Chase's POV
"What are you thinking? She asked me.
"I won't say I can even do that right now." I replied truthfully.
"I'm here with you, Chase." She reminded me.
"Let's just go in." It's not like I was gonna fly home immediately, and I was sure my dad wouldn't even want it.
"You think you can handle a class right now?" She asked.
"Positive." I replied, and wiped my face.
It's the first time I experienced sweating in a fully air-conditioned room.
The class was a blur, my head was in a jam.
As much as I didn't totally fancy him, it didn't mean I wanted anything like that to happen to him.
"You have a text." She said and handed my phone back.
'Your dad's a tough motherfucker' Emma's mom's text read.
I put the phone away again, since I already was gonna call her after class.
"Good news?" She asked, looking at me expectantly.
"I guess." I replied to her.
"Fingers crossed."Kayla said and smiled.
The rest of the lecture was held in total silence, and she kept slipping her hand on mine.
"I'll see you guys in the next class. Have a nice rest of the day." The pretty associate professor said and took her leave.
The lecture theater soon became noisy, and we decided to catch our breaths
behind one of the dorms.
A group of other students too were sharing the saves with us.
"Linda?" I asked, as the voice I heard over the phone sounded a bit strange.
"Yes." She replied.
It sounded scratched, forced, hoarse.
"What's going on?" I asked her.
"I shot him." She whispered.
"What?!" Realizing Kayla was next to me, I maintained my composure.
"He was on me, Chase." She explained. She still sounded like one who was reeling from the shock of something. "He attacked me. He's relapsed. You didn't tell me he had a history." She rapped over the phone.
"Where are you now?" I asked her.
"In the bathroom, I'm here with him,"She replied. "And before you ask, he's gonna survive it, it was a weak shot to his shoulder. It'll take two to three months to totally heal, says the doctors." She said,
"That's not too good." I mused.
"What isn't good is that you never told me he had a history with drugs!" she shot at me.
"That's for the man you married to do." I replied to her.
"How smart." She said,
The line went dead for a while.
I didn't know how to feel, but I was sure grateful for the fact that he was still alive and well.
"I'll talk to you later." I said after prolonged uncomfortable silence, even Kayla was beginning to wonder what was up.
"I'm sorry, Chase." Linda said.
"You didn't deserve it." I replied to her truthfully, before she cut the call.
Each time stuff like that happens, I wonder if marriage is really a good thing.
"What's up?" Kayla asked as soon as I'd dropped the phone from my ear.
"Everything's fine." I replied vaguely. "Heading back to your dorm?" I asked her.
"Not until I make sure my bad boy is okay." She said and put a hand on my shoulders.
Kayla had been a little too touchy, for different reasons I guess. I was grieving a moment ago but I certainly wasn't too stupid to notice.
"And I have a couple of friends I think I want you to meet." She smiled.
"You want me to meet your friends?" I asked her for confirmation.
"Yeah. She nodded and smiled, "I'd love for you to know them." She added.
She'd been with me all through the day, so I agreed, just so I don't seem heartless or cold.
"How long is that gonna take?" She asked.
"Not too long." She replied. "We meet in the lab."
"Alright." I submitted. "I've got to get home asap." I added, just so she knows to be brief.
"Yeah, you've got to get revved for the party." She said, throwing her hands in the air.
"You're dramatic." I said, picking up my bag.
"And silly." She added.
"Thank you, Kayla." I didn't want to question her motives, yet, but I was grateful she was by my side. The same way she'd been since I got into Harvard.
She had to be the silver lining to the show scandal. At least I got a friend, or something like that…
"It's nothing." She shrugged it off. "You'd do the same for me wouldn't you?" She asked.
"Yes." I replied, perfunctorily. Kayla didn't know how nasty a person I was, yet, and I was enjoying the moments before her realization.
"Hey guys." She greeted a group of nerd looking guys.
They were nerdy, but looked so handsome, I had to admit.
Most of them had nicely toned bodies, and looked really good.
"Hi." I nervously waved at the one who'd been watching me a little too closely.
"He's straight." Kayla said to him, and punched him in his stomach.
He blew raspberries in disappointment.
"This is Chase, guys." Kayla introduces me.
They took off their gloves and shook me.
It felt like the kinda gang I wanted to belong to.
Nerdy, but not excessively. And in touch with every other aspect.
"Have you invited him already?" They asked, looking at Kayla.
"Already did." She smiled.
"You've got a plus one, huh?" The guy who'd been staring at me asked her in jealousy.
"What's a couples hangout without couples?" The tallest one of them asked, and the rest burst out laughing, Kayla and I joined.
"He's a nice catch, Kay." One other one said to her.
"You didn't even tell him our names." Another protested.
"Pardon me." She did a fake courtesy and went ahead with the introduction.
"Chase, meet Chris," she pointed to the guy who'd just taken his hands out of the incubator, "that's Frank," she pointed to the guys who'd been staring, "Harbert," who looked a bit sleepy even while he was fully conscious, "and Harvey." She bumped his arm and they both smiled.
"I'm pumped to be here, guys." I said. "What's the name anyway?" I asked.
"That's what we haven't settled on." Harbert replied. "Harvey's dad refixed the lab, and now he wants us to be know by his name, how sick." He added.
"It's called a legacy." Harvey replied to him.
"I think it's selfish." Frank replied quickly.
The guys looked friendly, I thought it might be a great idea to hop on their train.
"Sucking some other dick tonight, huh?" Chris said, looking at Kayla, while everyone else looked in his direction.