A FEW WEEKS had passed since Milo and I talked, the last and most likely final time at Bella's. Surprisingly, he had kept his distance. He continued to paint in the same spot as he did before in Intro to Art. When coming over to visit Nicole, they'd immediately head to Nicole's room and spend time together in there.
At first, it was nice, a bit peaceful in fact. I didn't have to worry about any awkward run-ins or forcing a conversation. But soon, that feeling wore down, and I began missing him a little more each day. No sideways glance was ever thrown my way or even an acknowledgment; we'd both act as if the other was invisible. But now, avoiding each other was becoming tiresome, even painful too, to the point where it almost felt physical.
After our talk, James noticed my sudden mood change. When he asked about it, I refused to reveal what was bothering me, and he thankfully respected my wishes and had been trying to cheer me up ever since.
"Here's the usual, a caramel macchiato." James placed the coffee mug in front of me and sat down with his cup. Small streams of steam wafted from out of my cup as I carefully blew on it and took a cautious sip. I sighed in delight as the warm coffee spilled down my throat, already feeling a bit energized.
"I know it's been quite a while already, but you never told me anything about your trip," said James, taking a sip from his red mug. "So tell me, how was it?"
I began telling James about all of the places I visited and how Manhattan was constantly bustling with people, leaving out the parts with Milo in them. I even told him about Stacey, although he had a similar reaction to Milo's on the trip.
"Wait, this girl you befriended, what was her name again?" James asked.
"Stacey."
"That name sounds familiar," James said quietly as he looked off into the distance, trying to pull up a memory from the back of his head. "What's her last name?"
"I don't know, I can't remember. I think it started with a T. To..." I sounded out the first syllable, trying to remember the rest.
"Torres?" James finished, perking up.
"Yup, that's it. How did you know that?"
"Well, we shared a few classes with together in freshmen year and sat next to each other a few times," he responded calmly. "By any chance, did she mention anything?"
"Like what?" I chuckled curiously.
"I guess not," James whispered, breathing out a small sigh of relief.
"Hm?" I said, hearing a mumble of words.
"Nothing, I was just thinking to myself," James smiled, taking another sip of his coffee.
Things with James were calm. He's been flirty as always, and one day, I decided to flirt back a little more and see where it took us. Now, it seems like things were moving a bit faster than before I left for New York.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" James lightly asked as he smiled and reached for my hand from across the table, placing a sweet, gentle kiss to the back of my hand.
"Well, since we're talking about my trip, I'm just curious, but why didn't you really call or text? You went a little MIA there," I chuckled, hoping to ease any incoming tension.
He looked down at our hands and smiled softly. "I'm sorry, babe. I was just caught up with studying that week. I had so many tests piled up during the week you left; it was unbearable." He placed a kiss on my knuckles and rubbed small circles over them. "But thankfully, you're back now and things are starting to become much more bearable again."
Suddenly my phone blared loudly as it vibrated against the table. I picked it up and answered the call.
"Hadley, I need your help!" Ava pleaded with panic, speaking incredibly quick. "You need to come back to the dorm."
"Woah, slow down. What's going on?" I asked as I began gathering my things, fearful for my friend's safety.
"I'll explain when you come here, just hurry!"
"Okay, okay, I'm on my way!" We hung up and I hastily downed the rest of my coffee and swung my bag over my shoulder.
"Is everything okay?" James asked, also worried.
"I don't know, Ava just called saying there was an emergency back at our dorm." I grabbed my cardigan that was draped over the back of my chair and slipped it on.
"Call me when you find out what happened, okay? Let me know if you're both okay," James stated with concern.
"I will." I leaned down and placed a quick peck on his cheek. "I'll see you later."
The fall breeze brushed against my skin as I left Bella's, orange and brown leaves swaying with the gentle wind. Sprinting, I made it back to the dorms in five and unlocked the door. When entering, everything looked normal, so I quickly rushed to Ava's room. Preparing for the worst, I inhaled deeply and swung open the door, ready to pounce.
Instead, I was met with a mess. Ava's entire closet was sprawled out on the floor, shirts dangling from her bed, shoes thrown in disarray in various corners of the room.
"Ava?" I peeked behind the door and found Ava rummaging through her closet, throwing another article of clothing behind her. Every nook and crevice of her floor was covered with her belongings; I couldn't even see the wooden floor beneath.
"Ava!" I shouted louder, which seemed to grab her attention. Her head whipped in my direction and she carelessly trampled over all of her potentially clean clothes, gripping firmly onto my shoulders.
"Thank goodness, you're here," Ava said with relief. I took a hold of her and gave her a look over.
"Are you okay? Did something happen?" I asked with concern.
"Nothing happened, but I have an emergency," Ava said as she dramatically shook me.
"Spit it out already!"
"I can't find anything to wear, and I have a date in fifteen minutes!" Ava exclaimed like the world was about to end.
"Oh my god, are you serious right now?" My voice grew louder with every word as I pulled Ava away from me. "You made me run all the way over here because you had a fashion emergency!"
"Yes, I'm serious, now help me!"
"I swear I'm gonna kill over one day because of you, Ava. I thought you had an actual emergency. I thought the building was on fire and you were still inside!" Shaking my head, I held my forehead as I inhaled, trying to steady my racing heart that pumped adrenaline through my veins.
"But this is an emergency. He's gonna be here any minute, and I have nothing to wear. Help me please," she begged, dragging out the last word as she stuck out her bottom lip.
"Next time, don't scare me like that, or at the least, rephrase it so that I don't think that you're stranded in a burning building," I sighed as I pulled out my phone and texted James, telling him that everything was fine. Putting away the phone into my back pocket, I took another step into her room, scanning the floor for an outfit.
"Thank you!" She hugged me tightly with a giant grin. Taking careful steps around the room, I picked up a black, off the shoulder blouse with a pair of faded skinny jeans.
"There," I handed her the clothes and she took it with delight. A knock at the door sounded, raising Ava's nerves.
"I'll get it," I told her as she began changing. "Coming!" I yelled as I turned the knob and opened the door.
"Hi," I greeted with a smile as I looked up. A guy with dark brown hair and blue eyes that popped, who wore a denim jacket with a white shirt underneath, stood before me with a bouquet of pink roses in hand.
"Hey," He smiled down at me, showing off his pearly white teeth and dimples that indented on his cheeks. He was the epitome of a Calvin Klein model. He looked at the door number with a slightly puzzled expression. "I could've sworn this was her dorm," he whispered under his breath.
"Who are you looking for?" I inquired, although I had a feeling who I knew those roses were for.
"Does a girl named Ava live here?" He asked, looking down at me with his gorgeous blue eyes and thick, long lashes.
"She sure does," I grinned, stepping to the side as I let him enter. "She'll be out in a few."
Shutting the door, I spun around as he slowly settled down onto the couch. "I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you?"
He chuckled, "I'm Hunter. Who are you?"
My eyebrows raised with surprise. This couldn't be the guy Ava was complaining to me about before I left, right?
"I'm Hadley."
"Ah, so you're the Hadley. It's great to finally meet you."
"What do you mean the Hadley? Do I know you from somewhere?" I asked, puzzled.
"No, I don't know you personally, but I know of you. The time when you were gone, Ava told me all about you."
Hearing a click, Ava came out of her room in the outfit I found, wearing a pair of brown boots with a buckle on the side. I walked over to her and pulled her to the side. "Is he that guy you were always complaining to me about?"
She nodded, a faint tingle of pink coloring her cheeks. "High five, girl," I whispered as I discreetly raised my hand to her, to which she chuckled and lightly gave me a high five.
She then made her way towards Hunter, who gazed at her from head to toe. "You look good, Ava," he complimented. He handed her the roses with a soft smile, "These are for you."
"Thank you." The sweet scent wafted into her senses. "Mm, these smell good."
She walked over to the empty vase that sat on the kitchen counter and filled it with water, placing the bouquet in it. She walked back to Hunter, who reached down and intertwined their fingers.
"Ready," he asked, to which she nodded. I followed them to the door and watched as the walked down the hallway. Ava turned back to me and I mouthed, "Go get 'em!"
She chuckled to herself and shook her head with a smile. I closed the door and lowered myself onto the soft couch, sighing as I realized that I was all alone, with Ava on her date and Nicole probably with Milo.
After a few minutes of mindless scrolling, a knock from the door sounded. I groaned as I had finally made myself comfortable and pushed myself up. Looking through the peephole, I saw no one standing there. Cautiously, I opened the door and peeked my head out.
No one was there.
Looking left and right, I saw no sign of a single soul, sending a shiver down my spine. I was just about to close the door when something at my feet caught my eye. It was another yellow envelope, causing an eerie feeling to settle within my stomach. Checking for the last time, there were no signs to who left it as I bent down and picked it up, feeling the smooth paper.
I thought these would've stopped by now. It had been a few weeks already without these. Pushing the door closed with my foot, I opened the envelope and pulled out the folded paper.
oh my dear if you knew the truth
as this is one of my final warnings to you.
you'd run for the hills
and wish it weren't true
as I sit here and think of how much I was a fool.
From,
Anonymous
Although they always creeped me out, I began to disregard what they were saying since they never made sense from the beginning. But they always frustrated me as they always told me not to trust "him" and leave "him" while I still could.
I left the envelope on the counter and walked into my room, stuffing the note into the first envelope I received from the anonymous person, which held all of the other previous notes.
"Ugh, why won't they just leave me alone?" I groaned into my pillow, fed up with these notes.
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A/N: Hey there! I know this was a bit long and was a bit of a filler :/ But I promise you that for pretty much the rest of the story, everything will be revealed at a fast pace.
but thank you for reading! â¡
-Karlee ð