Jefferson Lake (MBBF Spin-Off)

Chap. 18

"I brought you some Broccoli and Cheddar soup from Panera," Parker informed me, as he let himself into my dorm room.

I paused my current episode of Breaking Bad, looking over at him.

"Feeling any better?" he asked me, shutting my door with his foot.

"I guess," I said, with a shrug.

"Did you puke?"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"Then I'd say so."

I accepted my soup from him, swiping his coke as well and taking a sip.

My dorm room door opened again, and Emily came in this time, her Panera drink in hand. "How's he feeling?"

"He's feeling just fine," I informed her.

She offered me a smile, taking a sip of her soda. "Well he's very sassy today, so I can see that."

Silence fell across my dorm room, and I could sense the tension between Parker and Emily.

Parker sat in my desk chair, sipping on his drink as he intently stared at his phone as though it contained something much more interesting than what was happening in my dorm room.

Emily leaned against the wall next to my sink, sipping on her drink as she stared as the opposite wall, her body stance tense.

"Well," I stated, after a full minute of silence. "Thanks for the soup then."

"Is there anything else you need?" Emily asked, looking over at me. "Do you still have the anti-nausea medicine?"

"We just dropped some by this morning," Parker muttered.

She rolled her eyes. "It never hurts to ask."

"I do," I said, interrupting their weird argument. "But thanks."

I could tell that neither one of them really wanted to leave, because then they'd have to return to their argument, and actually try to resolve their relationship issues.

"If you need anything later just call," Parker said, standing up and tucking his phone away into his back pocket.

Emily nodded in agreement

"Okay."

Parker left my dorm first and Emily lingered for a few moments, her eyes trained on the door Parker just walked out of.

"Just tell him he's an asshole," I suggested.

"What?" she asked, her eyes flickering back over to me.

"We all know it."

"It's not that simple," she informed me.

"It never is."

She let out a long sigh, tossing her empty Panera drink in the trash. "I don't want to go back out there."

"Put your big girl pants on and go out and face your relationship."

She tugged my towel down from the hanger it was on and threw it at me before leaving my dorm room.

I restarted my episode of Breaking Bad, reaching into the Panera bag and pulling out the side order of an apple that I'd asked for.

I took a bite as my dorm room door opened again.

"My dorm room is not the place to hide from your problems," I informed Emily, without looking up.

"Well it's one of the only single dorms on campus, so it's hard not to," McKenna said, with a laugh.

I paused my episode again, shutting my laptop screen. "Sorry, I thought you were Emily."