Love Always (NG4)

43 - Anger

Rory walked across campus hoping to avoid Dan. In her mind, she blamed him for causing Sam to leave. Things had been great with Sam, except for the distance, but she lived with it. He was the one traveling while she was alone in the big house with nothing to do. Except as Sam pointed out she had friends to keep her busy. Maybe she was naïve and stupid to think she could be just friends with a man.

Her anger which was her current state rotated between Sam, herself, and Dan. Walking to class hoping not to see the divorced Dad, her anger was firmly placed on him.

She slid into a seat next to her two friends feeling just as sad as the day she met them. Under the anger was a constant sadness, but the stronger emotion effectively kept the tears away.

She hadn't succeeded with Lana, the night before. Lana held her while she cried, whispering things like, 'it will be alright', 'he loves you', and 'I know it hurts'. Her first husband cheated on her, and she survived by starting a business and working hard. Rory would work hard. She couldn't let her crushed heart ruin her future.

As she settled into a seat in the classroom, she looked around at the same group of students. Chantal said, "Rory, you're note taker."

She nodded, and Grace's eyes widened. She whispered to Chantal. "Something's wrong with our Rory. The sad girl is back."

Chantal looked at her, and she felt like the subject of a psychological observation. She reached down and busied herself with getting out her notebook and pens. She would impress her friends with colorful notes. As the class started, she was glad to be the note taker because writing the information was easier than concentrating on it.

As soon as their class finished, Grace grabbed her hand and dragged her out the door. It was too hot to sit outside, so they returned to the sticky tables in the student center. Rick had wobbly tables, but they weren't sticky. She had been hesitant about her planned trip home, but she would get much needed hugs and Rick's coffee. If only, it were a magic elixir.

Chantal returned with a diet coke for her. "No rum."

Rory forced a thin smile. Grace put her hand on her arm and Rory shook her head. "Can we please just talk about class?"

Grace patted her arm. "We need to synch up our schedules with our internships."

Rory said, "I start tomorrow afternoon."

Grace nodded. "Good. You'll come over after our next class today."

Chantal nodded. "We have rum and tequila."

Rory groaned. "No tequila."

After discussing their first lecture of the year, Rory asked if she could take notes again. The two roommates looked at each other and nodded. Grace said, "I don't like the sound of this."

Chantal said, "At least she has friends who care."

Rory wanted to scream, I'm right here, but she didn't need to add them to her list of people who she was angry with. As they walked across campus, she saw number one on her list. Thankfully, he was deep in conversation with a colleague. She felt his eyes follow her, so she leaned into Grace.

"Get ready for boring Glenn."

Rory sat down and pulled out her phone and texted Sam about her least favorite teacher. She knew he wouldn't respond. She had a string of unreplied text messages as evidence.

By the time she got home from telling her friends and listening to their disbelief and subsequent outrage, she felt drained. She had a text from Dan about her seeing Finn. Was it a ploy? Her anger said it was, but deep down she couldn't discount Finn's needs.