What Happened at East Houston Street

Chapter 15

The next morning, Lauren rolled over and exhaled a groggy sigh when she heard her alarm sounding at am. She had every intention of rising early to go for a run down Memorial Drive, but after the last night's events with finding Kelsey after Brent had assaulted her, she didn't have the desire to exercise. She squinted at her phone screen, checking to see if Brent had contacted her. After the fifth failed attempt to reach him last night, she figured he'd passed out somewhere in a drunken stupor. She didn't have any new text messages or missed calls.

She got out of bed, her head pulsating from lack of sleep. She had only gotten back to her place at 4am and didn't fall asleep until 5:30, after finally calming down enough to close her eyes. She put on a robe and walked down the apartment hallway into the bathroom. She decided that a long hot shower before her roommates woke up was a good idea to energize her for the day ahead, which she knew would involve paying a visit to Brent's Marlborough Street apartment.

After her shower, Lauren got dressed, opting for a crisp white button down oxford shirt and a pair of light washed skinny jeans. She chose a white pair of Converse sneakers, threw her damp hair in a bun, and put on a pair of black wayfarers to shield her blue eyes from the bright morning sun.

At Central Square, she got on the train and found a seat by the doors in the half empty car. The gentle rocking of the train lulled her into a trancelike state, where her thoughts lingered back to the night before. She thought about Kelsey's muffled sobs. She remembered the girl's last words before she finally fell asleep. Please don't tell anyone about this.

Lauren understood that Kelsey was humiliated. She could sympathize with the girl, having felt the same thing four years earlier after her night with Brent at the reservoir. Tears began to collect at the corners of her eyes. She tilted her head back, trying to stop them from falling down her face. Once she composed herself, she looked down to her hands and twisted the rings on her slender fingers. One particular ring on her right hand had two small gemstones. It was a simple band and the stones were miniscule, but it held deep meaning to her. She remembered being gifted it a year earlier for her college graduation.

Lauren closed her eyes, still twisting the ring on her right hand, and recalled the night. She remembered the later part of the evening, after a celebratory graduation dinner at the Algonquin Club. She and Brent's families had left the city to go back to their own homes. Lauren expected to have obligatory graduation sex with Brent that night and, once he had finished inside of her in his bed at the frat house, he passed out, not reciprocating her orgasm. She took the opportunity to slip out of bed. She got dressed in the dark and headed out of the house towards the BC campus. In her flowing sundress that she wore to the culmination ceremony of her college career, she walked the half mile to the campus dorms.

Stephanie, as usual, met her at the side door, beaming a tender smile as Lauren walked the last few steps down the brick walkway. Without a word, the two girls climbed the stairs to the room. As soon as the door was closed, Stephanie enveloped Lauren in her arms, placing the softest kiss to her lips and holding her gaze for a long moment. "I'm so proud of you," Stephanie finally spoke. Lauren's cheeks pinked at the hazel-eyed girl's sincerity. She always blushes around Stephanie. She wouldn't ever get used to the way she would find Stephanie looking at her intently when she thought she wouldn't get caught. Lauren would laugh, hiding her face in her hands, when she realized she was being watched.

"Stop! You're making me nervous!" she'd giggle behind her hands.

Stephanie would usually take this moment of vulnerability to move closer to her, placing her own hands on the other girl's and pulling them away from her face. "Laur, you don't have to be embarrassed," she'd say. "I can't help staring. You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Lauren, looking down at her hands, would lift her gaze up to Stephanie and a shy smile would form on her lips. She knew that Stephanie was not like all of the guys who would gush about her beauty, attempting to get her into bed. She knew that Stephanie meant every word she said. She could feel it.

"I have two gifts for you," Stephanie smirked as she said it.

Lauren answered, "Oh yeah?" a flirty grin playing on her face.

Stephanie just licked her lips and grinned, relaying her meaning through her dark pupils.

Lauren grabbed a robe from the back of the door and said, "I. Can't. Fucking. Wait," placing a kiss on Stephanie's lips between each word. "But I'm going to shower first." She gave Stephanie one more kiss before leaving for the bathroom down the hall.

After Stephanie had given Lauren her first gift, one that Brent hadn't given her earlier that night, the girls laid in each other's arms. Stephanie, who laid beneath Lauren, rolled herself over, changing positions to be on top of the blue-eyed girl. She sat up on Lauren's lap and reached over to the drawer of her bedside table, opening it and retrieving a small wrapped package. "I got you this," she said, handing the gift to the girl, who still laid beneath her. Lauren lifted herself up on her elbows and took the package. She carefully removed the paper, uncovering a red velvet jewelry box. Opening the box with slightly shaking hands, she found a delicate gold band that had two small gemstones at the center.

Stephanie, needing to break the silence and feeling nervous that it was too small of a gift for the girl who meant so much to her, said, "It's our birthstones. Sapphire for me and amethyst for you." Getting no reply and no indication if Lauren liked it, she continued. "They're small but they're real," she added, feeling self-conscious now about the unsubstantial ring.

Lauren's breath hitched a little as she could feel her cheeks burning. She had been gifted jewelry before, but they were usually pieces that were never much to her liking, clunky silver necklaces from Tiffany that all the girls had or gaudy diamond earrings that hung low on her delicate earlobes. She removed the ring from the box and held it between her thumb and her index finger. She knew that a ring like this was a big expense for Stephanie. The younger girl didn't have a lot of extra income from her work study job at the library. Finally, to the hazel-eyed girl's delight, she looked up and planted a hard kiss to Stephanie's lips, catching her off guard by the quick action. "I love it," she whispered, pressing her forehead against Stephanie's, her eyes closed. "And I love you," she finished.

When the red line train arrived at the Park Street station, Lauren headed up the stairs to the green line cars. She watched a B train arrive that would take her in the direction of Marlborough Street to Brent's apartment. She stood motionless in front of its sliding doors, not getting onto the car. The doors slid shut and the train departed. She couldn't bring herself to get on.
A minute later, another train arrived. This one was a C train, with a Cleveland Circle sign on its front end. She hesitated for a moment, weighing the consequences of her next action. The electronic voice boomed as the train doors opened. This is a C line train to Cleveland Circle, Last stop Boston College.

Without any more hesitation, she jumped into the car sideways as the doors were closing. She was heading to the only source of comfort in her life.

Brent woke up at 10am at the frat house with a pounding head. He slowly opened his eyes and rolled over. Attempting to get up off the bed, he was hindered by his pants bunched at his knees. Looking down at his bare thighs confused, he took a moment to recall the previous night's events. He remembered funneling beer in a competition with the undergrad frat brothers and chasing the beer with shot after shot of vodka. He remembered making out with a girl and the feeling of coats under his knees. The finer details of the night were a blur. Groggily, he pulled his pants up and stumbled to the doorway and out into the hall to the bathroom, where he peed in the toilet bowl and immediately after threw up the liquid contents of his stomach. He hadn't eaten much the night before, opting for a liquid dinner instead. Once he was done heaving, he leaned against the sink and held his head in his hands, trying to regain his balance.

He pulled his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and saw that he had five missed calls from Lauren, but no voicemails. He knew that meant trouble for him. He groaned as he found Lauren's contact name and pressed the call button. The phone rang six times before her voicemail message began to play. He ended the call before the message beeped.

He made his way to the living room and sat on the couch. The coffee table in front of him was cluttered with red plastic cups, some empty and others half full. Sitting forward on the edge of the seat, with his head in his hands, he rubbed his palms against his stinging eyelids. He pulled his cellphone out of his pocket again and made another attempt to call Lauren. This time instead of her voicemail he could hear someone pick up the call and quickly end it. Frustrated now, he pressed the call button on Lauren's contact name again. He got the same result as the last call. A pickup and a hang up. He could feel anger bubbling under his skin. What the fuck, you fucking bitch! he thought, annoyed that his girlfriend was giving him the silent treatment.

The door to the frat house flew open and Roger, a senior at BC and current president of Kappa Sigma, walked in holding a tray full of coffees in one hand and a box of donuts in the other. "Hey, Brent!" he shouted, too loudly for Brent's pounding head. He just groaned in response.

"Ha! Yeah, man. You were absolutely wasted last night! Where did you go? I didn't see you late night?" Roger asked, sitting down on the couch next to him.

Brent laid his back against the couch cushion and stretched his long legs out, causing his bones to crack a bit at the movement. "Ugh," he sighed and winced.

"Looks like you need to get Lauren to give you a nice massage, dude," Roger laughed as he stuck a straw into his iced coffee lid.

Brent shook his head. "She's pissed at me for not answering her calls last night. She won't talk to me."

Roger took a long sip of his iced coffee and looked over at Brent. "I just saw her. She was heading into the dorms. Go talk to her."

He lifted his eyebrows at Roger. "The dorms? You sure? Why the FUCK is she at the dorms?" Brent was fuming. She wasn't in the mood for him last night and now she was back on campus early on a Sunday morning. He knew what that meant.

Roger just shrugged his shoulders in response, having no further explanation to give the college graduate.