19 - dead week

Amina

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They called it dead week for a reason, because I was surely dying. Throughout campus, you could see students hyped up on coffee and Red Bull trying to cram for exams and finish final papers and projects. It was the worst time of the year, even beating finals week.

I wanted to finish off the semester strong academically, especially since I knew I was completely drained mentally and emotionally. I had taken the whole week off of work to study for finals and spent the majority of my time in the library.

This also helped me keep my mind off Dominic and the events that occurred during Thanksgiving. Caleb's words pierced me. I had never interpreted Dominic's actions the way Caleb had portrayed them. But now I just felt stupid. If he did like me we'd be together then, right? I wouldn't be this confused and hurt.

After all, he rejected my advances. That should be all the evidence I need. He explicitly said, "We can't happen." That should be the end of it.

I knew I always subconsciously had small feelings for Dominic but I hadn't truly realized it till that night. I wanted him, not just sexually. I wanted to be with him.

But he didn't want to be with me. Case closed.

I couldn't wait for finals to be over and I could go home for the holiday break, meaning I would be even further away from Dominic.

"Young lady. The library is closing." A voice says in front of me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up at the middle-aged woman who was staring right back down at me.

"Huh?"

"The library is closing. It's midnight." She repeats.

I sigh, closing my laptop and shoving it into my bag. "Sorry. Have a great night." I tell her before picking up my bag and exiting the university library.

I was exhausted. I hadn't even realized the time. Other students were still on campus, probably also just having left the library. Everyone was going through it.

I pull out my phone to call an Uber to take me to the apartment. I didn't have the energy to figure out the bus and it was too late to walk home. As I was walking a scheduling my Uber ride I bumped into something large, making me stumble back.

"Whoa, sorry missy." A deep voice said as I was caught by my arms. I look up to meet deep dark brown eyes. He had dark curly hair and tanned skin, with a large tattoo on his neck, as well as a large slit on his eyebrow. "You okay?" He asks as he helps me up.

I was taken aback because the man was gorgeous, and temporarily I forgot how to speak. "Yes." I reply once I found the right word.

"Since I saved you from hitting the ground, maybe I deserve a reward? Maybe your number?" He asks suggestively.

I frown, completely turned off by him already. "No thank you."

He pauses for a minute, looking me over as I adjust my book bag onto my shoulder. "This is a long shot, but is your name, Amina?" He asks.

My eyes widened, and I was unsure whether to reply truthfully or not. He chuckles when he senses my uneasiness, "I swear I'm not a stalker. I'm Andre, Dominic's friend." He said politely, sticking his hand out for me to shake.

My eyes widen, this was the Andre!

I shake his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you, Andre."

"The pleasure is all mine, truly. You are beautiful." He says with a cheeky smile, making me blush slightly.

He quickly lets go of my hand, "My apologies, don't tell Dominic I asked for your number. I didn't know it was you so it doesn't count."

I raise a brow, "Why would it matter?"

"No reason at all. Just being respectful." He says, shaking his head defensively.

"We're all friends aren't we?" I ask. "Here." I pull a pen out from my book bag and take his hand, before writing my number on his hand. "And you can let him know I gave it to you. Call me anytime." I respond with a flirty smile before waving him goodbye and walking away. Andre seemed to be left rather stunned at my actions and didn't even respond to my goodbye.

I had a smirk on my face as I walked away but it quickly diminished as I got deeper in thought. I wonder how Dominic talks about me to Andre. Clearly, I am talked about since Andre knows who I am, and I'm apparently off limits.

I just couldn't understand why Dominic was being so weird about all of this, and now blatantly ignoring me.

"Ami!" A voice called out from behind me as I opened the Uber app. I look up to see Isaiah waving at me and coming my way. I guess everyone was on campus tonight.

"Hey Isaiah." I greet tiredly.

"What're you still doing wandering the campus this late?" He asks.

I hold up my textbook, "Studying, unfortunately. What about you?"

"Had a tutoring session with Clarissa." He says with a smirk, making me roll my eyes. Clarissa was a girl he had the hots for and was pretending to need help with accounting to spend time with her.

"You know you could just ask her out. Don't waste the poor girls' time."

"I'm not wasting her time, she's actually been really helpful. She even said tutoring me has helped her get better." He says happily.

"Whatever. Did you drive? I need a ride."

He chuckles, "Yeah I'm over this way." I follow him to the parking lot as we get into his car. I sink into the seat as he starts the engine, hoping to sleep during the short car ride but his voice stops me. "You seem down."

"I'm tired." I reply blankly.

"No, you've been down since Thanksgiving. You still upset about Dominic?"

I sigh, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Caleb told me everything. So we can either talk about it now or talk at Christmas."

My eyes widen, "No he didn't."

He nods, "He did."

"That stupid blabber mouth swore he'd keep his mouth shut." I groan, "It's not that big of a deal. You guys sleep with girls all the time!"

His eyes widen as the car comes to a halt at the stop sign. He turns to me slowly making me freeze. "You slept with him?"

"No?"

He sighs, but not out of frustration or anger. When he looks up at me I see nothing but sympathy in his eyes. "It all makes sense. Now I see why you're depressed. I'm sorry."

I was taken aback by his response. It was nothing like Caleb's, who exaggerated and harshly dished the truth at a time when I couldn't handle it. Isaiah's response would've been more of what I needed at the time. But at this point, I was tired of the sympathy. And tired of feeling so sorry for myself.

I shake my head at him, "It's okay. Really. These things happen."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

I nod, "I'm okay, thank you."

He gives me a small smile before moving the car again. The rest of the ride was quiet before we arrived at my apartment.

"Thanks for the ride." I tell him as I step out of his car.

"Anytime. Don't hang around campus late at night anymore though. I don't want to have to bust any jaws."

I chuckle, "I'll try not to. See you Friday."

He gives me a quick salute before driving away. I trudge up the stairs tiredly, anxiously awaiting the comfort of my warm bed.

On Friday we were planning to have an end-of-semester celebration with all of our friends to commemorate the end of the semester. It would make more sense to do it after finals but most of us would be heading back to our homes for the holidays. This way it also gives us a mental break from a week of cramming before exams.

We were having it at the boys house and it was less of a party and more of an intimate celebration to end the year. I thought it was a great idea and found myself looking forward to it.

When I finally got to my room I felt so drained I couldn't even be bothered to freshen up in the bathroom. I walked straight to my bed and crushed on it. Slowly I felt my eyes getting heavy.

Suddenly the sound of my phone ringing made me snap back to consciousness. I groan out angrily before picking it up to see who was disturbing my peace at this time.

To my surprise, it was Dominic's name that was flashing on my phone.

I hadn't spoken to him since the Thanksgiving fiasco, what could he want? Curiosity got the better of me and I reluctantly answered.

"Amina?" His voice says loudly through the phone. There was loud music that could be heard in the background and several voices.

"What do you want Dominic?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry. And that I think you're really pretty." His voice was slightly slurred, indicating he was probably drunk at a party.

"Are you drinking?"

"Dom, hang up the phone and dance with me!" A female voice says from beside him. Suddenly the line disconnects and I stare at the phone blankly.

At this point, I was too tired to care. I tossed my phone across the room before resting my head on the pillow, finally allowing sleep to overcome me.

-

Friday had finally come around and I was ready to have a good time. Not too good of a time as the next day I would be picking up a shift at the diner.

"This week has been killing me!" Kendra exclaims as she steps out of her bedroom into the living room where I sit eating cheerios. "I just submitted a final paper. Do you know how long it was? Three thousand words!" She exclaims before plopping down beside me on the couch. "What are we watching?"

I chuckle, turning up the volume of New Girl as we sit and watch together. "How've you been Ami? I feel like I haven't properly gotten to talk to you in a while." Kendra says mid-episode.

I shrug, placing my now empty bowl on the coffee table. "I've been okay. How have you been?"

"Who cares how I've been? What's been going on with Dominic? I don't see him around anymore."

I shrug again, "Who knows? He's a weird guy."

"Ami."

I turn to look at her. "What do you want me to say? I don't want to talk about him."

"But-"

"Kendra I don't. Please."

She nods, for once doing as I asked and dropping the subject. "What're you wearing tonight?" She asks, trying to change the subject.

"Something casual. It's just us right?"

She shakes her head, "I think there might be a few more people than that. But hopefully nothing crazy."

I groan, "It better not be. The last thing I want is another wild party to attend."

-

That's exactly what I got.

Word got around about the boy's little end-of-semester celebration. Their teammates got invited, and then their teammates invited their friends. And those friends invited even more friends, so now it was a full-blown rager.

You could feel everyone in the room using this opportunity to vent their stress and frustrations from the week to let loose. There was alcohol everywhere, people dancing, making out, and lots of socializing. It looked much like the back-to-school party at the beginning of the semester, only this time a smaller house.

I wasn't dressed for the occasion. I wore a tan colored sweater and a black skirt with tights and boots. Kendra on the other hand wore an oversized varsity jacket with a crop top along with black skinny jeans. Her look was versatile enough for both occasions. Bianca stayed behind at home to keep studying.

"Glad to see you guys could make it!" Isaiah slurs as he greets us near the front door.

"This is not an intimate get-together."

"What?" He yells over the music.

"This is not an intimate get-together!" I repeat but this time louder to be heard over the music.

He chuckles, "I know. We can't help that we're so popular." He motions for us to follow him, "Come on I'll get you guys a drink."

I sigh before following behind him and Kendra to the kitchen. He hands us two shots each before heading back to the dance floor. Kendra and I both look at each other and shrug before taking a shot. I wince as the vodka burns my insides before sucking on a lime. "To finals!" We cheer before taking another shot.

Five shots, two cups of jungle juice, and a jelly shot later and I had found myself dancing shamelessly on the dance floor with several guys. I had found myself a fan club!

They all surrounded me and cheered me on as I danced for them to the music. Suddenly 'Work' by Rihanna started to play on the loudspeaker making me jump in excitement. Before I knew what I was doing I was standing on top of a table moving my hips to the beat of the song.

Work, work, work, work, work, work

He said me haffi work, work, work, work, work, work

He see me do mi dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt

So me put in work, work, work, work, work, work

When you ah gon' learn, learn, learn, learn, learn?

Me nuh care if him hurt, hurt, hurt, hurt, hurting

I was feeling the music course through me like a drug entering my veins. The sound of the guys around me cheering on only fueled my fire as I slowly whined my waist for everyone to see. I was getting hot and my stupid sweater was affecting my dancing. Slowly and seductively I decided to take it off to the beat of the song, making the men cheer louder as I slowly raised it above my midsection.

Before I could finish I felt myself being removed from the table and thrown over someone's shoulders, making the men watching me boo.

"Caleb put me down! This is kidnapping! I was having fun!" I whined as he brought me to another room.

He doesn't respond and suddenly I'm placed on the bed in a room. My eyes widen slightly as I realize my kidnapper was not Caleb, but instead Dominic. At first, I was surprised by his reappearance but it was quickly replaced with anger.

"How dare you!" I exclaim.

"How dare I what? Stop you from embarrassing yourself? What the hell were you doing up there?"

"What the hell are you doing here? You seem to be out partying more than usual lately." I reply bitterly, remembering his call earlier this week.

"What are you doing here?" He retorts back, ignoring my question.

"This is my cousin's house! And don't ignore my question!"

He looks at me, confusion written all over his face. "This is Caleb & Isaiah's house?"

"Dominic." I warn.

"What? I didn't know it was their party." He says in a defensive tone, a slight slur in this voice indicating some level of intoxication.

"You are not a partier. Why are you here? Looking for your next hookup?" I ask bitterly.

"What are you talking about? You're the one making passes at my best friend! What the hell?" He counters back.

"He asked for my number first! I didn't know who he was!"

He frowns, "Ami don't lie to me. He told me the whole thing."

"Why do you even care?" I ask in a calmer tone. "You're not my boyfriend. You're not even my friend."

"I am your friend Amina."

I roll my eyes at him before getting up and attempting to leave the room, but he grabs my arm. "Wait Amina hold on."

"I don't want to talk to you Dominic."

"Look, I know the last time we were together wasn't ideal. But can we talk?"

"What the hell is there to talk about?" I ask in an annoyed tone. My anger was making me sober up slightly. He remains silent, seeming to have nothing to say. "Exactly. There's nothing to be said. From here on out we're going our separate ways. For good this time."

He lets go of my arm in defeat, allowing me to make my escape. I make my way to the kitchen for another drink. As I'm searching for another cup, I stumble upon Kendra making out heavily with a guy in a corner of the dining area. I smirk at the sight, before getting a closer look and realizing it was Isaiah she was all over. My eyes widen before making my way back to the kitchen for my drink. I take another shot trying to forget what I had just seen, before making my way back to the dance floor.

I just wanted to forget about Dominic. Get completely over him. So I begin to dance with the first guy that catches my eye.

Goodbye Dominic Taylor.

———

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- AuggiePooh_