I'm engulfed in heat as we walk back inside the building. I smile when Will doesn't let go of my hand as we walk down the hall and into his office. There's at least thirty paintings scattered throughout the room; some on the walls, some leaning against his desk, some are covered, some are tagged.
"Try not to touch anything if you can restrain yourself."
There is one seat behind the desk and two in front of it. I'm pleasantly surprised when Will takes a seat in one in front of the desk and waves me over to sit next to him. I try to look around for any sign of personal belongings, but there's not much besides paper and paint. Even the screensaver on his computer is just different shades of red stripes. Everyone at least has a little picture of their family in a frame. But this is Will. He barley even talks about his family, let alone has pictures of them in his office.
"I don't want you going to my house tonight," Will says sternly.
"I know that." He's only said it about twenty times. "But you still haven't given me a good reason why not."
"Because I'm your ride back, and I'm not taking you." God damn. That's the reason he had to take me all the way downtown.
He seems to read my thoughts.
"I also didn't think you would believe me." Of course I would have believed him. He doesn't lie. He hides information, but I can't think of a time he's lied.
"You're an asshole," I say crossing my hands over my chest. Now I'm going to have to call Leah last minute and cancel again.
"Just because it didn't work out this time, doesn't mean I'm not going to reschedule." I reach to take out my phone and realize it's sitting on my bed at the dorms. Nothing is going my way today.
"Don't reschedule."
He's not in charge of me. I don't care if it's his family or not. Leah is almost becoming a friend to mine, and I'm not just going to blow her off because her stubborn son says I should.
"I'm not going to blindly follow your instructions Will. I thought you've learned that by now." He stands up and starts pacing around the room.
"Why are you so fucking stubborn?"
I'm stubborn?
"You said you were going to tell me about Ethan when we came back inside," I say ignoring his comment.
"Fine! You want to know?" He's yelling now and although it doesn't scare me like it did last time, I look around to make sure no one is staring. Then I remember we're in an empty building. He can be as loud as he wants without any unwanted attention; not that he cares about the attention anyway.
"Yes. I want to know," I say with a volume trying to match his. My voice comes out a lot more timid then I intended.
"He can't keep his fucking hands to himself, that's why."
Ethan? The one that's been dating Leah for almost five years?
"He's probably been with more women in the past two years than I have my whole life, and that's really saying something."
I try to put the information together in my head. Leah is one of the nicest people I've known. Why would he do that to her?
"But you haven't told-"
"Oh I've told her. I've basically screamed it in her face. She's the most delusional and desperate person in the world. I'm ashamed to even be related to her, and she knows it." That's why he calls her Leah, and not Mom. "Ethan could be fucking some chick ten years younger than him in the next room and Leah would just ignore it. She keeps saying 'it's just a phase he's going through.' It's been a three year phase for fucks sake."
He slams his fist against the desk and it makes me jump up into the air. I can see his hands shaking with anger at his side as he stares at the floor. I slowly walk over to him, but he holds out his hand to stop me before I can get close.
"Don't touch me," he says with his teeth clenched. His fingers wrap around the edge of the desk and his knuckles turn white from how hard he's holding it. "I don't want to do anything that I'll regret," he adds a little softer.
I shouldn't have made him tell me. I had no idea that it would affect him so much. I wish I could take it back and just have trusted him. I hate to see him this way. It scares me to one extent and saddens me to another. I can tell he cares for Leah, so much that it's destroying him. He's just about given up on her because she won't listen to him. It's killing him, which is killing me.
"Remember when I said that he was broke as shit when he met her?" Will asks after he slightly cools down.
"Yeah," I reply in a small voice. Will looks over at me and his face softens.
"Don't cry." I didn't even realize I was crying. I lift my hand up to whip my face, but Will grabs my arm. His grip is tight, but doesn't hurt.
"This is my problem. I don't want you to makes it yours. Don't cry." His voice dropped down about ten levels so it's now back to the same volume as mine. He takes his thumbs and runs them under my eyes and across my cheeks. The gesture almost makes me fall back down into the chair. His now dark green eyes lighten a little as his hands move down my face and then behind my shoulders. He pulls me into his chest and I rest my head against his Blink 182 t-shirt.
He continues talking, but doesn't let go of me.
"Leah introduced Ethan to a bunch of important people when they first started dating. It didn't take very long for him to make his way up the corporate ladder with Leah at his side. He's a prick, but he's not stupid. He didn't like art very much, so he quickly switched over to the most profitable business, which is hotels. He now owns more hotels then almost anyone in America and I'm just waiting for him to leave Leah. He should have a year ago, but I have no idea why he's sticking around for so long.
He doesn't actually care for Leah, those words came from his own mouth when I overheard him on the phone one day. He has more than enough money, so I'm just waiting for him to get the hell out of my life." He rubs his hand down my hair and my back as he talks. It amazes me how quickly he went from having a complete melt down, to comforting me in his arms. I'm still trying to figure him out, but I've got a much better understanding now.
"I don't want you getting hurt. That's the reason for everything I do. I don't keep things from you just because I think it's funny. I fucking hate it. But now that you know everything, I'm not sure if you even want me anymore," he says so quietly. "I'm so fucked up."
"No your not," I immediately say. I pull away from him enough so I can see his face. "You're not at all. You're perfect." He chuckles at my comment but I'm not kidding. There's not anything I would change about him in this moment. He has such a beautiful soul that not even he can see himself. He leans over and places a kiss on my forehead as he tightens his arms around me.
I take a deep breath before I say what I know I need to say.
"But I still want to go tonight, and I think you should too." He pulls away and looks at me in confusion.
"Did you not hear the shit I just said? Because it's going to take a long fucking time to repeat all of it."
"Leah needs someone. The only family she has around here is you. Ethan is obviously out because he's the main problem, so that literally just leaves you."
"I've tried to be there for her," he says getting mad again.
"I know. I know." I rub my hands down his arms in an attempt to calm him down which helps a little. "And if you don't want to do anymore, I understand, but I want to try. At least let me be her friend."
I'm going to be her friend no matter what, but I ask Will anyway for his ego's sake. He thinks for a while before answering.
"But that doesn't mean you have to be around Ethan."
That's a start at least.
"He's not going to touch me. He's an asshole, not a rapist. Plus, he knows I'm your..." I don't know what to call us. Since he told me all of this, does that mean we can be more than friends now? I'll sound so desperate if I bring it up at a time like this. "friend," I decide to go with. "And absolutely nothing will happen if you come with me tonight." I have a pretty convincing argument if I do say so myself. Will knows it too.
"I'm not going," he simply states crossing his arms.
"Okay, I'll find a taxi to take me home." His eyes widen at my idea. "I'm sure there are plenty driving around downtown at night with all the clubs and bars open." He opens his mouth to say something, but stops himself. "Maybe I can just ask one of the strippers to give me a ride." There's no way I would ever do that, but Will's reaction is hilarious. He just stares at me with huge eyes and his mouth slightly agape. He still hasn't said anything, so I walk over to the door. "I'm going to go walk through the dark alleys now until I find a ride home. See you tomorrow, hopefully." I give him a smile and walk down the hall. I hear him curse under his breath and a second later, his shoulder brushes against mine. He walks next to me as we make our way to the elevators and I can't help but to smile even wider.
Jessi- 1 Will- too many to count. But at least I've got one.
"I'm going to kill you if I live through this."
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