I'm Not The Girl You Used To Know

Chapter 2: Unexpected

(Linda POV)

When I reached the lobby, I spotted Hailey with her blonde hair tied into a ponytail sitting on one of the couch. She spotted me and she grinned widely like an idiot.

"Linda!!", she approached me then hugged me like we hadn't seen each other for years.

"Hey, girl", I hugged her back. She was like my sister.

"So, where do you want to go? Shopping?", she smirked. She loved shopping.

"Hell, no. You know how much I hate shopping", I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I mean you're a woman, I don't understand why you hate  shopping".

Well, I didn't know what was the fun with shopping. It was tiring and wasted your money.

"How about we go to eat? I'm starving. I didn't have breakfast this morning", I stated.

"Uh, yeah, sure.I found a really nice cafe two days ago near the campus. Come on", she took my hand.

She led me to cafe called Jo's. It was nice and fit for the students near the campus. I gueesed all the visitors  were students.

We sat on our table and looked at the menu to order. I decided to have mac and cheese and orange juice while Hailey ordered salad and ice tea. Hailey had a strict diet.

"So, how's living with your brother?", she asked while waiting for our food.

"Just fine. I didn't feel like talking to him", I said, drinking my juice.

"Linda, he's your brother. You and him had been through the same thing. Don't you think it would be good if you just get along with him? He's like your only family who cares for you"

"I don't really think I can. I mean, we never seen each other after the divorce and the only I heard from him was the christmas cards he sent me. He never write or tried to contact me. He left me like my parents did", I said coldly.

Hailey held my hand. "Just give him a chance. He does let you to stay with him, right? Maybe he tried to make it up to you after all these years".

I ignored what she just said. Sure he wanted to make it up after all these years. But I just couldn't. Since I moved to boarding school, it seemed hard to trust someone or giving people second chances, except for Hailey.

Sure I had many friends at school, but they were nothing but my pets. I never tell them my stories or my problems. They just stuck with me all the time because I was populer, like Hailey.

The food came after a while and we started to dig in. It was heaven! I moaned in appreciation on each bite I had. Hailey looked at me amused.

After we had our lunch, we went to Hailey's dorm. Luckily she didn't have a roommate, so we could have the place for ourselves.

Her room has been decorated and organized. It was simple with one bedroom, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. It was small but felt homey. I liked it already.

"Wow, this place is nice", I said awe. Hailey wasn't a type of girl who did decorating or organizing. "Did you do it yourself?"

"Of course I am. If I want to be an architect I should start by decorating my own room, right?", she said, feeling hurt. Yep, she wanted to be an architect.

"Sorry, it's just you're never that type of girl", I laughed.

"Geez, sorry to make you disappointed", she said sarcastically.

We spent the rest of the day, watching TV in her room and talking. We even had takeouts for dinner. I just wished we could do this everyday.

It was nice having the place all for yourselves. No parents's yelling or your annoying brother. I wondered if I could ask Brian to let me live at a dorm. It must be nice, especially if I could be Hailey's roommate.

I stayed at her dorm until 8. I didn't realize the time passed so quickly. I bet Brian would lecture me after I went home, but I didn't care.

I bid Hailey farewell and went out of the building. Luckily the place was strategic so it was easy to find a cab. After the cab pulled over in front of Brian's apartment, I handed the money to the driver and asked him to keep the change.

I went inside the lobby and was greeted by the same security this morning. "Welcome, Ms...",

"It's Linda. Just call me Linda", I smiled.

"Ms. Linda", he smiled. "Are you here to see Mr.Brian?"

"Um, I kind of live with him, now. I'm his sister"

"Oh, my apology, Ms"

"It's fine, Taylor", I said.

He chuckled and nodded. I made my way to the elevator and pressed the floor number. When it reached the floor, the door opened and headed to the room.

I opened the door and closed it behind me. There, I spotted Brian sitting on a couch in the living room with a guy, watching TV. When he heard the door closed, both heads looking at me.

"Where have you been?", Brian asked. He didn't look happy.

"I told you I was with my friend", I walked to my room.

"Wait, have a seat", he said strictly. I guessed this was his 'attorney' mode.

I surrendered and took a seat across his friend. He  was handsome with brown hair, blue eyes, and a perfect jaw line. He looked familiar but I didn't know where I'd met him.

"So, this is Ethan. You remember him? Ethan Clarington", my brother said when he realized I stared at his friend in confussion.

Ethan Clarington. Of course. He was my brother's best friend. He used to come to our house to hang out and he was the one who always picked on me. I used to have a crush on him.

"Sure, how could I forget?", I said sarcastically.

Ethan chuckled a little and that was when he looked into my eyes and I was almost melted. His blue eyes always made me nervous.

"So, what's he doing here?", I said, sounded rude.

"Well, I forgot to tell you that he lives here too, with us. We bought this apartment together", Brian said apologetically.

I raised my right eyebrow then sighed. "Oh, great", I mumbled.

"What did you just say?", Brian asked.
"Nothing. Can I go to bed now? I'm tired", I said, standing up.

"Wait, we'll be having dinner", Brian said stopping me from moving.

"Ive had dinner", I said and walked pass him making my way to my room. I swore I could hear Brian's sigh and grumbled.

Well, so there were two guys whom I had to live with. It was just getting better and better.