*Edited*
I stayed home all day the next day, alone in my room, having no idea if Elijah had succeeded in stopping the wedding or if he had gone to it, meaning his plan had failed.
And I told myself that I didn't care enough times that I finally believed it.
That same day had marked the first day I had sworn off boys. I promised myself I would no longer talk to them or associate myself with them. Boys were troublesome and infuriating, and I honestly didn't need that.
Which was why I found myself in my dorm room at the only college that would accept me.
Bryant University.
And the only reason I had been accepted here was because I had written Uriah Reed's name as a reference on my application. Apparently, he was a huge technology geek here and had even figured out a new software program for teachers to use.
Bonus points towards my application for writing his name down. Score one for me.
Anyway, I was pretty sure Uriah didn't even know I had started school today here since I had sworn off boys and all, him included.
Another month had gone by that I haven't spoken with the name that shall not ever be said.
I'll give you a hint in case you're confused.
It started with the same letter as the first letter in the word "enemy". Coincidence? I think not.
He was probably screwing around with his step-sister somewhere by now, not that I cared in the slightest.
I was too busy...studying, yeah studying at college to give two craps about what my ex boyfriend was doing. I even got a job at the Starbucks right inside the library of the campus to also keep my mind off of boys. Hopefully, I wouldn't get fired on the first day of the job again.
And you know what?
It wasn't exactly as easy as I thought it would be to completely swear off boys. I mean come on, they were all around me. I should've known that just because I chose to ignore them didn't mean that they would just disappear or ignore me back.
I haven't had many friends my whole life, but I was used to talking to people. I never had a reason to avoid the opposite sex, but that was before I met Elijah. Wait, I mean before I met the boy who shall never be named.
I sighed, lazily rolling out of the small, twin sized mattress to get ready for work. I still had my old uniform of the brown apron and green visor from the last time I had worked at Starbucks, so I put those on and threw my hair up in a high pony tail before heading out.
I left a note to my roommate, if she ever decided to show up, that I was at work and would be back later so we could formally meet each other. I'd already had time to unpack all of my suitcases and lay around for a few hours, yet she still hadn't made a single appearance.
I took my time getting to Starbucks since it was so close and I had left early because I thought I'd die of boredom soon. I was too busy texting Mae about my first day at college to pay attention to where I was walking, therefore naturally walking right into another human.
I mumbled a quick apology and kept my head down as I continued my leisurely walk down the brick sidewalk. By the time I made it to work, I felt agitated and aggravated about having to actually work. My parents made me try to get another job so I could help them pay off the college loans.
When I'd applied for the job, the application had asked for any prior experience I've had in the working industry, so I put down that I'd been employed at a Starbucks for an unidentified amount of time. I technically hadn't lied and a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
So, without further ado, I was put right to work since I had told the other employees that I'd been through the whole training thing before. Since the Starbucks was in the library, not many customers came. I didn't blame them. The library was a pretty lame place to put a Starbucks in, but whatever.
I was sorting though the cash register when a customer with an extremely deep voice requested, "Can I have a Grande White Chocolate Mocha?"
I paused what I was doing and tapped a few times on the screen to add his order, simultaneously reaching over to grab a plastic cup, and asked without looking up, "Name?"
"Elijah."
My eyes shot up to the intense green gaze of the single boy I had least expected to see. I clumsily fumbled with the Sharpie marker before it dropped to the counter with a clang. His eyes narrowed on me, he crossed his arms, and snapped, "Or should I say, Jerk-wad?"
My jaw dropped as an image of me getting fired for scribbling that name on his cup all those months ago flashed through my mind.
"How the hell did you get into this Univeristy?" I asked incredulously.
Elijah raised his eyebrows and retorted, "I should be asking you the same question."
Rolling my eyes, I said, "I used Uriah as a reference without even knowing how successful he was doing here."
"And I got in because I'm Uriah's brother. Even got some scholarship money from it. The college has high hopes that I'll become just like him."
"Well, they're in for a rude awakening because-"
A new voice interrupted me as the door chimed, letting in two new customers.
"Did I just hear someone say my name?"
My heart stopped dead in my chest as I whipped my head around Elijah's body to gawk at the boy who was smiling at me, displaying dimples on both of his cheeks. His eyes veered slightly to the right where Elijah was standing.
"You know them, babe?" A tall, skinny girl with her elbow linked with Uriah's asked, looking up at him with wide, brown eyes. Her auburn hair fell just above her waist and her designer clothes made me feel poor just standing in front of her. I recalled the conversation I had had over the phone with Uriah when he had called her Jules.
Uriah nodded, giving her a beautiful smile. "He's my brother," Uriah said, pointing at Elijah. And then he pointed at me and said, "And she's his girlfriend."
Jules turned to me and she gave me a kind smile, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose before reaching a hand out to me.
"Hi, I'm Jules," she said.
With my face a dark crimson color, I clasped her hand in mine and said, "I'm Veronica and I'm not his girlfriend."
Elijah snorted and Jules turned her attention to him, a look of amusement flashing across her face as she looked back at me and then again at him.
Uriah chuckled and said, "I just like to tease them. They always act like they hate each other, but they aren't fooling anyone."
"W-What! How can you say that!" I sputtered. "Elijah's a-"
"Jerk-wad," Elijah offered, finishing my sentence.
"Is everything alright up there?" One of the employees called out to me as he crunched ice in a blender.
No, I thought to myself.
But all I said was, "Yeah! Everything's just dandy."
Elijah scrunched his nose and commented in disgust, "Gross. What kind of word is dandy?"
"Shut up or I'll-"
"See? I knew the first time they met that they'd make great friends," Uriah said, still laughing as Jules joined in his laughter.
"We aren't friends," Elijah grumbled, tossing change on the counter after taking the drink he ordered. He angrily stormed out of the library, leaving the three of us to gape at his back.
I scooped the pile of change off the counter and into the palm of my hand, mentally counting the amount. My breath hitched when I came across something far more shiny than the quarters and dimes in my hand.
And far more expensive.
I glanced up at Uriah and Jules to make sure they were seeing what I was and that I wasn't going crazy, imagining the gem in my hand. From the way they were silently staring with their mouths slightly hanging open, I figured that either we must all be insane.
Or Elijah was insane.
Because the object in my hand wasn't a form of currency.
It was a symbol of marriage.
The diamond ring winked at me in the dim lighting of the room as I could only gawk at it.
So much for swearing off boys, huh?