3. Surprise of a Lifetime
Dillon
"Who the hell was that girl?"
Todd had done his best to wait to bombard Dillon with questions but as soon as they had entered their apartment he had burst. He had almost fainted when he'd seen Libra standing behind the counter of the Campus Café and he could tell she was equally as shocked. He had to admit; if he could pick anyone from North Haven High to be at his college it wouldn't have been her.
Libra Jones was a nerd and would always be one, he could tell. Although he was surprised by her new style and the fact that she had learnt how to apply make-up, but what had surprised him the most was her attitude. In high school Libra had barely spoken two words to him or his friends and if she had they were spoken so low they couldn't be heard. Now she was sticking out her chin at him and dismissing him â it almost brought a smile on his face.
"She's just a girl from my old high school, she's a nobody." Dillon answered and heaved himself on the couch.
Todd tossed him a soda from their fridge and leaned against the wall with the TV, not letting Dillon get away from this conversation. While Todd had plenty of questions Dillon had some of his own and they could only be answered my one person â Libra. He wondered what she was doing here when she could be at Yale or Howard University instead. Not that there was anything wrong with Chicago but he would have pegged her for one of those nerds who wanted to be amongst her peers.
Then there was the ultimate question: how had she been doing since prom night? Memories were flooding back to him, memories he didn't want to remember, and Dillon pushed them out the best he could. Why did she have to be here and bring all this back to the surface? He had done his hardest to try to cope with what had happened and the amount of shit he had received from his parents because of it had been brutal. Todd was clueless to all of this and he wanted to keep it that way.
"Clearly she's not 'nobody', Dillon. I saw the way you two looked at each other â a blind person could see that you two have history." Todd winked at him and laughed.
Taking a swig of his soda Dillon let those words sink in. History. He supposed that's what he would call it too but it wasn't anything like what Todd was implying. That he had to make clear to him.
"We weren't together so you can stop winking at me. She is just a nerd that went to my high school and that's it. Now if you'll excuse I'm going down to the gym." Dillon grunted as he got up and headed for his room.
"You should be studying, seeing as we have a test in two days!" Todd yelled after him, thinking that would lure him back to the living room, but no such luck. Dillon was motivated to get to the gym and work out till the thoughts of Libra had left him completely.
After half an hour on the treadmill Dillon wasn't showing signs of slowing down. The nerves of what had happened were still controlling him and he would keep running until they were gone. He knew why he was feeling this way, even to him it was obvious - it was about guilt. What had happened on senior prom night had been traumatic for Libra, to say the least, and knowing he could've prevented it haunted him.
He had promised himself then that if he ever got the chance to make it right he would â and apparently God took that promise very seriously.
Now here they both were, at the same college, and there was nothing he could do about it. His father had made it abundantly clear how many strings had been pulled for Dillon to even be here so leaving wasn't an option for him. After a grueling 45 minutes on the treadmill Dillon hopped of and finished his water before heading for the showers. His mind went straight back to Libra Jones again and he groaned loudly because of it, because of her.
Not only had she surprised him by being at the café but she looked so different, almost like she wanted to be unrecognizable. Her clothes had switched from baggy jeans and ugly long sleeves to more fitted jeans and a nice top to go with it â even her face looked different by adding some make up to it. Not that she had ever been ugly, even his friends from high school didn't think that, but she was just so... plain. She never tried to look even the slightest bit feminine in high school â so why the sudden change? Perhaps what happened had sparked something in her...?
Heading back up to his apartment with heavy steps Dillon hoped Todd would lay off the questioning for tonight, he did not want to be reminded of high school the first day of college. Todd Smith was good guy and could potentially be a really good friend in the future, but for now he needed to keep some things to himself. Todd had messaged him on the college Facebook group for freshman's looking for apartments â and Dillon had acquired this early. His father had pulled some strings and gotten him a nice place, the only rule being he had to live alone. But in a two bedroom that just seemed stupid and especially when other students needed places to live, like Todd, so Dillon defied his parents in secret and Todd moved in two days ago. Maybe I should tell him, Dillon considered, but pushed that thought out when his phone vibrated and he read the name on the screen â Charlie.
"Hey there jetsetter, how is London treating you?" Dillon answered cheerfully. His childhood best friend Charlie had been accepted to a University in London and had left a week ago, needless to say he was missed.
"London is everything and more, buddy, you need to get over here and see it! How's Chicago?" Charlie asked
Dillon knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut about Libra and the stunning surprise he had just been hit with. After all Charlie knew the truth about what had happened that night â and he was the only one who did.
"Well brother, be prepared to hear the surprise of a lifetime."