“Looks like you consoled yourself pretty quickly,” I reply after a moment of hesitation, flashing him my very fakest smile.
Thomas gives me a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”
A wave of shame washes over me. I am aware that I might be making a big deal out of nothing here. After all, the girl only handed him a flyer; they probably didn’t even know each other. Dammit .
I shake my head. “It’s nothing.”
“You sure? Because I’m getting a pissed-off vibe from you, and I have no idea why you’d be pissed off. If anything, I should be the angry one.”
“I’m not pissed off; I’m just…” I pause, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
I groan in frustration as I run a hand through my hair.
“I’m anxious about the situation with my mother and how I haven’t found a solution to the housing problem yet, that’s all.
And the mood at Tiffany’s house is tense, and it’s making me uncomfortable. ”
To be fair, all of this is true. To be completely accurate, though, I’m not brave enough to tell him about the jealousy that is eating me up. Thomas’s expression changes, softens, and I feel even more guilty.
“So who was that girl?” I ask abruptly and regret it immediately.
“Which one?” he replies, calmly sipping his Sprite.
“The one you were talking to outside, under the tree,” I hiss, resuming my search on the laptop in an attempt to hide how bothered I am.
“Oh, she has a class with my sister, I think. They’re handing out flyers around campus.”
“Seemed like she really enjoyed talking to you.” I force a smile as I turn to face him.
Thomas just stares at me without speaking before a sly grin creeps over his face. “You jealous?”
I snort loudly. “Oh, please. No.”
He exhales a guttural sound, much like a laugh, and nods. “Oh yeah. I believe you,” he mocks. I give him a murderous glare and think about how much I’d like to strangle him. Fortunately for him, he decides to stop teasing me and changes the subject.
“Find anything new?” he asks, pointing at my laptop.
“All the scams you could want, as usual, and a few affordable listings. Literally just a few” I sigh, demoralized.
I close my laptop irritably and stick it back in my bag.
“On the other hand, I do have appointments in an hour to see two other rooms on Roosevelt Drive and a studio apartment in one of the university buildings on Walnut Boulevard.”
“Do you have a ride yet?”
“I can walk; it’s not far.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Thomas, no. Seriously, there’s no need. I don’t want you to feel like you have to drive me all over. Also, I like walking, you know? It calms the nerves. You should give it a try sometime,” I tell him, smiling.
He gives a snort of amusement before taking a bite of his cheeseburger. “It’s cute when you interpret my statements as questions.”
I should have given up before I started—nothing I say is ever going to make him change his mind. “Do what you want, but know that you don’t have to—”
I don’t even have time to finish my sentence before we are joined by two boys.
They are both tall and sturdily built, with that innate self-assurance that athletes always seem to have.
One of them—the blond—is wearing a hockey jersey and carrying a helmet.
The other, with brown hair and no helmet in sight, toys with an extinguished cigarette.
They greet Thomas with slaps on the shoulder, and he responds in kind.
“What’s up, man?” the brown-haired one asks before they both take seats around the table.
“Aren’t you gonna introduce us to this new little gem?” the blond adds. And when he smiles at me, there’s a spark of familiarity. I’ve seen that smile somewhere before.
Thomas lets them hang for a little bit but finally introduces me with his jaw tight, as though he hates doing it. “Ness, this is Blake and Vince. Guys, this is Vanessa.”
“‘This new little gem’?” I turn my gaze on Vince. He nods, smiling a mischievous smile that highlights the light sprinkling of freckles on his nose. I can’t tell if he’s making fun of me or trying to be my friend.
“Since when do you screw freshmen?” Blake blurts out with a “couldn’t care less” smirk.
I almost choke on my own saliva. “Excuse me?”
Thomas glares at him, his fingers clenched around his can of Sprite. “Don’t be an asshole,” he warns.
“Pardon him, Little Gem. What you have to understand is, our Blake here has a lot of rough edges. He’s more of a proto-man, a sort of missing link, like the kind you’d find being exhibited in a zoo.
” Vince gives Blake a mock reproving look.
“How many times do I have to tell you, that is not how we address young ladies.” He pats the top of Blake’s head and looks at me as if to say, There, I’ve put him in his place.
Blake himself doesn’t even try to apologize. He shoves Vince away with his shoulder and gives me a look of arrogance and superiority. What is his problem? Thomas puts a reassuring hand on my knee and rubs it.
“I’m not a freshman,” I say shortly. “I’m in my sophomore year.” There is a part of me, the remnants of my pride, that would like to tell them that Thomas doesn’t “screw” me at all, but that would be an enormous lie.
“I’ve never seen you around before,” Blake says, observing me without interest.
And thank God for that.
“I tend to keep to myself,” I grit out, looking down at my open notebook before closing it and putting it away.
“I, on the other hand, have seen you lots. You were with Baker, right?” Vince breaks in, taking his hockey helmet off his arm and setting it on the table. He crosses his arms over it, waiting for my response.
I take a long look at him, and finally, I realize where I’ve seen him before.
He’s the guy who gave Thomas the keys to ice rink on Monday night so that I could skate!
Do I thank him? Maybe some other time. Instead, I tuck my hair behind my ears and nod.
It’s strange to realize that people at this school really only remember me because of my relationship with Travis.
He sticks his hand out. “Nice to meet you. I’m Vince.
” Hesitantly, I take his hand and shake it in return.
I thought we already introduced ourselves.
When I try to pull my hand back, he holds on and squeezes it more than necessary.
“You’re cute,” he says, winking at me. As he does it, I can feel my face getting hot.
Just as I’m about to look away in embarrassment, a crushed empty pop can hits Vince’s shoulder.
“Keep your hands off her,” Thomas threatens, his stare brutal. Then he puts his hand on my thigh, curling his fingers around the underside. With a jerk, he pulls me closer to him.
Vince seems amused by this reaction. He cocks his head and quirks a corner of his mouth. “Message received.”
“Listen, is everything confirmed for tonight? You’re still in, right?” Blake asks, getting out of his chair. Vince does the same.
“Yeah, all confirmed,” Thomas answers evenly, licking a smear of ketchup from his thumb and index finger.
Just these three words are enough to make a strange melancholy settle over me, as I silently realize that Thomas and I won’t be together this evening.
The idea makes me a little sad. A lot sad.
Between my classes, his practices, and my move to Tiffany’s, we haven’t been able to spend much time together.
I was really hoping we’d get Saturday night together at least…
“I’m gonna go shoot hoops; wanna join?” Vince offers, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Pass for now. I’m busy,” Thomas answers, giving me a brief glance.
Blake scrutinizes me with an irritated sneer on his face before shaking his head. I get the feeling that he doesn’t at all approve of my presence in Thomas’s life. But if he thinks I’m the Yoko Ono of this situation, he is hugely mistaken.
“Remember, we’ve gotta take care of that thing for Martinez…” Blake says, preparing to leave. “ Now .”
I look back and forth between them with a frown on my face. But they’re ignoring me. Thomas looks up at Blake, and they exchange a long look which both of them seem to understand perfectly.
“Right,” Thomas says, massaging his forehead. Then, he turns to me. “Wait for me here? I just need to take care of something, and I’ll be right back; it won’t be long.”