Sunlight pierced through from the window between gaps in the curtains. February wind silently howled between the light snores of the two sleeping in the bed within. The alarm from the cell phone rang endlessly as Gia rolled over from her deep slumber. She grabbed her phone to cut it off, and as she peaked at the screen through squinted eyelids, she realized the time read 7:43 AM , and she instantly knew she'd be late for her 8 AM lecture again. She quickly jolted up and ran into the bathroom, hoping by some miracle that today wouldn't be like most days of going to class late, or not at all. After brushing her teeth, she quickly pushed her long black hair into a messy bun. She knew she didn't have much time, but she had to put on makeup to cover the enormous bags that developed under her eyes.
It would be no easy task, but she had to conceal the pain and frustration that showed on her face. Her eyes were still red and swollen from crying the night before. It had been like most nights were, but this time, the arguments lasted until almost five in the morning, and she had only been able to get a few hours of sleep. She packed on the foundation that matched her cocoa brown skin and quickly threw on a hoodie with leggings to head for the door. "Where are you going?" she heard as she grabbed her bag to leave. She let out a sigh of frustration and turned "Cory, you know I have lectures on Friday. Where else would I be going?"
"How would I remember? You barely go anymore, and why do you need to wear those tight ass leggings? Who are you really about to go see?" Her boyfriend, Cory, questioned from the door of their bedroom. He was unnecessarily jealous, but Gia couldn't understand the reason. She had never been dishonest or unfaithful to him in their relationship. "Cory, please don't start again. I'm just heading to class, and I really have to go. I'm already ten minutes late." He stared at her for a second, shook his head and headed back to bed. "Oh yea," he hollered as he headed back to bed, "wash my clothes when you get back, I have workouts at 3 today."
Gia rolled her eyes, but she kept quiet to avoid anymore drama. She knew he felt as though all his responsibilities were hers.She hopped into her car and drove off. She headed for campus, and managed to slip into class thirty minutes passed 8. As she sat in class, she couldn't help but to doze off slightly. She sat in the very front of the class, so there was no hiding it. "Am I boring you, Gia?" Professor Dautry called. "Oh, no sir. I apologize. I had a really long night of studying and time got away from me," she lied, " it won't happen again."
As lecture came to a close, Gia began to pack, but was stopped by her professor calling to her. "Gia if you could just stay a moment, I would love to speak with you." She gave out a reluctant sigh, because she knew what was about to follow. The last of her classmates filed out, and Gia approached her professor. "Yes, Professor Dautry?" "Gia, I know you are a very bright student. Being the director of the biology program here, I have the job of scouting out particular students that excel and stick out, and you have always been a shining student since your first year here. However, your performance and attendance in my class this semester has me genuinely concerned. Is everything okay?"
Gia's eyes lowered, because she knew that she had been performing terribly in all of her classes, but shame wouldn't allow her to tell anyone that her relationship with Cory had taken up all of her time and attention. It had gotten so toxic that she would go days without even getting out of bed to eat. Her already tiny frame began to slim under the stress. She took a deep breath as she fought back tears. "Professor Dautry, I know I haven't been giving my best, but I promise that I will try my hardest to get everything in order. I really appreciate you for caring." He knew she wasn't telling the entire story, but didn't want to press it. "It's still early in the semester. This is your last semester as a junior and you want to make it count. You're so close to finishing. Please don't give up." Gia forced a smile, "I won't, I promise."
She finished her other classes, but as she began to head home, dread washed over her. She never knew what mood to find Cory in, and since football season ended, he had more time to be home between classes. She really didn't have many people to vent to, so she picked up her phone to text one of her best friends.
Gia: Kalea, I'm having such a hard time......
Kalea: What's wrong hun? ...... don't say Cory
Gia: That's part of it.... I think i'm failing school
Kalea: Oh, no ma'am. We have to graduate bro. Me, you, and Dahlia have to be rich doctors with fine husbands like on Married to Medicine, You know I love that show. Why don't you just leave him and transfer here? You're only twenty minutes from Atlanta anyway. You said yourself that things aren't working out between you two.
Gia: They aren't, but we have an apartment together with a lease. I can't just leave. Maybe things will get better once he graduates. Football is over, but he still goes to workouts, so that gives us some time apart.
Kalea: Wait... if he is graduating, why does he need to go to workouts? College football for him is over girl. Uh Uh, something ain't right. You need to check him
Gia: I thought the same thing, but I don't want to start an argument, but I have to go, I'm walking into the house now. ttyl.
Kalea: Smh. Later girl
She opened the door to find Cory sitting on the couch. He had no classes on Fridays, but it seemed as if he had done nothing to clean or fix up the house. He glanced up at Gia and gave a stern glare. "Who are you texting?" Cory asked as she walked in. "Nobody." she responded. "Well, if it's nobody, why'd you put your phone up so fast?" Gia was exhausted and honestly didn't want a repeat of the night before. She hoped him leaving would give her time to catch up on rest. "Look. Your clothes have been washed and they're ready for you. It's almost 3. You don't want to be late." He looked at her with confusion and then quickly answered, "Ohhh... workouts. They cancelled them. I'm home for the rest of the day." Gia knew something was going on, but didn't care to ask.
She walked towards the bedroom ready to collapse of exhaustion. Cory tailed behind her like a shark following prey. He watched from the door as she laid down her things to undress. As she began to remove her leggings, he wrapped his arms around her waist. He gave her a kiss in the nape of her neck. He barely kissed her anymore, so the feeling was strange. Gia knew all he wanted was sex, but she missed the affection nonetheless. She let her body sink into his, as he began to rub his hands down her legs and back up to her butt. He went to remove her underwear, and it seemed as if her body suddenly remembered how tired she was. She moved his hand from her waistband and turned to face him.
"Baby, can we just lay together? I'm so tired, but I want us to reconnect how we used to." she asked. He pushed away from her and gave an annoying stare. "Funny, you always say you want to rekindle things, but when was the last time you let me hit? You're always tired or not in the mood. Frankly, I'm getting sick of it!" Gia stepped back. Cory wasn't hard to want. He had the perfect body. He was 6'2 and light skinned. He had rippling muscles, and his beard complimented his gorgeous face perfectly. In the beginning, Gia felt so lucky to have him. Things changed so much over time. "We're always arguing! How is that going to make me feel? Do you think I would want to have sex with someone who is always so mean to me?"
"Well maybe if you did what you were supposed to do, then we wouldn't have those problems, but you just bitch and complain! What good are you?" She couldn't believe what she had heard. Gia knew he had to be joking, but the expression on his face read the opposite. "What good am I? Cory, I'm the only one working! You play football and sit on the game in between classes. I cook everything, clean everything, and its still not enough! Anything I ask for becomes an argument because of you, and then I'm the one to blame. You don't even seem happy with me anymore." she began to cry. It didn't phase him. "Well, maybe I would be happy with you if you just gave me some every now and then. Otherwise, what good is having a girlfriend?" Gia took a deep sigh as she agreed in defeat. "Okay, Cory. If that is the most important thing to you, then I'll give you what you want." She almost hoped her reluctance would make him reconsider, but he hopped at the opportunity. He gave a devilish grin and stepped back into her.
He quickly undressed her small frame and laid her in the bed. He begin to thrust her rapidly as Gia closed her eyes, fighting back tears. His grunts of pleasure slowly faded as she drifted away into her own mind. She felt no love, no hope. Sex had no value to her anymore. It wasn't an act of love, but she had become an object of satisfaction for him. Time passed, and after what seemed like an hour, Cory finished and rolled over. Gia's body instantly shut down, and she was soon fast asleep.
The next morning, Gia awoke feeling rejuvenated. The long sleep from the afternoon into the night was exactly what she needed. The sun shone brightly as the curtains had been drawn back. She arose to music playing from the kitchen, and had high hopes that the sex had given Cory what he needed to finally have a good outlook on them and her. It was Saturday, and she requested the weekend off from her job. She grabbed her robe and opened the door of their bedroom. She walked into the front room only to find Cory searching through her phone. "Babe, what are you doing?" she asked. He shot her the ugliest look and threw her phone towards her. "So you're telling our business to your stupid ass friends?" Gia knew he searched through her messages, but was confused as to the reason he was upset. She hadn't said anything that they didn't both know to be true. "She's my friend. I have nobody else to confide in. What's wrong with that?"
"You said the only reason you won't leave is this apartment. So you're going to leave me?" He said as he walked towards Gia. His face read anger and hatred. Fear began to rise in her chest. He had never put his hands on her before, but his temper was disgustingly vicious, and only being 5'4 and slim she knew he could easily hurt her. "No. I.... Sometimes I just lose hope, but I'm still here. Okay?" she quivered. The pupil of his eyes became enlarged and the veins of his neck began to pop. He was so close to her face that the point of their noses were almost touching. "All the stupid stuff I deal with from you and you want to leave? So many girls would die to be with me! You're so ungrateful! Oh, you think I'm lying? Well, you and your friend were right. I lie about where I'm at to get away from you. I go to hang out with a girl that appreciates me, but I've never went passed kissing, because I didn't want to cheat on you! I did that for you!"
All of Gia's fear shot up into rage. She couldn't believe he would do and say something so heartless. She snatched her phone from him and stormed towards the bedroom. He was stunned at the sudden aggression she returned. "Where are you going?" he called, but she completely ignored him. Gia threw on clothes and quickly stuffed more in a bag. She grabbed her essentials and headed for the door. She stormed passed Cory with fire in her eyes. He usually would block the way, but it seemed as if he knew that it was best to let her leave. As Gia jumped into her car, all her rage melted into sadness. With tears in her eyes, she called her best friends Dahlia and Kalea. She told them everything, even the details she hid from them. She couldn't hold the weight of it all any longer.
"Gia, you know you're more than welcome to stay with us on our campus. We'll be here waiting for you." Gia wiped her tears and headed for Atlanta where her best friends attended school. The ride slowly numbed her pain. Quietly storing it all in the back of her mind. When she arrived, she walked into their apartment, and they both embraced her. Gia's other best friend Dahlia was there with a blunt rolled. Gia smiled and lit it. She knew that was Dahlia's answer to every problem. They sat in the bathroom with the shower running hot to conceal the smell in the steam"Gia, girl you gotta play these dudes. Don't let them play you. They don't care, so why should you? Blow some trees and don't worry about nothing." Dahlia said blowing smoke. Kalea took the next spot in rotation and said "No. Don't stoop to their level. Just leave Cory and wait on a real man treat you right." Gia laughed because she knew both her best friends had completely different opinions of men, but they both had one thing in common, they hated Cory. She missed them dearly. They always made her laugh and reminded her of the times before it was all so tragic for her. "Gia, you should transfer here. Plenty of fine men." Dahlia said passing her the blunt. "Yea but where would I stay? I can't sleep on you guys' couch forever, and it's the middle of the semester. Where would I find a roommate?"
Kalea saw the concern growing on Gia's face and took her hand. "Let's figure that out later. For now. let's get you out. It's a basketball game tonight and that should take your mind off of things." Gia thought about it for a moment and agreed. "But wait, I didn't bring any clothes to go out in." "I may have some thing we could put together." Kalea was slim like Gia, but her large breast were almost twice the size. She had auburn weave that wavered down her dark brown skin. Dahlia, however, was slightly shorter than them both, but her slim-thick build fit her perfectly. Her dark skin shined and she always wore jet-black hair to compliment her shining white teeth. They both came together and put Gia in the cutest cropped fur sweater with a tight leather mini skirt that matched the leather knee-high boots Gia grabbed from home. They all got dressed, did their hair and makeup, and when they were done, they all looked stunning. Gia didn't see it, but she was so naturally beautiful. Most people avoided her, because Cory's rude behavior scared any other potential suitors away, but secretly, most men desired her. Her warm brown skin was so inviting. Her body curved in all the right places. She had the most unique and stunning features. Her eyes her bright and shining, however, sadness ruled them for the moment. They looked themselves over once and headed out.
When they got to the gym, Gia was overwhelmed. She knew nobody at the school, and hadn't been out at her own school in years. The sea of strange faces became a blur, but she felt all eyes on her. "Look at you, best friend. Looks like you might pull a few tonight." Dahlia boasted. Gia blushed, but she knew she wasn't ready to meet anyone. She still had to sort out the mess back home. She never got attention normally. Everyone knew her as Cory's girl. She often times forgot her own identity herself. Cory had been calling her non-stop to try to find out where she went. Her phone was flooded with texts that ranged from anger to regret to concern, but she pushed all of that to the back of her mind. She focused all of her attention on enjoying herself for the first time in years. They found a few seats at the bottom of the bleachers, close to the court.
Gia scanned the basketball players as they filed out onto the court. She never liked them, but always found their height arousing. Her eyes stopped when she spotted this extremely tall, light skinned player on the home team. He was slim, but his 6'6 stature made him built, and he was rugged, but very attractive. Gia saw so many handsome guys, but she felt something drawing her eyes to him, and she couldn't understand it. Something about him felt familiar to her.
"You don't remember him?" Kalea asked. "That's Mack from middle school." Suddenly, all the memories of her old best friend flooded in. They used to be inseparable. They grew up together, until his family moved to Atlanta when they were 13. How could she forget Mack? "You should talk to him after the game." Dahlia said. "He goes to school here too."
"Well obviously he does." Gia said laughing, "But I'm sure he doesn't remember me." Kalea smiled and said "Yes. He does. He asks about you all the time. He tells us not to tell you, but by the looks of it, he recognizes you too." She was surprised to hear he remembered her after so many years. Gia looked up and noticed that he was staring at her from the court. They locked eyes and he shot her a slight smile. Gia looked down, trying to conceal her grin. She felt his eyes burning her skin. They watched the game until the end, and Gia never lost track of Mack the entire time. When it was over, she began to leave with her friends. She looked up, and it seemed as if he was heading her direction, but a beautiful light skinned girl cut him off, and before he knew it, Gia was gone.
"Who was that girl that Mack was with? Is that his girlfriend?" Gia questioned as they walked towards the car. "No, but she seem to think so. He's really not the type you can tie down though, because you know how groupies are over the athletes." Kalea explained. Gia knew all too well, and she tried to drop the subject. As they headed towards the dorms, Gia took her phone off of silence and prepared for the flood of notifications she was about to receive. However, only one came through, an Instagram message from returnof_theMack01. She opened it and realized it was her Mack. It read: "Hey. Just saw you at the game. I meant to speak, but I got caught up. Kalea gave me your IG a while ago, but I figured you wouldn't recognize me. I want to catch up with all of you like old times. The team is having a kickback, so you should pull up. You all should."
Gia grinned so hard that her cheeks hurt and her friends noticed. "What is it?" they asked. "Mack just invited us out." "Look," Dahlia began to explain, "Mack is a thot. Don't get your hopes up, sis. He ain't no good either. Have your fun, but be careful." Gia knew she had no plans to do anything, but her curiosity burned like fire. She wanted to hear first hand what he had been up to after eight long years of separation. They both knew she needed to see him herself. They agreed to go with her to the party. A few hours later, they headed to the party. They smoked a couple of blunts before arriving at the large house. The place was packed, but Gia's high kept her focused on one thing, Mack. They walked into the house, and the music was blasting. In the dark, Gia could only make out silhouettes, but she was determined to find her old friend. She noticed him in the corner, but before she could approach him, the guy next to him stepped up and grabbed her by the waist. "What's up love, I'm Josh, what's your name?" Gia was repulsed by the smell of alcohol on his breath, and was thankful for Mack stepping in to save her. "My bad, that's my roommate. He can't hold his liquor. What's up how have you been?" Gia looked up at him towering over her and couldn't help but notice that he looked so much better up close. She tucked her hair behind her ear and said in the quietest voice "I've been good.", but he couldn't hear her over the loud music. He leaned in and put his ear by her mouth. Her senses were flooded by the smell of his soap and light cologne. The smell of him made butterflies flutter in her stomach and she became tongue tied. He pulled back from her silence and gave her an awkwardly shy smile and they embraced each other. Eight long years of distance and time was filled in between them.
It seemed like time stopped for them. Josh interrupted the moment. "Oh my bad bruh. This you?" and they both pulled away. "Nawl, this is my friend Gia. We grew up together." Gia gave a smile at the warm introduction. They no longer felt like strangers. Before Gia could introduce herself, Josh squinted his eyes and stepped forward. "Cory's Gia? Hey I know your boyfriend from Fortnite games. We play all the time. He put your picture in our iMessage chat." Gia shrunk at the mention of her boyfriend's name. She had almost forgotten him for the moment. "Yea. That's me. Nice to meet you."
"Does he know you're here....with him?" Josh questioned. She raised a brow because she knew he was insinuating the worst. "I'm not here with him." She stated firmly. "I'm here with my friends, who I should get back to." Gia turned to walk away from them both, but Mack grabbed her hand. "Wait, can I get your number? Maybe we could catch up sometime." Gia thought, but she refused, knowing it would upset Cory. "I think I should go."
Mack watched in disappointment as she disappeared into the crowd. She gathered her friends and they headed for the door. She felt regret and guilt wash over her, despite not doing anything wrong. She spent the rest of the weekend with her friends. She took the time needed to reflect on everything. Cory finally stopped calling, and she assumed that he decided to respect her space. Sunday night came, and she decided that it was time to head back home. "Are you sure, Gia? You can always stay here." Dahlia asked. "No," she responded, "I have class and I think its time to figure things out at home." Gia was hurt, but she loved Cory and she wanted things to work out. They had spent three long years together, and she felt they could last.
For the entire drive back, she sat and planned out what she would say. She came up with everything she felt would make Cory happy. She hoped that once he was satisfied, he would return to that loving person she fell in love with. As she pulled up to the house, she noticed all of her belongings scattered in front of their apartment building. She ran to collect her things, but dropped them to figure out what happened. She tried her key, but it didn't work. The locks were changed. After, several minutes of knocking, Cory finally answered. "Why are you beating on my door?" he stated coldly. Gia was confused by his words "Your door? I live here too! Why did you do this to my things?" He gave her a chilling look and said "Nawl. You don't stay here anymore. You left to go be with that dude and got caught up at a party. Crazy how a dude I barely knew had to tell me what my girl was up to in a Fortnite chat. Now I know why you weren't answering the phone. Now dip"
She was puzzled and hurt. "But I wasn't with hi..." He slammed the door before she could explain. Gia called to him endlessly. It was all a misunderstanding. She would never betray Cory, even after all of his lies. She knocked for hours, calling constantly, but her number was blocked. She sat out in the cold, with nowhere to go, and cried to herself.