"I'm going to miss you a lot, Chloe." I kiss her forehead as she hugs me tight. I'm going back to Florida today and I wish I could take Chloe with me. Yesterday was amazing. After I cleaned her up, we lied in bed all night watching movies until she fell asleep on my chest. I couldn't stop staring at her. Blonde suits her well; it makes the freckles more pronounced on her cheeks.
"I'm going to miss you more," she presses her plush lips to mine and I savor the sweet flavor of her minty lips. I could kiss her for hours upon hours.
I have to force myself to let her go. I get in my truck and rev the engine. She waves at me as I pull out of the parking lot. I can't help but feel a ping of sadness rush through my body.
Traffic from New York back down to Florida was insane and chaotic. I hate traffic. I grab my bag out of the floorboard and shove my keys into my pocket. The dorm is empty when I enter indicating Sydney is probably with her boyfriend.
So far she's a good roomie. She doesn't stay on the phone too late and she's actually really tidy for a girl. She keeps her stuff on her side of the room as do I.
"No! Fuck you Oliver!" Sydney slams the door closed and locks it behind her. She jumps when she sees me unpacking my things.
"Um, you okay?" I ask. Her eyes are on fire as she glares at me. That's a look that could send you straight to hell. Obviously she's pissed and obviously it's at Oliver. I wonder what happened.
Sydney ignores my question and starts smashing all her picture frames with her and Oliver in them. I watch her as she screams and throws sentimental things he's given her around the room. To be completely honest, I'm kind of scared she's gonna try to cut my balls off or something. She's legit going on a rampage right now, that is before she collapses to the floor and begins violently crying into the teddy bear she ripped up and destroyed.
"Sydney?" I approach her slowly, kneeling down beside her. Girls are so much drama. First Veronica and now Sydney? Maybe they're both on their periods. Do girls even get their periods at the same time even if they don't know each other? That's disgusting. Periods are disgusting. Why the hell am I thinking about this?
"Are you okay?" I ask again, sitting down on the floor beside her. She ignores my question once more and shoves her head against my chest and wraps her arms around my torso. I'm a little taken aback at first and don't know how to react so I awkwardly pat her back.
"Oli-Oliver just broke up with me." She mumbles into my now soaked shirt.
"Oh, Syd, I'm sorry." I say softly while trying to sound as sentimental and caring as possible as I continue to pat her back.
"He just, ugh!" She groans into my chest.
"Look," I gently pull her away from me so we can make eye contact. "Boys are pricks. We hurt girls because we know they care and we know that we can get away with it. I am not, under any circumstances, saying that what we do is okay. What I am saying, though, is that you shouldn't waste your tears on some stupid prick who just doesn't care about whether he hurts you or not."
She sniffles a few times before speaking. "Thank you, Ethan."
"You're welcome." I give her a reassuring smile and we both stand up. She wipes the tears from her eyes and goes to the bathroom, probably to finish cleaning the make up from her face.
My phone starts ringing and I look to see who it is.
"Colton, hey," I speak into my phone. Loud music is in the background and I can barely hear him when he speaks.
"Yo, Ethan! You gotta get down here! My frat brothers are throwing the sickest party!" His words are slightly slurred indicating he's had a few too many.
"I don't know man. Last time I came to one of your parties, I woke up naked on the front lawn." I get unwanted flashbacks from the previous party.
"Aw, c'mon man!" I sigh and roll my eyes, giving into Colton's drunk persistence.
"Fine, I'll be down there in a little while." He starts cheering over the line and I hang up, shoving the phone into my pocket as Sydney exits the bathroom.
"Get dressed. We're going to a party."
*^*
"Are you sure a party is a good idea?" Sydney sighs as we pull up to the frat house.
"Of course. What better way to get over a prick than to find several new pricks?" I wink at her and she laughs, nodding her head.
We walk up the stairs and a girl with red hair calls her over. I don't recognize the girl but Sydney obviously does. I find Colton dancing on top of a table in just his boxers. I shake my head and realize just how much he's changed.
"Everyone! Everyone! Ethan's here!" Colton yells into a microphone. Everyone raises their red cups and begin to cheer and I can't help but to laugh at all the intoxicated people crowding around in the living room.
"Hey, buddy. Had enough to drink?" I ask as Colton gets off the table to stand, or should I say, stumble, in front of me.
"What? No, the drinks are over there!" He points toward the kitchen and I roll my eyes. That's not even what I asked.
"Thanks," I mumble to his lame answer as he bumps into some girls.
"Hey, ladies, want-" he hiccups before continuing his slurred sentence, "want to cut a piece of this cake tonight?" The girls just laugh at him and walk away, leaving Colton in shame.
"Colton, you're too drunk man."
"Whaaaatt? No I'm not! You're drunk man!" He mocks me and I roll my eyes and begin to look for Sydney. I don't even know why I thought it was a good idea to come here.
I notice the red headed girl I saw earlier then quickly find Sydney, with her top off, in a circle of people.
"Sydney? Let's go." She looks up at me and shakes her head, giggling loudly. Her eyes are bloodshot and obviously she's been drinking. I shouldn't have told her it was a good idea for her to come. I didn't know she was gonna get drunk off her ass to get over Oliver. I just thought she'd flirt with a few guys or something
"I'm having fun!" She yells at me and takes a huge gulp of vodka from the bottle. A guy with blue hair starts kissing her neck and I pick her up off the ground. I look around for her shirt but I can't find it so I take off mine and slip it over her head.
"C'mon, Syd," I pick her up and she giggles in my ear.
"It's like I'm in a space ship! I'm so high off the ground!" She yells and I wince at her voice shrilling against my eardrum. I sit her in the truck and buckle her seatbelt.
We finally get back to the dorms and I pick her up once more considering she won't walk willingly and carry her through the door. "Woo hoo! That was so much fun! Oliver who? Oliver who! Who's Oliver!?" She squeals loudly, her voice bouncing off the walls. I look at the time: 2 am. A lot of people have classes tomorrow including me. She needs to be quiet.
"Ethan! I'm sleepy!" She yells again and I shush her.
"Go to sleep then!" I'm starting to become aggravated. I didn't ask to babysit her drunk ass tonight. Although, I did invite her to the party. Ugh. This is all my fault.
"I'm scared," she whispers.
"Why?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.
"I have really bad dreams." She whimpers to herself and I sigh.
"I'm sure you'll be okay, Sydney." I try to comfort her but she shakes her head.
"Can-can I sleep with you?" I knew that was coming. How would Chloe feel about this? Should I tell her? I'm sure it'll be okay, she's just scared, right?
"Fine. Come on." I flip back my blankets and she crawls underneath them with me. She wastes absolutely no time curling up next to me and my whole body begins to tense. I don't like this. She's not Chloe. I turn on my side so that my back is facing her and she scoots closer, burying her face in my back. I sigh loudly and close my eyes, pretending that Chloe is by my side.
I should really stop trying to help people because it always results in disasters - or in this case - a newly dumped and drunken girl in your bed.
YOU ARE READING
Not So Secret
Teen Fiction*Dirty Little Secret Sequel* They've been through thick and thin; had several fights and mishaps. But they've always gotten over them, right? Until now. What'll happen when going to two different colleges? Will Chloe and Ethan be able to stay toget...
