I frowned at my step mom who was dropping me off at my new school. Im a junior and it was the day before classes actually started. But here's the thing, the type of school I was currently fixing to start attending was a boarding type high school meaning we lived on campus year round in dorm rooms and the first day we were assigned a roommate. She parked the truck and got out helping me with my stuff.
"I swear if this girl is weird or anything Im not sharing a room with her."I grumbled. She laughed and held open the main door for me. I followed her inside and saw the main office was in front of us.
"Madi me and your father met your roommate and her family last week we told you all about her. Her twin brother and a few of his friends go here."she said. I sighed and waited while she went in the office to collect my stuff for me. My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. I slid my thumb across the screen to unlock it and she came back out of the office studying my face.
"Already?"I asked softly looking up.
"Yes Madi, Misti is waiting to meet you love."she said handing me my own room key. I followed her down the hallway and chewed on my lower lip my anxiety kicking in. We stopped almost at the end of the girls hallway and a door opened. My step mom walked in first and I looked up seeing the girl sittting on her bed smiling at me.
"I got it from here Ruth thanks."I spoke up. She put the bags she had of mine next to the twin bed that was untouched and arched her eyebrow.
"Your dad asked me to help you get settled."she laughed. Misti got off her bed and walked over to us.
"I can help Madi."she offered.
"Fine, Madi call your dad tonight when he gets home from work, you know how he worries."she said biting her lip. I nodded and hugged her again before she finally left the room. Misti smiled at me again and gestured to my bags.
"Only child sorry."I laughed.
"Me too."she said pointing to her side of the room. I started unpacking and she dug right in to help me.
"Boyfriend Misti?"I asked nodding towards her side of the room. There was a hoodie crumpled at the end of her bed. She blushed and nodded.
"He has single friends."she laughed looking at me. I bit my lower lip and put my last empty bag at the top of my closet.
"Do we have to stay in our rooms or?"I asked looking around.
"Nope, Im taking you to meet the boyfriend, his hot single friends, my twin and his friends."she said smirking. I slipped my phone back in my pocket and slipped my key in with it.
"Should I be scared?"I asked nudging her as we left our room.
"They dont bite, well a few of them might but no."she laughed. I followed her down to a common room and my jaw dropped.
"Misti who is the babe with you?"was all I heard at first. I bit my lip again out of nervous habit and she nudged me with her hip.
"This is Madi my roommate."Misti replied when I looked over at her. I gave a little wave and one of the guys walked over to us. He kissed Misti and winked at me.
"Madi, Im Devin, Misti's boyfriend. This is Reid, Tyler, Hunter, Caleb, Dawson and Luke my boys. Her twin Nate across the room, then Derek, Payte, Bryce, Andrew and Ethan his friends."he said. My eyes got big and I looked over at all of them checking them all out.
"Wait there is no way that all 12 of these guys are single."I muttered looking at Misti.
"Guys do any of you have girlfriends or girls that you are currently talking to as of today?"Devin asked. A chorus of nos echoed around the room and I felt myself blush like Misti had.
"So lets all get to know Madi so she feels welcome at our lovely school."Misti said getting all of our attention. We hung out for a few hours and I smiled at Misti when the guys decided to head back to their dorm rooms. It was already getting late and we all agreed to go to some diner to eat together. Devin smiled at both of us and kissed the top of her head before heading for the boys hall. Misti bumped me and we both started laughing down the hallway.
"Why do they all got to be so damn hot though Misti?"I asked once we were safely back in our room. Her phone rang and she smirked at me putting it on speakerphone.
"Babe ask Madi what she thinks of Caleb."he said. I blushed and looked right at her.
"You're on speaker babe and she blushed so Im going to say I think Madi likes Caleb."she laughed.
"Thank god cuz mr picky over here keeps smiling like a total goof."he laughed. They hung up and I sat on the end of my bed.
"Where are we going Misti?"I asked before pulling my bottom lip in with my teeth.
"This pizza parlor down the street."she replied smiling at me. I waited on her to change cuz she insisted on it and played with my phone. She nudged me and I followed her back out into the hallway. Devin was headed our way with Caleb and a couple of the other guys.
"The rest decided to back out and go play pool instead."he said pulling her closer to him. She kissed him softly and pulled away to take my hand.
"So Caleb likes Madi does he?"she asked making him smile. I blushed and he winked at me. We all headed out of the school and Caleb came to pull me gently away from Misti.
"Can we tell them Madi?"he asked softly.
"I dont mind."I replied softly.
"Tell us what?"Misti asked turning around smiling.
"That me and Madi know each other away from here, that we spent almost every summer together growing up cuz our families used to be that close."Caleb said giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
"She's the Madeline you told us about that her dad took her away when her mom passed away a few years ago."Devin muttered.
"It's not Madeline anymore."I muttered. He gave me a sad smile and Caleb wouldnt let my hand go.
"Let's not talk about that right now guys."MIsti spoke up coming to my side. I looked at Caleb and he pulled me closer to him. We finished walking down to the pizza parlor and I pulled my phone out of my pocket unlocking it. He bit his lip and looked over at Devin.
"Dont go hurting my dude Madi."he said softly. I made a face and Caleb wrapped his arm back around me.
"Why are you having pizza Caleb?"I asked softly. He shrugged and bit his lip.
"Im shocked Misti didnt see it was me who was texting you before she brought you down to the common room."he teased.
"You're not saved under Caleb in my phone so she wouldnt have known."I said showing it to him.
"It made me sick one night Madi, Im ok to eat it now."he muttered before giving me a small smile. We placed our order and walked over to a corner booth to hang out. I sat next to Caleb and Misti watched us at first. He arched his eyebrow looking over at her and I bit my lip.
"Whats wrong with him eating pizza Madi?"Devin asked. I shook my head and Caleb smiled over at me.
"She's just looking out for me, dont worry about it seriously."Caleb replied softly. Our food came and I put my phone on the table between the 2 of us. We all ate and started talking trying to hang out for a little while longer.
"Y'all know Mikey and Wes are going to flip when they get in and didnt get a chance to meet Madi before Caleb made his claim."MIsti spoke up. Caleb narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
"Mikey and Wes will survive."Devin answered clearly annoyed. I looked at Caleb and he was looking out the window next to us.
"Can we head back now?"I asked softly. Devin nodded and Misti looked at me for a few seconds. We got up and Caleb distanced himself from me the whole walk home.
"Caleb whats wrong with you?"Misti asked once we reached the common room.
"Dont want to get myself attached to Madi, I know how she really is."he muttered. He walked down the hallway and I bit my lip in shock. Devin growled and Misti looked at me for a few seconds.
"You hurt him before didnt you Madi?"she asked softly.
"When my dad moved me away he forced me to stop talking to Caleb so I guess in a way I did."I said barely above a whisper. Devin followed Caleb and Misti walked with me back to our room. I went to change and heard my phone going off from the foot of my bed. I walked over to see who it was and Misti was on her phone with Devin.
"Tell him its time to grow up and let the past go babe, its not her fault and he shouldnt have been acting like that just cause I brought up Mikey and Wes."she was saying before noticing I was in the room. I texted my dad to let him know I was ok and climbed into bed. I turned to face the wall and heard Misti get off the phone.
"You were seeing Caleb before your dad moved you away Madi?"she asked softly. I closed my eyes to stop the tears threatening to fall and felt myself nod.
"He's upset, wont talk to Devin about anything Madi."she added. I rolled over and showed her my phone.
"He doesnt even want to talk to me anymore after this either so I understand."I mumbled.
"Oh Madi."she mumbled. I turned back over and prayed for sleep to come fast. I drifted off and woke up the next morning to Misti's alarm. I rolled over and she gave me a sad smile.
"Im not going to let it get to me today Misti."I said softly. I grabbed my bathroom caddy that was next to hers and she grabbed 2 towels for us before we headed down to the showers. We came out 30 minutes later and my eyes landed on him headed our way with his shower stuff. I bit my lip and Misti stopped walking.
"Will you atleast look at me Madi?"I heard him ask. I looked up and saw the hurt in his eyes.
"What is it you want from me Caleb?"I asked softly.
"You."he mumbled. I looked at Misti and she looked upset herself.
"The way you acted last night Caleb."I mumbled.
"He cried all night Madi."Devin said coming down the hallway. I walked over to Caleb and touched his right cheek gently. He closed his eyes and sighed.
"I'll talk to you later alone ok Caleb."I whispered. He nodded and I started walking back towards our room. Misti joined me a few minutes later and watched me as I got ready.
"Madi?"she asked.
"I dont want to talk about it."I said looking over at her. I fixed my hair and picked up my schedule.
"Caleb has been a part of the crowd I hang out with since I started this school 2 years ago Madi and I hate to see someone come in and hurt someone like him, he doesnt deserve that and we all know it."she spoke up.
"It's not like I came here with the sole purpose of coming back into his life just to destroy it."I growled. I picked up my phone and texted him again.
"He hasnt been upset like this before Madi in the 2 years we have known him nothing like this has ever got to him like it has. We dont want to see him get hurt."she said getting mad. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag.
"Im not going to hurt Caleb, I dated him for 4 years before my dad moved me away and made me stop talking to him. Why do you think his name in my phone isnt even Caleb. I had to hid the fact from my dad that I was even talking to him again and if it wasnt for his sister that wouldnt even be possible."I mumbled. I grabbed my room key and walked out into the hallway.
"Dont let Misti get to you love, she's just really protective of all of the guys."Devin said seeing my face.
"Where's Caleb?"I asked softly making him smile.
"Common room, there isnt any classes today."he laughed. I headed down the hallway and could hear Caleb talking in the common room. I walked in and heads turned my way slowly.
"That the new girl Misti introduced to everyone else last night?"2 guys asked. I looked at Caleb and he bit his lip. I walked over and touched his cheek again gently.
"My name is Madi and I am in fact the girl that Misti introduced last night."I said looking at the guys.
"This is Mikey and Wes, the guys Misti brought up last night at the pizza place."Caleb said getting my attention. I shrugged and sat next to him hoping they would get the hint.
"We'll catch you later Caleb."they said before leaving the room. Caleb looked over at me and I could still see the hurt in his eyes.
"Dont be upset anymore Caleb, Im not going anywhere this time I promise."I said softly.
"You know its going to take me sometime to get used to that thought, you have been gone the last 2 years."he mumbled.
"That wasnt my fault Caleb and atleast I made the effort by getting in touch with your sister so I could start talking to you again."I mumbled. He pulled me closer to him and looked deep into my eyes. We sat that way for awhile and I didnt even notice when Misti came in the room with Devin.
"Everything ok now?"Misti asked breaking the silence.
"As long as you stay out of it it will be."Caleb spoke up.