Romance: The Campus Player: A College Romance

by Caroline Lake

  Chapter 6

  18th September.

  It had been 6 months today. Lucas remembered 18th April as if it was yesterday. He had been with Ella in the hospital for days as they all waited for Liana to finally be at peace. Lucas, he paced around in his house, knowing that Ella must be feeling terrible. Liana had been the first mother figure in Ella’s life and they had hardly spent four years together before she was diagnosed with cancer.

  Making up his mind, Lucas drove to Ella’s house. As suspected, he found her curled up in her bed with a hoodie pulled over her eyes. A huge canvas painting that she had been working on was lying forgotten on the floor. It was a picture of a middle aged woman looking outside a window.

  “Who let you in?” Ella asked, her voice barely audible when Lucas entered her room.

  “You gave me a key,” Lucas reminded her. He sat next to Ella and gently pulled her hood back to see her face. She looked pale and her eyes betrayed everything she was feeling. “I thought you might need a friend.”

  “I’m sorry I screamed at you,” Ella whispered.

  “It’s the 6th month. I understand.”

  Ella closed her eyes as a tear escaped. Around Lucas was the only time she allowed herself to mourn Liana. Without him, she felt as though she would drive herself crazy with grief if she allowed herself to cry. So she put her pain into paintings. She sat up as Lucas took her into his arms and broke down for the first time in four months. He held her silently as she sobbed on his shoulders. After what seemed like hours, when she was out of tears, he still held her. He was leaning back on her pillow and she was leaning on him, her eyes closed as she calmed down.

  “She was the only parent I had most of the time,” Ella said softly. “Dad was always away for work. When Liana moved in, it was such a nice change.”

  Lucas didn’t say anything but listened quietly. He always knew when to listen and when to respond. Unlike Patrick. Patrick always felt the need to respond and console her. Since no words were enough, it only made Ella angry. She was vaguely aware as a part of her brain made this comparison.

  “I used to go visit home every single weekend when Liana was here.”

  Lucas tightened his grip on her arm.

  “Hot chocolate?” he asked. Ella smiled at that. Ever since they were children, Lucas’s hot chocolate had always solved all of Ella’s moods; sad, angry, frustrated.

  Minutes later, Lucas entered her room carrying two cups of hot chocolate. Ella watched as Lucas placed them on the table besides her. His phone beeped and he pulled it out to read the message, with a slight frown on his forehead. One hand idly rubbed his jaw line.

  In that moment, Ella realized that she would very much like to kiss Lucas.

  It was a moment of clarity that had all her doubts erased. Despite feeling completely broken and mournful, she registered that she liked Lucas. She really, really, liked Lucas.

  Lucas had liked her before and may like her again with a little encouragement. She thought back to all the times that Lucas had asked her out when they were in high school. They had been children and he had been arrogant, self-centered, thinking that every girl would be lining up to date him- and they were, save for Ella.

  Lucas dropped his phone in his pocket again and handed Ella one of the cups. Ella accepted it, still in a daze.

  There was a knock on the door and a new figure entered: Mary. Lucas turned around to see her. Suddenly, nothing made sense. Mary wrapped her thin, sun-kissed arms around Lucas’s neck and kissed him on the lips.

  And Lucas kissed her back.

  And someone had punched Ella in the stomach or so it felt. But another part at the back of her head told her this was expected; Mary had taken a liking for Lucas and she wasn’t one to suppress her desires.

  They broke apart and Mary turned to Ella.

  “Lucas and I are together,” she announced happily.

  “Well, that much is obvious,” Ella replied, surprised at the indifference and clarity of her voice.

  Lucas didn’t look as confident as Mary. “I was going to tell you today but-”

  “I understand,” Ella smiled. “You two, have fun. I want to be left alone.”

  Mary’s smile faltered. She was too immersed in her own life to remember that this day was important to Ella. No, that was always Lucas. Lucas was the one who remembered. Lucas was the one who cared. Maybe that was why Ella had been unusually attached to him. Maybe that was why she hadn’t been able to find happiness with Patrick. There was always someone else who made her happy. And initially, Ella had rejected him multiple times for various reasons: he took advantage of his popularity, he treated others rudely, he thought he was entitled to anything he wanted. But that was all in the past. Lucas had changed and Ella had recognized it too late. And of course, he had the right to date any girl he wanted. Mary was good for him; fun, pretty and jolly. She didn’t have any issues in her life the way Ella did. She was content and happy. No, Mary was perfect for Lucas.

  “Are you okay?” Mary asked, worriedly.

  “I’ll stay with Ella,” Lucas told Mary but Ella cut across them.

  “I’m fine. I want to be alone. I’ll talk to you later, Luke.” She managed a smile before turning away from them. Moments later, she heard the door close.

  She wanted to sleep and not think of anything else.

  She wanted to go somewhere far away.

  Had every rejection felt like this to him back in high school?

  Memories of their senior year of high school came back to her.

  “Hey, Scott,” Lucas had said as he caught up with her in the grand corridor that led to the entrance.

  “Yes, Lucas,” Ella had responded coolly.

  “Are you ready to admit your undying love for me now?” Lucas had asked. Behind him, Ella could see the school cheerleaders eyeing them.

  “No, but I think those girls are,” Ella said, nodding to where they stood.

  “Ella,” Lucas had sighed dramatically. “What’s the fun in dating someone who’s…easy?”

  Ella rolled her eyes.

  “This is a game to you, isn’t it?”

  “A game I seem to be losing up until now.”

  “And you’ll always lose,” Ella had told him before stalking away.

  Is this what it had felt like? Did it hurt him the same way as it hurt her now? Or was he indifferent to it, always? Was it always just a game to him?

  That was two years ago and they were both immature. Things were different now. Everyone moves on. She would move on because he did too.

  If this was really what it felt like, she would have been so much nicer to him.

  Chapter 7

  “Is something wrong, sweetheart?” Patrick asked for the tenth time that day.

  “No, Patrick,” Ella said.

  “You seem aloof,” Patrick pressed on to her annoyance.

  “I’m sorry,” Ella replied. He leaned forward to kiss her again, pressing his lips to hers. Ella kissed him back a bit but for the most part, her mind was still on Liana, Lucas and Mary. Patrick’s hand trailed up her inner thigh and he pushed up her skirt, trying to revoke a reaction out of her. He kissed her neck. Ella gently pulled away.

  “Patrick, stop,” she said. “I can’t do this anymore.”

  He sat up. They were seated at the back of his car where he had parked on top of a hill so they can “watch the sunset”.

  “What have I done?” he asked. He looked like he was ready to panic.

  “Nothing. That’s the problem. You’ve done nothing.”

  Patrick only looked more confused.

  “Liana died today, six months ago,” Ella continued. Patrick’s eyes widened.

  “I didn’t-” he begun.

  “You didn’t know. I get it. That’s the problem, Patrick. You know nothing about my life except for what I did all day. Why did we start dating in the first place?”

  “Is this about Liana?” he said stupidly.

  Ella sighed, losing her patience now
. “No. It isn’t. I just need some space. So much has been happening and I need some time. Can you give me that?”

  Patrick swallowed but then he nodded. “Okay,” he said, managing a weak smile. Ella touched his cheek and leaned forward to kiss it. Then, she stepped out of the car and took the passenger seat. Patrick got behind the wheel and drove her home. They didn’t speak the rest of the ride.

  Ella hesitated as she was about to enter the library. She had seen Mary and Lucas go inside and was apprehensive of what to expect. Hiding behind the entrance door, she peered inside.

  “Spying, are we?” a voice behind her said, making her jump. She turned around to see Adam standing there, a lazy grin on his face.

  “Can you do me a favor?” she whispered.

  “Sure,” he whispered back. “Why are we whispering?”

  “Can you go get this book for me?” Ella shoved a paper with a name scribbled on it. “I don’t want to go inside.”

  “Sure. Why don’t you want to go inside?”

  “Help now, questions later.”

  Right that moment, Lucas appeared around the corner. He was alone, which was a relief for Ella. She pushed Adam ahead and retreated from the door.

  “What are you doing here?” Lucas asked Adam suspiciously.

  “Are you suggesting I can’t be seen in the library?” Adam replied, dramatically.

  “I once asked you to get me a book from the library. You asked me where the library is.”

  “Fair point,” Adam replied. “Well, I just came to get a book…”

  “For whom?”

  “Myself.”

  “You don’t read.”

  “Don’t be mean, Lucas,” Adam replied, feigning hurt.

  Ella watched as Lucas took the paper from him.

  “For Ella?” he asked, frowning.

  “No, for myself,” Adam replied unconvincingly.

  “That’s Ella’s writing.”

  “She wrote the book down for me.”

  “You don’t take astronomy,” Lucas pointed out. “This is an astronomy book.”

  “Alright, it’s for Ella,” Adam said. Ella imagined him rolling his eyes but his back was towards her. Lucas was about to reply when Mary appeared.

  “The girlfriend arrives,” Adam said sarcastically.

  “Hi, Adam,” Mary said cheerfully.

  “Hullo,” Adam replied nonchalantly. “I’ll be going now.” He walked inside the library.

  “What’s up with him?” Mary asked Lucas. Lucas shrugged.

  “Well, do you want to go back to our table?”

  “I’m sure our books are missing us terribly,” Lucas replied.

  “Books we aren’t going to be reading.”

  Mary grabbed his hand and led him back behind the shelf.

  Moments later, Adam appeared with her book.

  “Thanks,” Ella whispered. “Let’s leave now.”

  They walked down the corridor and out into the grounds before Adam spoke up again.

  “So why weren’t you going in?” he asked.

  “Oh you know…” she said, hoping he’ll drop the subject.

  “Nope, I don’t.”

  “Didn’t feel up to-”

  “And you ran away when Lucas came.”

  “I’m avoiding humans.”

  “What am I?”

  “A human.”

  “Are you avoiding Lucas?” Adam asked, amused.

  “Of course not. Why would I be avoiding Lucas?” Ella asked briskly.

  “Well, I don’t know. The possibilities are endless.”

  “I just don’t like people kissing in public which Lucas and Mary do quite a lot of.”

  “So this is about PDA?”

  “Yes.”

  Adam grinned. “If you say so.”

  They walked in silence.

  “But if there’s something you want to talk to me about,” Adam spoke up. “Just know that you can. We might be on the same page about…certain things.”

  “What certain things?” Ella asked but Adam only grinned enigmatically.

  As if the day couldn’t get any worse, Patrick appeared in front of them. He was with his friends which was a relief because Ella did not want an awkward encounter. She pulled Adam’s arm to turn him in a different direction.

  “Are we avoiding Prince Charming too now?” Adam asked.

  “He’s not Prince Charming anymore.”

  “Whoa. When did that happen?”

  “Last night.”

  Adam was quiet. “Does your sudden break up with Prince Charming have anything to do with Mary and Lucas’ sudden realization of endless love?”

  “No. That doesn’t make any sense, Adam.”

  “I suppose it doesn’t.”

  Ella was able to avoid Mary and Lucas for a good four days before encounter was inevitable. She spent most of her time with Donna and on the weekend, she went to visit her dad. When she returned to her apartment after the weekend, Mary was waiting for her. She threw her arms around Ella.

  “Whoa Mary,” Ella said as the other girl nearly crushed her with surprising strength for someone so small.

  “Lucas told me about Liana’s half year anniversary. I’m sorry, Ella. I’m a terrible friend.”

  “You’re not,” Ella insisted as Mary let her go. Mary pulled her inside and onto the living room couch.

  “How’s your dad?” she asked.

  “Well. He’s going away again.”

  Mary nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Lucas.”

  “It’s alright.”

  “No, no, it isn’t. Especially since you told me not to do anything with him if it may ruin your friendship.”

  Ella was silent.

  “I’ll make sure nothing ruins anything between the three of us.”

  Ella smiled and nodded, wanting nothing more than to lock herself up in her room and sleep. The bus ride had been exhausting.

  Instead, she asked, “How’s Luke? Are you two happy?”

  “I’m very happy,” Mary said and she looked it too. “I haven’t been this happy since… well, since a long time. It’s nice to finally meet someone real.”

  Ella nodded, trying not to feel her heart sinking. Mary was happy. Ella was supposed to be happy for her.

  “He’s happy too, I guess,” Ella found herself saying.

  “You were annoyed at Lucas a couple of days back,” Mary mused. “What was that about?”

  “He sent my painting to California Post and I was annoyed about it because he didn’t ask.”

  “Ah, I see. Can I see the painting? I’m sure it was incredible.”

  Ella walked to the pile of newspapers and pulled out the painting. It showed a drunken man sprawled across the desk of a ship. A few bottles lay at his feet and the ship was lopsided, as if one part of it had sunk. Mary appreciated the depth and clarity of the details Ella had painted.

  “It’s beautiful,” Mary said. She noticed the name written across the ship. The Chevrolet. “Oh, what a coincidence. Lucas is writing about a ship called The Chevrolet too.”

  Perhaps deep down, Mary knew it was too strange to be a coincidence but she did not want to think about it.

  And perhaps, Ella knew it too. Or maybe, she only hoped that it meant something… anything.

  It was another couple of hours before Ella ran into Lucas as she exited her class.

  “Hi,” Ella said awkwardly as she came face to face with him.

  “Nowhere to escape?” he asked, amused.

  “I’m not trying to escape.”

  “Avoiding, then?”

  “I’ve been…busy.”

  “So busy that you couldn’t tell me you were going back home? Or that you broke up with Prince Charming?”

  Ella sighed. There was no way to avoid it.

  Hours later, she and Lucas sat on the steps of the Astronomy department and night was falling around them. Most of the students had either left the campus or departed to parts of the campus that were live
lier. Lucas and Ella talked and as usual, lost track of time as they did.

  Lucas had produced two bottles of alcohol and half way through their talk, they had begun to drink. By now, they were both a little tipsy.

  “You know Luke, you should have told me about Mary,” Ella said as she took a gulp from the bottle.

  “I know,” he said as he took the bottle from her. “I should have.”

  “If you wanted to sleep with my best friend, I should have been the first one to know.”

  “I didn’t want to sleep with her.”

  Ella raised her eyebrows, unconvinced.

  “I mean, alright, that’s part of it.”

  “Are you happy with her?” Ella asked.

  “Yes,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Mary is fun and easy to be with.”

  Lucas wondered if Ella could see through the lie that he threw at her so casually. She could normally see through everything he tried to hide.

  But Ella only nodded. She watched as Lucas drank but did not touch the bottle again. She didn’t want her inhibitions to be compromised lest she end up saying something she would regret later which was strange because she had always been able to say everything to Lucas. That was before she realized her feelings for him.

  Mary was fun and easy to be with, Ella figured. Mary didn’t care much for arguments or opinions. She would hardly ever fight with Lucas. She wouldn’t be stubborn and she wouldn’t drive him crazy.

  “Well, aren’t you two cute?” a voice behind them said. Ella turned around to see Adam walking towards them.

  Lucas rolled his eyes but the comment meant more to Ella. What would she look like next to Lucas? Mary and Lucas looked just about perfect together. They were both extraordinarily good looking and flawless.

  “Come join us, Adam,” Lucas said. Adam sat next to Ella and reached over to take the bottle from Lucas. He drank deeply and the three sat in silence. Moments later, they were joined by Donna and Mary who had apparently been searching for them. Soon after, Matthew and Enid, friends of theirs, joined them too. They were passing around the bottles as the group chatted and laughed.

  “You okay, Ella?” Adam asked. Donna and Matthew were arguing heatedly; alcohol never seemed to affect either of them. Enid was playing referee. Mary’s head rested on Lucas’ shoulder.