Free Forgiven by Rebecca Brooke Page A

laptop, I got started. I pulled out my iPod and turned the music up loud.
    I worked for a few hours before my eyes started to cross from reading. I decided to play some Xbox before going to bed.
     
    I hear someone calling my name, but I can’t figure out where it’s coming from. “Caleb, Caleb.”
    I keep looking around, there is nothing there. Suddenly I see her about 10 feet away. I run over to her as fast as I can. My body won’t go any faster, almost like I’m in slow motion. I can’t get to her fast enough. “I’m coming!”
    When I get there, I can only see the pain in her eyes as they close and she whispers, “I’m sorry.”
     
    SHIT! I bolted out of bed. I was covered in sweat and panting as I tried to catch my breath. What time was it? I looked at the clock—05:45. Holy fuck. I hadn’t gone to bed sober in so long that I’d forgotten how real the dreams were. I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face, still breathing heavily. There was no way I wanted to go back to sleep, afraid of what my dreams might hold. Unfortunately, I knew I had to try—it was a workout day, plus I still had to meet up with Angie.
    Finally after about an hour of tossing and turning, I was able to go back to sleep. Luckily I didn’t have any other dreams before my alarm went off.
    I walked into the bathroom to get a shower and turned the water on while I shaved. I could see the bags under my eyes when I looked in the mirror. Fuck me, would I ever be able to sleep the night through without drinking until I passed out? I didn’t want to be the guy that needed alcohol to sleep, but that was a problem for another day—right now I had to worry about tonight. As much as I wanted to stay away from Angie, it got harder the more time I spent with her. Somehow I was going to have to find the willpower.
    I rode over to campus by myself. I knew that Josh wouldn’t want to hang around campus while I went over to Angie’s apartment.
    Chemistry seemed to take forever. I couldn’t keep my mind off of the way Angie had looked yesterday. All I could think about was sliding between her sexy legs and thrusting into her until we were both spent. Why couldn’t those types of dreams haunt me at night? Fuck, I needed to get it together. I was going over to her place to work, not spend time with her.
    Finally, chemistry was over and I headed to history. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t wait to see her. When I walked into the classroom Angie wasn’t there, but Emily was.
    “Hey Emily, where’s Angie?” I asked as I walked over to her. She was scowling at me.
    “Why do you care? You’re just gonna keep fucking with her head, and I’m not about to let that happen,” she snapped.
    “What the fuck, Emily? What have I done to her? I agreed to work with her on the project against my better judgment—” I growled before a hand on my shoulder stopped me.
    “Stop it, you two. Em, I appreciate your concern, but everything’s fine,” she sighed, turning to me. “Caleb, are we still on for tonight?”
    “Yeah. Angie—” I started.
    “Look, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just get this done, tonight if possible,” she frowned. “I need to get ready before class starts,” she said as if she was dismissing me.
    “Sure.” I walked back over to my normal seat. I hadn’t meant to say that shit, but Emily had been getting under my skin and I wasn’t sure how much more I could take from her before I really lost my temper.
    Throughout the entire lecture I found myself glancing in Angie’s direction. Emily was shooting daggers out of her eyes at me. Every once in a while, I would catch Angie looking at me, while other times it seemed as if she was trying to avoid me. By the time class was over I knew one thing for sure. I wasn’t going to be able to avoid my feelings for much longer.
    The rest of the day seemed to fly by, and before I knew it our workout was over. After a hot shower, I was ready to head over to