Free A Real Disaster by Molly Ryan Page A

there was no explanation for what was going on,
didn’t mean I wanted it to end. I didn’t. But I also didn’t like the
uncertainty. Turner could be right about him too.
    I sighed and rubbed my temple with my
hands.
      “I
really should get going,” I said.
    “Do you have to? I thought that we could
go out, have some lunch.”
    “I can’t,” I said, even though it was a
lie. “I have to go meet up with some people.”
    “People like Turner?”
    That wasn’t on my list of to-do’s but now Turner crept into my mind.   I had already missed most of my class and
Nash had persuaded me that it wasn’t a big deal.
    “Maybe… He seemed so angry yesterday,” I
said for an explanation. “He was practically foaming at the mouth and, well,
you know the rest. I do want to see if he’s okay... I want to try to talk to
him…. But…”
    “Why?” he asked, cutting me off. “You
just go back to the guy who has no control over himself?”
    I paused. That was a good question and I
didn’t have a set answer for him.
    “Because he’s my friend,” I said
finally. “Just like you.”
    Nash shrugged but there was a frown on
his face.
    “Do what you want,” he said and
disappointment seeped into my heart.
    I was hoping that Nash would put up
fight, even a little one, trying to get me to stay. But he didn’t. If anything,
he was trying to get me to leave quicker.
    What the hell did I do? Was he jealous?
Actually jealous that another guy might have a chance with me? What did I get
myself into?
    “I’ll see you around.”
    “Yeah, see you around,” I agreed.
    I glanced at Nash over my shoulder one
last time before exiting his room. I let myself out into the warm day and
headed back to school, leaving my heart behind.

 
 
    Chapter
Nine

 
    And so it began. Every day, I got up,
packed my stuff, and trudged off to class. If I woke up early enough I would
grab breakfast but if not I grabbed a coffee to keep me from passing out. I
hadn’t seen Nash outside of class since I thought he had a concussion, and I
saw Turner even less. Sometimes, if he was in a good mood, Turner would meet me
at the dorm and we would walk to class together. Then, the moment he saw Nash,
he would frown and stomp away like a school boy whose toy was taken away from
him. This went on, day after day, for weeks. I barely had time to breathe let
alone relax and it was starting to show.
    “Can you turn that down please?” I asked
Sabrina.
    She had the television on full blast and
she was watching Maury , or as I liked
to call it, white trash crap. Going on a show to determine the paternity of
your child was bad enough, but when you went on the same show multiple times,
that was ridiculous. I was embarrassed for these girls.
    “What’s wrong with you?” Sabrina asked,
glaring at me.
    She turned the television off and tossed
the remote on the bed.
    “Why are you so cranky?”
    “I’m not cranky,” I told her. “I’m
stressed out. I have all this stuff due and everyone is expecting everything
from me. On top of all of that, I’m friends with two sworn enemies. Don’t you
think that’s enough to put me the least bit on edge?”
    Sabrina nodded in agreement.
    My mind was racing.
    “Lily, are you sure you’re okay?”
Sabrina asked. “You look pale and like you’re about to faint or something.”
    “I’m fine,” I lied. “Things are fine.
What makes you ask?”
    “Because you’re
acting even stranger than usual. Did something happen? Are you hiding
something?”
    I wanted advice, no, I needed advice. I was completely out of
my field.
    “Does this have anything to do with Nash
or Turner? Or maybe both?”
    I bit my lower lip, thinking. Should I
really take advice from Sabrina? She and I had gotten close since the day I
moved in but I still wasn’t sure if she was someone that had the answers I
needed.
    “Yes, it has to do with Nash and Turner.
More Nash though.”
    “Do you like him?” Sabrina asked.
    “Who?”
    “Nash,