Waiting on Forever

by Ashley Wilcox

  “I’ll be right down,” I answer into the speaker.

  “Okay, honey,” I hear my mom sweetly say in response.

  Grabbing my jacket off the chair, I stuff my cellphone in my back pocket then lock the door and head downstairs. Apparently someone has let them in because they are standing in the commons area of the main floor. They spot me immediately with a big smile on their faces. Being the baby of the family I’ve always been spoiled with love and affection, so having them love me to death every time they see me comes as no surprise–it’s actually expected.

  “How’s my Leahbug?” my dad asks, pulling me in for a hug.

  Pretty damn excited actually.

  I setttle for, “I’m good,” instead.

  “I figured we could take you to get some new clothes and stock up your fridge before we go get supper. Does that sound okay?” my mom asks as we head outside.

  I smile, knowing that this is exactly what we always do, so why would I expect anything different? My parents are so damn predictable it’s not even funny, but I love them regardless.

  “Sure, Mom. That sounds great.”

  We dragged my dad around for hours, hopping from store to store and buying more outfits and shoes than I was expecting. Then we went to the grocery store to get enough food to last me months. We stop back at my room to drop everything off, chat quickly with Kayla, then head back out for dinner. I can’t help the anxious leg shaking throughout dinner or the amount of times I check my phone to see if Matt has called or text. The closer the time gets to Matt getting home, the more eager I am to be done with dinner and be back at my dorm.

  “Is everything okay, Leah?” my mom asks after I check my phone for the hundredth time.

  “Huh? Yeah, sorry. Just expecting a call.” Well, not really. I’m supposed to call him when we’re done, but what other reason can I give for checking my phone over and over?

  “Anyone we know?” she asks with a raised eyebrow and a grin.

  Seeing that Matt would have tagged along tonight had he not had a game, I think it’s suitable to enlighten my parents on our relationship.

  “Um, no. You don’t know him. He was actually going to come tonight to meet you guys, but he had a football game in Binghamton, so he couldn’t make it,” I tell them in one breath with a prideful smile.

  My mom’s face immediately brightens ten shades and my dad looks at me shocked. Yes, I’m sure this is quite the news for them. Their little Leahbug has never had a boyfriend and has never even spoken about a male of interest before, for that matter. This is a pretty big deal and their faces certainly show it.

  “Well, um…that’s great,” my mom says in a shocked, but excited tone. “So, is this a boyfriend or just a friend or…?”

  “Yes, he’s my boyfriend,” I admit, feeling my cheeks warm. “We met during orientation this summer, but we’ve only been dating for a couple of weeks.”

  My dad starts to say something, but my mom cuts him off. “So, tell us about him. What’s his name? What does he look like?”

  I laugh at her excitement and her need to know everything. Honestly, now that the cats out of the bag, I’m anxious to tell them all about him.

  “Well, his name is Matt and he’s the starting wide receiver for our football team.” My mom’s eyes dart open even wider as she leans in a little closer, obviously liking the details I’ve given her so far.

  I roll my eyes and smile before I continue.

  “He’s much taller than I am and has big hazel eyes and short brown hair. He’s uh, pretty easy on the eyes,” I admit, not being able to hold back the giddy school girl smile. Matt’s frickin hot as hell and just thinking about him makes my body tingle with excitement, still amazed that someone so gorgeously sexy is mine. Knowing that I probably shouldn’t get that explicit with my parents, I wear a goofy grin instead while I picture my hot ass boyfriend in my head.

  “Ugh. I wish we could’ve met him tonight,” my mom says, clearly disappointed.

  “You didn’t even ask the important questions, dear.” My dad looks at her, annoyed. “How about, what’s his major? Where is he from? Does he treat you well?”

  And here’s the father I know all too well.

  “He’s a Phys Ed major from upstate New York, and yes, he treats me very well,” I answer all of his questions with confidence.

  Giving me a pleased grin, he glances over at my mom with a smirk. “Then yes, I wish we could’ve met him tonight.”

  “Maybe next time.” I smile.

  “Well, don’t let us hold up your plans,” my mom says, full of joy. “We should start heading home anyway.”

  “Yes, the weather is actually calling for snow tonight in the higher elevations. We should get going before the roads get bad,” my dad adds.

  “Snow? It’s only October,” my mom responds in shock.

  “Don’t you know that I go to school in the Arctic?” I joke.

  My dad smiles. “Cortland is far from living in the Arctic, Sweetheart, but yes, it’s much cooler here than back home.”

  “And why did you pick this school?” my mom asks.

  Because it’s far away from home.

  “Because Cortland was the first one I drew out of my hat,” I say with a devilish grin.

  “Please tell me that isn’t the real reason why you chose to come here?” she questions in a much more serious tone.

  I give her my, are ya serious?, look.

  She shakes her head. “Well, you never know with you.”

  Not really knowing what she means by that, I just shrug my shoulders and give her a teasing grin. Something tells me my parents just don’t know what to expect from me, which I can understand–sometimes I don’t either. Ever since Matt and I started hanging out and dating, I’m not quite sure what each day holds or what I’ll be doing the next.

  My life is a whirlwind of crazy right now and I absolutely love it.

  “It was great seeing ya, Leahbug,” my dad says, bringing me in for one of his big bear hugs.

  “You too, Dad.”

  I turn to give my mom a hug once my dad releases me.

  “Take care, honey. Call us if you need anything,” she says in her sweet motherly tone.

  “I will. Thanks, Mom.”

  I watch them as they walk back to their car and wave as they pull away. As soon as their out of visibility, I bolt to my car. I texted Matt on our way back from the restaurant to see if he was home yet, and he is. Although I know we agreed to spend the night at my dorm tonight, I figured having our own room and a big bed would be more feasible for our first time together. I didn’t notify him of this, though–I want it to be a surprise.

  There’s a bunch of cars in the driveway when I pull up, but not as many as there are when there’s a party. Even on the nights when there isn’t a drunk-fest going on, there’s still a bunch of people hanging out downstairs. It’s like the city that never sleeps inside.

  As I predicted there’s a bunch of people sitting around, drinking beer and shooting the shit when I walk in.

  “Hey Leah,” Landyn greets me with a smile, “MJ’s upstairs.”

  “Thanks.” I smile back before climbing the stairs as quickly as possible.

  I come to a screeching halt and my body goes numb when I see Brynn and Kate giggling while exiting Matt’s room.

  What the fuck?

  Brynn stops laughing when she sees me staring at her and her smile turns to a devious grin.

  “Oops, it looks like you were too late tonight. We already took care of him for you,” she says with a slutty smirk and evil eyes while Kate just stands there with a smile.

  A wave of rage boils throughout my veins as this bitch stands in front of me with a prideful grin, bragging that she and her plastic friend just fucked my boyfriend.

  I don’t fucking think so, bitch!

  Before I can even think about what I’m doing, I charge towards her plowing her onto the ground, wailing on her face as hard as I can. The bitch has had it out for me si
nce day one and deserves every ounce of fury being transmitted by my fist.

  Just as I pull back to punch her again, I’m lifted off her body by a large set of hands.

  “Babe, she’s not worth it,” Matt says from behind with his arms bear hugged around me, holding me back.

  I break from his hold, and turn to look at him with a disgusted look. “And neither are you!” I shout before running down the stairs, out the house, and into my car before Matt has a chance to register the situation and catch up to me.

  My hands are shaking so much that I can barely get the keys into the ignition, but I somehow do and manage to whip out of the driveway just as Matt comes racing out of the front door. He’s screaming my name and telling me to stop, but I ignore him and speed away. It isn’t until I look in my rearview mirror and see him on his knees in the middle of the road that the tears start to form in my eyes.

  Fuck hot college guys that screw with your heart!

  Chapter 25

  When I pull into my parking spot, I take a deep breath before making the dash up to my room. Once I get safely past the entrance, I know that Matt cannot catch up to me. He’ll be locked out of the dorms, and out of my life. When I turn the corner to my hallway, I see the “do not disturb” sign hanging from the door.

  Fuck!

  Tonight is not the night to deal with this shit. Ignoring the sign, I barge into my room with tunnel vision to my bed.

  “Leah!” Kayla screams, pulling the blankets up and over her catch of the day.

  “I’m not in the fucking mood, so either throw on some clothes or take it elsewhere!” I shout back, climbing into my bed and throwing the covers over my head so I don’t have to see anything that will haunt my dreams for life.

  I hear her whisper something to the guy, then some movement and then finally I hear the door open and shut.

  “So you wanna tell me what the hell is goin’ on?” Kayla snips, pulling back my blankets and sitting down next to me.

  I wipe the tears that are still flowing down my cheeks, and sniffle in the snot that’s threatening to pour out of my nose. I’m pretty much a disgusting, pathetic mess. Although Kayla and I haven’t been the best of friends since we moved here, we have been getting closer as times goes and, let’s be honest, she’s pretty much my only girlfriend who I can confide in.

  Exhaling deeply to try and compose myself, I get right to the point. “Matt had a threesome with Brynn and Kate. I saw them leaving his room, beat the shit out of Brynn, and bolted home.”

  She looks at me like I have ten heads and opens her mouth a couple of times to say something but then closes it before anything comes out.

  “Yeah, fucked up, right?”

  “What an asshole!” Kayla finally says.

  Taking a deep breath, as this is something that kills me to admit, I agree. “Yup.”

  “But, wait. You kicked Brynn’s ass?”

  Geez, thanks for the compassion.

  I can’t help but smile, though, because I can’t deny how frickin great it felt to finally punch that plastic whore’s face.

  “Sure did.”

  Just as she’s about to indulge in the details, we hear three loud knocks on the door. Frightened as to who it is on the other side, we both stare worriedly at one another.

  “Campus police. Please open the door.”

  Shit! The bitch called the police.

  Kayla quickly jumps up, yanking off her bathrobe and pulls the dress draped over her chair up over her head as I make my way to the door.

  “Coming!” I shout back.

  When I open the door there are two officers standing there with badges labeled SUNY Cortland Police Department on them. They’re smiling at me, so I smile back.

  “Good evening, ma’am. Are you Leah Bennett?” the older looking one of the two asks.

  “I am,” I answer politely.

  “We’re following up on a domestic dispute on 214 Smith Street. May we come in and ask you a few questions?”

  Although my stomach is in knots and I’m scared shitless, I kindly nod my head while opening the door a little more so they can enter. They greet Kayla with a casual hello, but quickly turn their attention back towards me. I purposely don’t look in Kayla’s direction because she has a look of panic smeared across her face like someone has her at gunpoint and it would just make me more nervous. One slip up with my answers and I can potentially be spending the night in jail.

  “Miss Bennett, can you tell me where you were at approximately 8:50 p.m. tonight?” the older one asks. Apparently he’s the one that does all the talking and the other one is just here for moral support.

  I swallow past the knot building in my throat and confidently respond, “I stopped over to visit my boyfriend on Smith Street.”

  He nods his head and writes something down in his little black notebook.

  “We received a call, along with a witness, that said that you attacked Miss Brynn Labrizzi in the hallway of the home. Is that correct, Miss Bennett?”

  I briefly close my eyes and think about the word choice I should use.

  “She did not attack her!” Kayla chimes in out of nowhere.

  My eyes spring open like a deer in headlights, wondering what the hell she is doing. She wasn’t there–she has no clue what happened.

  What the fuck is she doing?

  The two officers turn on their heels now, interested to hear what information Kayla can provide them with. I take a deep breath, knowing that Kayla isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.

  Please God make her come up with something good.

  “Can I have your name, ma’am?”

  “Kayla Reynolds,” she answers, standing tall and confident.

  The officer nods and writes her name down.

  “Thank you, Miss Reynolds. Now I was told that the only people in the hallway during this altercation was Miss Bennett, Miss Labrizzi and Miss Labrizzi’s friend. Is that a false statement? Were you there as well?” he asks with a sense of authority.

  I cringe, hoping that his direct and serious tone will not break her. Now that she’s started with this lie she needs to follow through. I’ll definitely be wearing an orange jumpsuit if they figure it all out.

  She lets out an irritated breath and rolls her eyes. Wow, maybe I underestimated her. “Of course they’d say that,” she begins, “Leah and I stopped over to surprise Matt to congratulate him on their win…”

  They won tonight? I didn’t even know that.

  “Brynn and Kate were walking out of the bathroom. Why they were in there together, I don’t know,” she says all dramatic and believable. “Leah accidentally bumped into Brynn, not expecting them to be walking out. Ya know, harmless mistake, but Brynn being Brynn got all defensive about it like Leah did it on purpose.”

  The officer keeps writing as she keeps talking and all the knots that were consuming my body are starting to untangle as Kayla makes up this amazing story that actually could make sense.

  “Yeah, Leah had some choice words with her, but who wouldn’t. Brynn was being a total bitch. Brynn got all in Leah’s face, and Leah told her to step away, but instead Brynn pushed Leah, and that’s when Leah punched her.”

  The officers turn back in my direction while still jotting down notes.

  “Is this true Miss Bennett?” he asks.

  “Yes, it is, sir,” I respond in a serious tone.

  The officers look at each other and then back at Kayla and I like their trying to figure out which story to believe. Obviously the story that Brynn and Kate gave them is completely different from ours.

  After exhaling in almost defeat, the older one looks at me and says, “The story that we received from Miss Labrizzi and her friend does not match the one that you and Miss Reynolds have provided us with. However, because you four are the only ones that can give statements regarding the altercation, I’m at a standstill with the investigation. The markings on Miss Labrizzi do confirm that she was attacked this evening…”

  I tr
y my hardest not to smile hearing that Brynn looks busted up.

  “But, if Miss Labrizzi attacked you first, then you punching her would be an act of self-defense…”

  Oh Kayla, I could kiss you right now!

  “At this time, there’s not much more we can do. I will say that in the future, the better route to take is to walk away and avoid a physical altercation.”

  Although I’d love to jump up and down right now with relief, I remain composed and nod my head instead.

  “We’ve been informed by residents in the household that this isn’t the only issue that they’ve had with Miss Labrizzi and we were given the knowledge that you are dating a gentlemen that resides there. As a result, Miss Labrizzi is no longer allowed on the property. I’m hoping that we will not have to worry about this happening in the future?”

  “Yes sir,” I agree, even though there’s no chance in hell that I’ll ever be returning to that house.

  “Good.” He smiles as they turn and walk towards the door. “Here’s my card. If there’s anything else that you’d like to add to this story or any problems that you may run into, feel free to call me.”

  “Thank you, I will,” I respond with a smile before closing the door and taking a huge breath of relief.

  “Ahhh, I can’t believe they bought it!” Kayla excitedly shouts from behind me.

  “Shh…they probably aren’t even two doors down yet,” I say in a serious tone, but have a huge ecstatic grin on my face.

  She shrugs her shoulders with a ditzy smile on her face. “Oops.”

  “Okay, so now I need details,” she continues, rubbing her hands together with eager anticipation.

  I can’t help but chuckle and roll my eyes. She can change from serious Kayla, back to carefree, flamboyant, ditsy Kayla within a matter of minutes.

  Before enlightening her on the true story, I do something that I very rarely do, but is greatly deserved in this case. With a genuine smile I walk over to Kayla, wrap my arms tightly around her boney body, and thank her from the bottom of my heart.

  “Oh stop. Did you actually think I’d let you get in trouble for kickin’ that whore’s ass? You just did the whole student body a favor! I so wish I was there. Ugh, please tell me you f’ed up her face?” she rambles.