Morning After Revelations

I fell asleep on Kate’s newly made bed, but before that, I tossed her sheets and carried them to the laundry. I woke up around noon with my phone ringing on the bedside table.

“Hello?” I didn’t even open my eyes.

“Becca, where are you?” Kate’s voice was hoarse.

“In your room.”

She hung up. I got up from the bed and walked to my room. Kate and Lily were sitting on my bed. Both were pale. I laughed at the sight.

“Wow. You both sure know how to spend a night.”

“Shut up, Becca.” Lily massaged her temples.

“Okay. How about breakfast?”

“We’re in. We were waiting for you for that. Can you drive us to the diner?”

“Sure. Let’s go.” I was ready to leave. Then I realized that I needed to change my clothes. “Actually, can I have a moment to change?”

“Yeah,” Kate answered, peering at me.

I sighed and walked to my closet. I picked a navy blue dress and flats.

We all walked out together once I was ready. In fifteen minutes, we were at the diner waiting for our order to come. Kate sat beside me while Lily sat in front of us. I was silent. I didn’t want to bring up yesterday’s event, but it was inevitable.

“Becca... can you tell us how we ended up back at our dorm?”

“That I could tell. I was with Rob when your brother showed up. He asked me to come with him and look after you. When we arrived, I found both of you asleep.

“Drew and Tim helped me carry you to the car, and then Drew drove us back to the dorm. He brought both of you to our room. You didn’t even wake up through any of it. So I decided to go to sleep in Kate’s room since Nina was with her parents.”

“My asshole brother didn’t help you? Where did he go? Why was it Drew who brought us to the dorm?”

“Logan left to find Melanie. I told him to. I knew I could manage.”

“Fucking idiot! Good to know that he doesn’t care about me at all.”

“Lil, that’s not true. He came to me, and he knew I would help you.”

“No! His bitch showed up yesterday, and she started saying really nasty things about you…”

“Me? What the fuck? I wasn’t even there!”

“We were talking about our plans for the next weekend, after the game,” Lily said. “I mentioned you a few times. I said that I was hoping that you would come with us to the party at least.”

“The bitch said that it wouldn’t be such a loss if you weren’t there. She also commented on your bad taste in men. She saw you with Rob… I honestly don’t remember now what else she was saying… I slapped her.”

“You did what?! Are you crazy? Your brother is dating her!”

“I don’t care. She slapped me in return. Guess what my brother did? He yelled at me… He didn’t even say a word to her, only to me.”

“So, I just decided to get drunk. But I clashed with that bitch again, and Kate pulled her hair and yelled at her… The guys took us to different rooms, and I think that was the moment when Logan decided to bring you into this mess.”

“Hell... I don’t know what to say, but I know that your brother cares about you, Lil. He called Drew while Drew was still in our room.”

“Why did he even leave to find Melanie? She was in the house when Tim and Drew took us to the other rooms.” Kate looked confused.

“Because she left the house after Logan decided to come for me, and she was furious because of his decision.”

We fell silent and then ate our food. My phone buzzed. It was a message from Rob. He wanted to talk to me. I wanted to break up with him and didn’t know how to do that.

“Who is it?” Kate looked at my phone.

“Rob.”

“Oh... did he do that?” She pointed to something on my neck.

“Do what?”

“Hickey.”

Holy shit, I will kill Drew. But I will never tell Kate and Lily who did it. I was afraid they would think that I was a whore.

“Ye—Yeah.”

“Oh, my little Rebecca. I am so happy for you! You decided to take your relationship to another level?”

“Don’t be so happy. I want to break up with him…”

“What?!” Lily and Kate yelled at me at the same time.

“Yes. We didn’t click and when Logan showed up, Rob acted like a jealous jerk.”

“Well…if you think that’s the right decision, then okay.”

I nodded to them and typed out a message to Rob. He answered almost immediately. We agreed to meet at the parking lot in two hours. I was nervous because he was a good guy and I‘d started to like him.

But I was wrong from the very beginning. I saw him only as a friend.

After two hours, I was outside our dorm waiting for Rob. He walked over to the bench I was sitting on near the parking lot. His hands were in his pockets and he looked tense.

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

We both fell silent. I didn’t know what to say to him. I felt guilty because I’d slept with Drew. But I needed to break up with Rob not because of my unfaithfulness.

It was the right thing to do for both of us.

“Listen, Becca. I am sorry. I overreacted yesterday. But you know, Logan Jones can be really intimidating. And him, coming for you in the middle of the night… Fuck, I felt pissed off. I am sorry.”

“Rob, you don’t need to apologize. I get it. It was strange, and I was surprised that he came to me. But the truth is... I wanted to talk to you about us... I think we should break up…”

“What?”

“It was a strange night, and a lot happened. And I realized that we don’t work. I like you, I feel comfortable around you, but that’s all. I want to be your friend, and I am sorry that I realized that only now.”

“Does your decision to break up with me have something to do with Logan Jones?”

“No, he’s just my roommate’s brother. The end. He could be the most handsome guy in college. I don’t care. It’s not about him. It’s about us…”

Rob was silent. I waited for him to say something, to yell at me perhaps. I deserved it after what I did with Drew. I even wanted it. But Rob wasn’t that kind of guy.

He nodded his head and looked me in the eyes. His eyes were so sad. Dang, why was everything so messed up with me?

“You know, Becca. From the very beginning, I thought that I didn’t deserve you. That you’re in another league and when you agreed to go on a date with me, I was so damn happy!

“But this feeling in my gut, that you would leave me…it was there, and it’s still there. I don’t feel surprised by your decision.”

“I am so sorry, Rob…”

“Don’t be. I... I hope you will be my friend. I want you to stay in my life.”

“Of course! I would be happy if you still wanted to be my friend.”

We looked at each other. I got up from the bench and stood before him. I leaned in and hugged him. He hugged me back, and we stayed like that for several minutes. I kissed his cheek and stepped back.

Rob smiled at me, waved, and walked to the parking lot. In two minutes, he was gone. I sighed and walked to the dorm. As I reached our room, I heard raised voices. What was going on?