GOAL
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20 comments
I had been hiding in my dorm room until classes started. Natalie wanted me to go out with her to all the back to school parties, but I knew I would see someone that would look at me pitifully. I had found out that Kingston did know Harry was engaged but didn't seem to care or correct his behavior around other girls he would flirt with that were clearly not his fiancé.
The shock of seeing Harry the first day back hit me straight in my gut and I slouched down in my chair as he walked up the stairs to sit down close enough to me to make me jittery.
Penelope came in then and saw Apollo before she saw me. Her slim fingers twinkled as she waved to him and he gave her a charming smile back. I wanted to throw up.
Then, Kenny came in.
He nodded his head up at Apollo, then locked eyes with me a few rows down from him.
"Can I sit with you?" He asked kindly as he walked up to my row. I nodded my head and sat straighter in my seat.
"Looks like a big class," Kenny tried to start conversation but I was afraid that if I spoke back it would sound like a squeak. I was trying to hold back my screams and I could feel my whole face turning red.
Kenny must have been tuned into my awkwardness because he stayed quiet until the class started to fill up. I looked down at my phone and hoped class would start soon. There were only a couple more minutes left when the professor walked in.
"I heard about what happened when Apollo visited you and Kingston over break," he sighed as he took a pen out of the front pocket of his book bag.
My head turned to my left to see Kenny. Shock wasn't even a feeling, I was confused. Who would have told Kenny that I was driving the car?
"I didn't ask him to lie, Kenny," I whispered to him harshly. "Before I could even say anything, he told the cops he was driving."
"Wha-?"
"Who told you? Did he tell you?" I looked up towards Apollo chatting with Penelope.
"No?" He looked down at me confused about whatever I was saying.
Oh shit. He didn't know.
"I thought it was about Apollo's fiancé?" Kenny smirked at me and my face went bright red.
"Oh," I swallowed, hoping he didn't fully understand everything I had already said.
"But it seems like I obviously don't know the whole story," he twisted his head to look at me quizzically.
"Please tell me you didn't hear what I just said," I closed my eyes and slouched down in my seat again.
"Unfortunately or fortunately, I'm not sure which is better, but I definitely heard you," he sighed and tapped my knee with his hand.
I wasn't sure if his gesture was caring or the opposite. Also, who had told him about Sarah? Did everyone know about Sarah except me?
"Good morning students!" The professor started class and I looked over my shoulder to the back of the room to see Harry staring at me with a concerned expression. His brows came in and his lips were pursed. His eyes didn't dart from mine when our stares connected, but I could feel the tension between us and that made me more uncomfortable than anything. I twisted back around and my name was called on the role.
"Andrews, Karlie," the professor called.
"Here," I spoke up weakly.
The sociology class wasn't so bad, but I could feel Harry's stare on the back of my neck the entire class. Kenny even commented on how I needed to relax. I kept breaking the lead in my mechanical pencil and finally, he handed me a pen to write with.
We walked out of class together and he asked if I wanted to have lunch with him. Honestly, I didn't want to, but I did to explain my earlier mistake. I bought a coffee and a yogurt parfait and we sat down at a table in the corner of the cafeteria.
"So what exactly happened with cops and you three?" Kenny went straight for the juicy part of the conversation.
I sighed and ran my hands over my face.
"We can talk about it another time," he mumbled sensing my stress.
I shook my head and sipped on my coffee.
"No, it's stupid. But you have to promise me that you won't spread this around. I've already had too many rumors surrounding him."
"Promise," Kenny held out his pinky to me.
I smirked and wrapped my pinky around his. "Before I tell you everything, I want you to know that even though me and you have been through some drama, I still want to be your friend," I swirled my spoon around in my yogurt.
"Of course," he pulled his pinky back from mine.
I smiled and took a deep breath before starting. "Harry came to Arizona to hang out with King and one night then went to a bar. I got worried and decided I'd go pick them up. I had a couple drinks with Harry and then I drove home. I was in an accident with two other cars and when the cops asked who was driving our vehicle, Harry spoke up and I didn't correct him."
"Did he get booked?"
I nodded my head and swallowed my nerves. "And that's when I met Sarah."
"Damn," Kenny looked over at me with pity on his face.
"Damn," I agreed with him and nodded my head.
"That's some shit," Kenny obviously didn't know how to make me feel better but he was trying, and I appreciated that.
"Hey you two," Natalie came up to our table with her blonde hair tucked underneath her chunky knit scarf. "What're y'all talking about?"
Shit. I promised I wouldn't keep anything from her anymore. I told Natalie what I had told Kenny and she gave me a hug and brushed my hair with her fingers.
"I always knew there was something off about Apollo," Natalie frowned and took a spoonful of my yogurt for herself.
I felt my stomach clench as I saw him entering the cafeteria with Penelope by his side. Of course she was attached to him.
"I'll see you guys later," I grabbed my barely eaten parfait and headed over to the trash.
"Karlie!" Penelope came over and gave me a hug. "I've missed you."
I just smiled at her and threw the parfait into the bin. I turned on my heel and walked away.
"Karlie! Karlie," I was surprised to see Harry running up to my side when I exited the building. He must have seen me ignore Penelope.
"I'm not going to talk to you," I scoffed at him and turned to head the opposite way.
"Please, I need you to hear me out," he begged as he grabbed my elbow.
"Let me go," I growled and jerked my arm from him.
"Please," he protested my harsh plea and I pushed his chest back to put some distance between the two of us.
"Get the fuck away from me, Apollo!" I raised my voice so people would stare and he would feel insecure.
"Karlie," he pouted with a sigh and stayed behind as I walked to my next class.
The next morning I woke early but didn't have any classes to attend that day. So I stayed inside all day. It was flurrying outside and the cold didn't seem too pleasant when I could be under my warm covers. Then I got to thinking when Natalie left for her classes.
What was Harry going to explain to me? I was hoping that it would be about everything, from the strange trip to my hometown, the arrest, all up to Sarah. But I knew better, he was probably going to explain that I was just easy for him to get to know.
The day continued and I stayed in my bed until Natalie came home around 9 at night.
"Have you been in bed all day?" She pulled a dress from our closet.
"Yeah," I mumbled looking up at her from the tumblr app on my phone.
"You want to go out tonight?" She looked down at me still under my warm covers
"No," I spoke and looked back down at my phone.
"Karlie," she sighed and then pulled my covers off me. "Get up. You need to get wasted."
"No!" I sat up and tried to grab them from her. "I'm not going out."
A knock sounded on the door and Natalie opened it before checking to see who it was. Kenny walked inside and saw me in my onesie being a complete slob.
"Shit Karlie," he looked at me like I was a sad, sickly child in the hospital.
"Do I look that bad?" I frowned as the door shut behind him.
"Are you coming out with us?" Kenny sat down on the side of my bed.
"Yes, she is," Natalie answered for me and I shrugged accepting my fate.
I stole one of her outfits and walked over to the Greek street with them around 11pm. They talked and I listened mostly. I wasn't feeling very social but maybe, just maybe, this outing would get me back in the groove of social life.
I hadn't asked where the party was, but I soon figured out that it was at Kenny's frat house. I walked inside the house with them and I was met with a drunk Kingston at the front door. He nodded at me and I smiled at him as I walked past with my friends. I headed straight for the alcohol and took three shots within the first ten minutes at the party. I laughed with Kenny for a while and some of his friends while Natalie went to go talk with Martie and Penelope in the other room.
I was also mad at Martie for not telling me about Harry and his fiancé. Martie was his step sister and the two of them grew up together. There was no way she didn't know about Sarah. Natalie knew about Penelope and Harry sleeping together, but she never held slut grudges like I did. Once I found out about Penelope and Harry, I wanted nothing to do with Penelope. She knew all along how I felt about Harry and she slept with him while knowing. I may have not said out loud to her that I was talking to Harry but she knew. She definitely knew.
I took another two shots and told Kenny I was going to go back home. I wasn't really having any fun and I honestly felt like I was being a party killer. And party killer's were the worst type of friends.
I stumbled up to Kenny and gave him a hug goodbye.
"You need me to walk you home?" He asked in the crook of my neck as I backed away from him.
I shook my head and patted his butt. "Noooo. I'm good," I smiled and took another shot before heading through the massive crowd of Greek people.
As I got to the front corridor, I saw Harry walk up the steps with a beer in his hand. I swayed into someone as I took another step. When I got to the front door, it seemed like the entire crowd went to the back of the house. Chants of the word "fight" echoed throughout the house and I looked up the stair case in front of me. No one would see me if I decided to go upstairs to his room.
And before I could talk myself out of it, my drunk brain reminded me of the night I snuck into his room and how I got there. I took the wooden stairs quickly remembering how they creaked. Once I got to the top stair case, I saw his room at the end of the hall. My stomach was in knots and I was too drunk to think clearly. But I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to see his charming smile light up at my presence.
And I chickened. I twisted on my heel as I got to the middle of the hallway. I walked back to the staircase and then turned to go back to his bedroom. What the hell was wrong with me?
I took a deep breath and knocked on his door. There wasn't an answer. I twisted the knob and pushed to see his room empty of him. I swallowed looking at all of the empty beer bottles on his desk and on the tops of his furniture. We'd only been back at school for half a week now.
"What are you doing here?" My body was pushed into his room and he shut the door quickly behind us.
Harry was wearing a set of boxers and white t-shirt with his hair curling in every direction. He wasn't as intoxicated as me but I still smelt the stench of beer on him.
"I don't know," I shrugged not able to meet his eyes.
"How'd you get up here?" He walked past me and picked up the beer from his counter that he brought up here. He took a sip and offered me some. I shook my head and answered him.
"The stairs," I chuckled to myself and noticed it irritated him that I didn't answer what he really wanted to know. "Ugh, I think there was a fight. No one saw me come up."
"Good," Harry sat down on the edge of his big bed.
He put his face in his hand and took a big breath. When he looked up at me, I wanted to crumble into a thousand little pieces. He was sad and he didn't know what to say next.
My throat closed and I held onto my elbows. "I'm sorry," I croaked and turned to hide my shame. "I should have said something to the cop. You weren't driving, I was."
Harry stood up and shook his head, visibly upset at my sadness. "Karlie, I asked you to drink with me. I knew that it was dangerous but I didn't care. My feelings for you, they could have gotten all of us killed and I needed to punish myself so you could be ok and move on without me. You shouldn't be up here." He was cradling my tense body and all I wanted to do was kiss him.
"You have a fiancé," I frowned and backed away from him not wanting any contact.
"Yeah, I do," he frowned and concentrated on my face with his brows pulled in.
"Why are you still with her? Why didn't you tell me? Why did you let me kiss you?! Harry, I can't even understand what the hell you were thinking! Do you think what you did to me was ok?" I talked over him as he tried to explain. "I honestly don't even know how this happened. Why? That's all I can think to ask you. Just why, Harry?"
"I don't know, Karlie. I don't know how to explain it to you," he reached to hold my face but I shoved his hands away.
"After everything you've lied to me about, I still can't hate you and that makes me more angry." I sighed and shook my head as my throat closed with emotion.
"Karlie, I'm sorry," he was upset and I almost sensed his emotions were getting the best of him but I was more angry than feeling sorry for him.
"Please don't talk to me. Please don't acknowledge me. I don't want to hear from you. I never want to see you again," I backed away with angry tears in my eyes.
"No, Karlie," he slammed the door as I opened it. I was pinned underneath him as I turned around to face him. His breathing was fast and I could feel it warm my entire face.
"Apollo," I tried to push him off me even though I enjoyed his body pressed on mine.
"Don't call me Apollo," he whispered as his lips brushed across my face. My lips met his and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He twisted the lock on his door and I knew I was getting exactly what I didn't realize I wanted.
Our kisses were wet and needy as he brought me over to his bed. He kissed my neck and promised me, "I'll explain everything in the morning."
A/N
Sorry for the long wait please don't hate me, but I was out of the country on break and couldn't upload because the wifi sucked. But anyways, I hope everyone is having, or will have, a good spring break!
Let me know what you think Harry is going to tell her in the morning? Also, wtf Karlie, why you letting him kiss you when he got a fiancé and you know that????? Ugh, she frustrates me.
GOAL
40 votes
20 comments