Chapter 1: Episode 4

Present

When I walk downstairs, my legs are shaking, but Oliver’s nowhere to be seen. He did what he needed to do, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he already bailed. I’ve known Oliver for years, and despite what went on between us in high school, he was always cool and collected. He never challenged me about my behaviour towards him.

I can’t find Dora anywhere. She’s probably still with that Jacob guy.

The air downstairs is warm and dense. There are a lot more people in the room. Couples are in the corners making out to the rhythm of rock music. I walk back to the kitchen searching for Dora. I’ve got goosebumps all over my arms, and my stomach is in knots. I take out my cell and call her, but she doesn’t answer. I don’t know anyone at this party, so after half an hour of searching, I decide to go home. Dora’s obviously having a great time, so there’s no point disturbing her. She’s a big girl and able to take care of herself.

The street is full of students. I shouldn’t be surprised; it’s Fresher Week and people want to enjoy themselves. When I get to the apartment, my head starts spinning. I run to my room and begin packing. Oliver has won. He wants me to leave, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. He always knew that I would choose Braxton. We’d talked about this for as long as we’d known each other. After the way I treated him in high school, he probably decided to pay me back by choosing the same university.

I pack all my stuff, wondering what I’m going to tell my mum. My head is aching, so I lie down in my new bed. With the alcohol in my system, I decide to pack the rest tomorrow. By two o’clock in the morning, I’m still not asleep. Dora hasn’t come home yet, but when I look at my phone, I see that she sent me a text saying I shouldn’t wait for her. I manage to drift off a few hours later.

I wake up in the morning with a headache. The memories from last night flow back to me, and I cringe thinking about my conversation with Oliver. I rub my sleepy eyes and look at my half-packed luggage. Tears of regret swell in my eyes when I think of the way I treated Oliver in high school. I meant to stop hurting him so many times, but I never did. I wanted to apologise, but something or someone always stopped me.

I hear laughter in the living room, and I wonder if Dora has company. She’s only been in Braxton for five minutes, but she’s already met her potential boyfriend and two new girlfriends.

I put some clothes on and smooth my hair. When I walk into the living room, I see Jacob, who has Dora on his lap. They’re so engrossed with each other that they don’t even notice me. I clear my throat to let them know I’m in the room. It looks like my best friend has already marked Jacob as hers because he can’t seem to take his eyes off her.

“Oh, India, you’ve met Jacob?”

Jacob finally looks at me. “All right, India?”

“Fine, thanks.”

I have to admit that I didn’t expect him to be friendly towards me. After all, he’s Oliver’s mate—and from the looks of it, Dora’s new boyfriend, if I can call him that. And if she dates him, that will only bring more trouble for me. I see my half-packed suitcase and change my mind. Oliver can threaten me, but I won’t leave just because he can’t stand me.

“Dora, what time did you get back yesterday? I didn’t hear you come in.”

“She didn’t,” Jacob says. “She slept at my place.”

Dora has an attack of hysterical giggles, and I roll my eyes. I can’t believe she slept with him without even thinking of the consequences.

“Jacob just dropped me home.” She runs her fingers through her brown hair. “He’s got a practice session in an hour.”

“Great.” I nod and head to the kitchen in need of coffee. Once the kettle boils, my mind wanders off to the bathroom at the party and Oliver’s threat. He can’t make me leave. I worked hard to get here. It’s an easy decision, similar to the other that I made two years ago after Christian’s funeral. I’m staying whether Oliver likes it or not.

I spend the rest of the day with Dora, listening to her monologue about Jacob after he leaves for rugby training. I’ve known her for too long; she gets bored of men quite easily. Jacob’s handsome, but I don’t see her staying with him for that long. I keep quiet about my heated conversation with Oliver. It’s better to keep Dora out of trouble.

* * *

The next few days pass too quickly. I’m forced to spend most of my time in my room because Jacob’s always in our apartment. Neither of them are shy, and they don’t care that I’m sitting on the opposite sofa while they make out. On top of that, Dora isn’t that great in the kitchen, so I’m the one who ends up preparing everything. Now I have to cook more because Jacob has a healthy appetite. This slowly starts to drive me crazy. My best friend doesn’t seem to care. She has a new man in her life, she’s away from her mum, and she can do what she wants. If I’d known this was the way she was imagining living with me, then I would have thought twice about it.

I haven’t seen Oliver around campus since our tense rendezvous in the bathroom, but I try to have eyes in the back of my head. It doesn’t take me long to discover that he’s the captain of the rugby team. The posters of the team are all over campus, and he’s the only person everyone is talking about, especially girls. I feel like he’s already hunting me down.

My first rowing session is in a few days. The team hasn’t been formed yet, but I’m looking forward to getting rid of my frustration during training.

I choose law as my main degree. But I don’t have to make a final decision about where I want to take my career until my last year. Law always fascinated me. I also think it’s partly because I really like those TV shows about troubled lawyers and criminals. Mum warned me that I might struggle to get the licence, but I’m willing to try.

Classes start a week after Fresher Week. My timetable looks busy, and for the first few days, I run between classes trying to find the right room. Today I’m relieved when lunch hour approaches. Dora’s been texting me all day demanding to talk to me, but I didn’t have time to reply as I was so busy. I text her when I leave the lecture, saying that I’m heading to lunch. Dora’s studying Business and Management. Her father works as a financial adviser, so I think he influenced her to take on that subject. Dora isn’t very ambitious, but she seems genuinely interested in business.

The canteen is packed. I make a mental note to change my dinner schedule in the future. A few people stare at me more than usual as I walk in. I don’t know anyone in Braxton, so I’m surprised that people actually notice me. I load my tray with food and go back to find a seat.

“India. Hey, India.”

It’s Dora. She waves to me from the other side of the hall, so I follow. Unfortunately, she isn’t alone. Two Essex girls and Jacob are with her. My stomach tightens, but I don’t let them see that I’m uncomfortable. I should be used to that by now. Company always follows Dora.

“Hey, guys.” I greet them. The Essex girls nod toward me coldly. Dora feeds Jacob, who seems to be enjoying the attention.

“India, where have you been? I’ve been texting you all day.”

“I had classes, like most people here, Dora.” I smile. “What’s up?”

“We need to talk.”

“I’m starving and I’ve got another class in forty minutes, so it’ll have to wait. Besides, knowing you, it’s probably nothing important.” I start eating my chips and curry. I have a rowing session this afternoon, so I need a lot of energy. The Essex girls are eating their salads and eyeing my plate with disgust.

Dora purses her lips together, jumps off Jacob’s lap, and sits beside me. “It’s really important. Come on. Let’s move to the other table.”

“Babe, I have my history module in fifteen minutes,” Jacob complains.

“Yeah, babe, I’m in the middle of my lunch.” I mock Jacob, who doesn’t seem to realise how silly that sounds.

“No freaking way, Indi. You need to listen to what I’ve got to tell you. This is really important.” She drags me away from the table.

I’m not in the mood for her stupid gossip. I get cranky when I’m hungry. We sit a few meters away from our table, and more people stare in our direction. Oliver’s like a god on campus, and all of a sudden, he’s taken an interest in me, and it seems everyone wants to know why I’m so special.

“Okay, you’ve got me now. Just be quick. I need to pop into the library after lunch.”

“Did you have some kind of confrontation with our hot Oliver?” She slams her hands on the table.

My mouth goes dry. How the hell would Dora know about this? No one could possibly know Oliver threatened me in the bathroom. “No. We aren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

“Are you sure?”

“What are you getting at, Dora? Don’t you remember Oliver and I hated each other? And we still do.”

“I know, but I thought you were acting that way because you had feelings for him.”

I don’t like where this conversation is heading. I don’t have any feelings for Oliver anymore. He is dead to me like Christian.

“Dora, he hit me with a ball. Do you think I’d be interested in such a loser?”

She tosses her hair over her shoulder and licks her lips, waving towards Jacob. “He’s hot, and every girl on campus wants him. He’s changed, so I assumed you also changed your perspective.”

“Nothing’s changed. I still want nothing to do with him.”

“That’s too bad because I always thought that you’d make a cute couple.”

“Don’t be delusional, Dora.” I feel myself getting angry. “Christian was my boyfriend and Oliver was his brother. That’s the end of the story.”

“Fine, fine. I’m only teasing.” She waves her hand in dismissal. “Here’s the thing. I made friends with a few girls from the cheerleading squad for the rugby boys, and they told me something very interesting about Oliver.”

I hate when Dora gets all serious. She has a tendency of exaggerating the whole truth, even if it’s just the smallest thing. She’s doing it right now, like she needs to keep a secret, but she can’t wait to tell me everything. “Dora, seriously, I’m not interested. I want to stay away from Oliver. I’m here to study. Fooling around is not on the agenda.”

She leans closer, touching my hand. Her brown eyes flicker with excitement. “You should be interested, because they were talking about you. Apparently, Oliver made a bet about you with one of the boys from the rugby team.”

I shake my head, confused for a moment, then I start laughing. “A bet?”

She narrows her eyes, seeming angry. “Yes, Oliver told some other guy that you’ll leave within a few months, and he’ll make sure you do.”

I stop smiling and look away, trying to compose myself. Violent emotions threaten to pull me apart, and I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. Is it really possible that he could go that far, to make sure that I disappear from his life? My heart starts pounding way too fast, and I swallow hard. Then Dora turns to glance over my shoulder, and it feels like the atmosphere in the canteen shifts. Girls are turning their heads, sending wide smiles across the room. My skin goes hot within a moment, because I already know who’s walking through the canteen. I don’t dare turn around, but I can feel his blue eyes boring a hole in my back.

The air changes when he’s around, like he affects everyone.

I stare at her, directly in the eyes. “Are you done now?”

Dora acts startled, her mouth hanging open.

Then I hear his voice and my stomach contracts. “Jacob, we’ve got to rush.”

“Come on, man, I haven’t finished my food,” Dora’s brand-new boyfriend complains.

“Don’t care. We got stuff to do,” says my enemy number one.

I tense my shoulders, praying he hasn’t noticed me yet.

“Hey, Oliver,” Dora shouts, giving him one of her best smiles. “Don’t try to steal Jacob away from me. I haven’t finished with him yet.”

I drop my head in my hands, wondering why Dora has to be so stupid. It would be better if he didn’t notice me at all. No drama. Eventually I have to turn around, only because I don’t want him to think I’m scared of him.

His gaze never falls on me. He’s staring at Dora. “Sorry, Dor.”

Jacob mutters something under his breath, approaches the table where we’re sitting, and kisses Dora passionately.

I want to crawl under the table and disappear. Oliver’s presence is giving me an anxiety attack. I’m suddenly drenched with sweat. Now he knows for sure that I stayed.

“Bye, babe, I’ll see you later.” Jacob ignores me completely this time around.

Oliver’s still standing in the same spot. The Essex girls are smiling, trying to gain his attention, but he turns around and stops by my food. He picks up the salt and empties it out straight into my chips and curry sauce.

“Enjoy your food, Indi.” He smiles and walks away laughing.

For a long moment I don’t even know what’s happened. I stare, startled, as sweat rolls down my back. Everyone in the canteen is staring at me in silence.

“And you wouldn’t even listen,” Dora says bitterly. “I told you so. He’s going to do anything he can to make your life difficult.”

I shove my hands in my pockets, ignoring the stares from others inside the canteen. My mind is hollow. “I dare him to try.” I grind out through gritted teeth.

Dora flexes her fingers. “India, he owns Braxton. Maybe you should try to talk to him?”

I don’t respond. Instead, I pick up my tray and throw it into the bin. Oliver just cost me my lunch. If he thinks that he can bully me out of Braxton, then he’s wrong. I’m staying, and I’m not going to pay attention to anything he does.

“I don’t care, Dora. I’m here for myself, not for him, and I’m telling you—he will lose that bet.”