Beautiful Legend: An Angsty College Romance

by Waverly Alexander

  I grabbed her hand, pulling her away from the counter so we could whisper without being overheard by nosy Susan. “It was nothing. He’s back to being broody and ignoring me, and I don’t need someone to treat me that way. So calm down. He’s not into me.”

  “Are you joking?” Taylor whisper yelled, then settled herself to a regular whisper when I glared at her. “He’s so into you; he couldn’t be more transparent, Addison. You’re gorgeous. Men are simple creatures. It’s not that deep.”

  “Well, it’s too deep for me. I’m just trying to get through college without any complications.”

  Taylor grimaced. “Come on, Addison. Don’t kid yourself. This is different. You’ve had plenty of interest from guys before, but you never wanted any of them. The fact that you willingly followed him and kissed him? You’re not a dumb girl, and you don’t take risks—so that’s gotta mean something.”

  “I...” I tried to deflect, but Taylor cut me off before I could get another word out.

  “You know I’m right.” She backed up, checking her phone. “I’m gonna be late for class. I can’t skip because I’m running out of believable excuses. Is malaria prevalent in Maryland?”

  And with that, she was gone, leaving me with my thoughts. She did have a point. I’d had guys flirt with me before and show interest in me, but I never acted on it. Nice guys, not aggressive ones like Ash. Sweet, friendly guys like Matt. He’d tried so hard our sophomore year just to get me to go to dinner with him. I never agreed, mostly because I didn’t want to unload my baggage on him, but also because I didn’t see him as more than a friend. I didn’t want to lead him on, and then make him feel bad when I couldn’t force myself to pretend I had those feelings. I felt safe with Matt; I knew he was harmless and wouldn’t hurt me. But he didn’t make me feel anything. He didn’t make me feel comforted and at ease like everything would be okay. No one did.

  Not until Josh.

  I was leaving my last class of the day when I saw Josh sitting on the cement ledge outside of the gym. He was intently reading something on his phone, brows knitted. For a moment, I was thankful that I didn’t seem to be the only thing that displeased him. Maybe he’d seen that video? It was going viral around campus, and in every class I had today someone asked me about it. I wanted to apologize, so I decided to swallow my pride and approach him. It wasn’t technically my fault, because I didn’t ask him to jump on Ash. But I couldn’t help feeling some sort of responsibility since he was defending me, after all. I figured the video was why he was ignoring me; he didn’t seem like the type to want a lot of attention. And beating up your teammate over a girl isn’t the best way to keep a low profile.

  “Hey,” I said, squinting as I looked up at him. I could feel my confidence wavering when he didn’t speak. Instead, his green eyes raked from my neck down to my feet, making my cheeks flush. While I was glad that I had chosen to wear something other than my standard sweatshirt and jeans today, now that I was in front of him, all I wanted to do was run away and hide. His stare was intoxicating and excruciating all at the same time.

  His eyes finally made their way back up to mine. “You look nice,” he said, swallowing, and my eyes immediately went to his neck, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion.

  I couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic, but I hadn’t expected him to comment on my choice of clothing either. I smoothed my hands over the burnt orange sweater dress I wore. It had a high neck and sleeves that were a touch too long for my petite frame, but Taylor told me that it made my blue eyes pop against my dark hair. I always wore full-coverage tops because of the scars on my stomach and chest, and I was thankful that Laney had finally given up trying to convince me that crop tops were back in. In all honesty, I knew nothing about fashion. But even though Taylor was wrong about what was best for me most of the time, fashion and makeup weren’t among those things.

  “Thanks.” I blurted, wanting to fill the silence. The way he looked at me, I felt like he could read every thought I ever had about him. And the smug look on his face made me feel like he enjoyed reducing me to a nervous fangirl. “So, I just wanted to say—”

  “It won’t happen again.” He cut me off, raking a tan hand through his dark curls.

  “What?”

  “What happened between us.” He looked away from me again. “It can’t… won’t happen again.”

  “Oh.” I nodded. “Of course,” I said because it was the only response I could muster. His words hit me in the stomach like a sledgehammer. I could suddenly relate to Laney on a different level than I ever had before. I understood her seemingly irrational breakdowns. Only I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t chase after him, and I wouldn’t beg him to fall in love with me. I would just agree and let him go because that was how I handled everything in my life that caused me pain. But now I knew how she must have been crushed every time a boy she felt a spark with shot her down.

  “Don’t look at me that way,” he snapped, and I blinked hard, because who the hell did he think he was? My first instinct was to tell him I’d look at him any damn way I wanted because I was done with his bullshit.

  “Look.” I pointed my finger at him. “I didn’t come over here to be your punching bag, okay? I just wanted to apologize for that video of you and Ash going viral. I obviously didn’t…”

  “Stop. I don’t want to think about him touching you.” He glowered, his eyes never wavering from mine. The anger simmering beneath the dark green irises was striking.

  “Oh, whatever, Josh.” I shoved my sleeves up to my elbows in frustration, crossing them over my chest. He was infuriating. Why was I even wasting my time? He was definitely playing some sort of game with me, and I’d learned early in life that people couldn’t play games with you if you don’t participate. They get bored and move on to someone else. So it was time to stop playing whatever game this was.

  “Sorry about the video. I hope it didn’t cause you too much trouble. I gotta go.”

  I started to walk away, but he snatched me by the elbow, his grip gentle but firm, and pulled me to him. When I looked up, his eyes were fixed on my arm, the greenish bruises from Ash’s grip turning to a faint blue. Josh was absolutely livid, I could feel it radiating off of him.

  “Shit,” he gritted out, rubbing his thumb over the bruises as if he could somehow erase them. His hand was shaking out of what I assumed was rage, but with the way he seemed to switched up so quickly, I never knew for sure what he was thinking.

  “I’m fine.” I pulled my arm away. “Don’t worry about—”

  Josh’s fingers were cupping my chin, tipping my face up to look at him, cutting off my protests. “He won’t touch you again. Ever. You hear me?”

  I could only hope that he didn’t go and attack Ash again, but really, that wasn’t my problem if he did. So I just nodded, and my eyes fluttered shut when his thumb grazed my bottom lip. Memories of our kisses flooded my brain. I had to admit to myself that I wanted him to pull me close and kiss me again with that same desperation.

  “Go home, Addison.” And without another word, he was gone, practically stomping toward the gym. In his absence, I felt empty and lethargic. I couldn’t keep letting him do this to me.

  I headed down the walkway and cut across the grassy area that led to my designated parking lot. I just wanted to go home and take Remi for her evening walk.

  I just wanted to hold my dog and cry.

  Chapter Eight

  Taylor joined Remi and me on our walk. I’d snapped out of my little mood on the drive home. I was a semi-okay, sometimes stressed out woman before I met Josh, and I’d be just fine if I never saw him again. That said, I wasn’t delusional enough to think I could just snap my fingers and forget him. He was just one of those people that had such an energy; he would likely be with me for a long time.

  “Have you talked to Laney today?” I asked. “I heard her crying and leaving Nick some pretty crazy messages last night.”

  Taylor nodded. “She was camped out in the living room
watching a documentary on some guy who killed his neighbor over a parking space when I left for work.” She scrunched her nose up in distaste.

  I cringed. “I hate when she watches those, they’re so creepy.” I tried to keep my voice light, but the whole thing bothered me more than I was letting on. There were several crime show episodes made on the man who killed my mom and sister, but I’d never watched them. I’d heard bits of the story from foster families I’d lived with over the years. I didn’t really remember much from the attack, or even most things about my mother or sister at this point. I supposed it was probably for the best, and I was ashamed for even feeling this way, but the less I remembered, the less I could miss them.

  “Did you know she wrote letters to some of them?”

  “No!” I stopped, turning toward her, wanting to make sure I got all of the information but trying to keep any desperation out of my voice. “When?”

  “She and I took that criminology class together last year,” Taylor said, stooping down to pet Remi’s back. “We had to do a project on high profile crimes in Maryland, and you know how she is about digging up information.” Taylor stood back up, and we let Remi set the slow pace toward the boathouse.

  “Did she think they were wrongly accused or something?” I asked.

  “I think she was just intrigued, wanted more of the story.” Taylor shrugged. “She likes weird shit.” She laughed, and I managed to muster a smile, but I think she realized how unsettled her revelation made me because she added, “I doubt any of them wrote her back. She would have plastered that shit all over the fridge if they did.” This time, I did laugh with her.

  “Have you heard from Ryan since you called the police?” I asked, and Taylor shook her head, her lips pursed in thought. Today she wore a matte lip in a deep wine color that offset her hair perfectly.

  “I haven’t heard from him since Saturday. I’m really hoping he’s taking the hint,” she said as we meandered up to the boathouse, staying close to the trees. If Remi loved anything more than her rainbow-colored inchworm plush toy, it was smelling all the trees. Every single one of them.

  “I hope so.” I glanced up at the deck of the boathouse and waved to Matt. He was standing with some of the other crew team members. They wore their black windbreakers with the baby blue KU stitched above the profile of our mascot, a knight.

  We walked Remi up the stairs and onto the deck to let her rest and give her a drink. There were only a handful of people scattered around, either talking or enjoying the view of the water.

  “Hello, ladies.” Matt’s voice was mockingly charming, and I could never figure out if he was being goofy, or if he actually thought he was smooth. “You’re both looking as lovely as always.”

  Taylor took Remi’s leash while I removed the grey and navy flannel shirt from around my waist and slipped it on over my white t-shirt. The temperature felt like it was dropping since we were closer to the water, and the breeze wasn’t helping.

  “How was practice?” Taylor asked, sitting down on a bench and swinging her legs gently while I filled Remi’s collapsible bowl with bottled water from my backpack.

  “Ah, you know I had to show ‘em how it’s done.” He pretended to flex, making Taylor snort at the absurdity of his statement. “How’ve you guys been? Anything I should know after the other night?” His eyes darted to me, and I sighed. Clearly he’d seen the video of Josh and me, and I didn’t feel like rehashing that.

  “Nope. Not a thing.” I smiled, but then felt bad when he sagged his shoulders like a scolded child. “Really. Nothing’s going on. I think he just has a bad temper, and the whole situation was a fluke,” I half lied. Josh did have a short fuse, but the situation with Ash was definitely ignited by yours truly.

  Taylor coughed, and at first, I thought she was just trying to break up the tension, but then I realized it was because of the guy lounging on the wooden railing looking out at the water. He was smoking a cigarette, and the wind was wafting the smoke directly at us. He was the same dark-haired, lean guy I’d seen lurking around campus several times and also in the gym. My back instantly straightened when his dark brown eyes met mine.

  “Hey. You wanna put that out?” Matt called, but his voice wavered on the last word when the guy turned his head to look at him. “This is a designated no-smoking area.” I cringed. I loved Matt as a friend, but sometimes he gave off serious hall monitor vibes. If I saw someone hurting someone else or an animal, of course, I’d be the first one to jump in and say something. But this just seemed a little over the top, especially with someone who looked like he was ready to fight anyone who stepped out of line.

  The guy grinned, his teeth white, and his expression shitty. “Eh… You wanna fuck off or somethin’?” His accent was thick and unmistakably of the southern variety. He was long, lean, and looked as though he still had a deep tan from the summer, and sported a closely cropped jet black beard. The whole effect was rough and edgy, nothing like the preppy boys we usually encountered around Kensington.

  Surprisingly, Taylor began laughing at his cynical response, which caused Matt to give her the most incredulous look. The stranger exhaled another cloud of smoke directly toward Matt, then adjusted the bill of his black and white baseball hat before sizing up Taylor. He gave her an exaggerated once over, and his eyes traveled from her white trainers to the gold studs lining her black leggings. He continued his slow perusal up her torso and chest before his gaze finally settled on her face. “Somethin’ funny, sunshine?”

  I braced for Taylor to give him a verbal lashing, but it never came. I had no response either, his presence and the nagging feeling that he’d been watching me stole any words I might’ve been able to form.

  “Hey, watch it…” Matt started but closed his mouth quickly when the guy swung his legs over the ledge, letting them dangle as he squinted at Matt.

  “You’ve been here five minutes, and I’ve already heard enough outta you.” He turned his attention back to Taylor. “Let the lady speak.”

  Taylor shifted closer to me before saying, “Your accent.” She shook her head, and I knew her well enough to know she was trying to sort out scrambled thoughts. “I wasn’t expecting you to sound like that. Most of the guys who go to school here…” I wasn’t sure where she was going with that thought, but I was glad when the guy cut her off. I didn’t think that pointing out the fact that he didn’t look like he fit in here was great for any of us—especially Matt, who still appeared to be in hall monitor mode.

  “I don’t go to school here.” He waved his hand to indicate that college was beneath him before rubbing his cigarette out on the wooden ledge where he sat. My heart hammered against my ribcage. This was a hole in the wall, college town. If you weren’t born and raised here, and with that accent, he clearly wasn’t, Kensington was really the only other reason to be here.

  My eyes darted to Matt, unsure if he was going to comment, but he only grimaced and bit his lip, probably to keep from starting an argument again. I silently willed him to stay quiet.

  The guy hopped to his feet and rubbed his palms together in a practiced way that made me think it was probably a nervous tick of his. He had on black track pants with a couple of stripes down the side and a plain black hooded sweatshirt that fit his lean frame. “I’m here on business.”

  Matt made a snorting noise and mumbled under his breath. I was fairly sure I caught the words “drug dealer” and criminal”, but Matt quickly sobered his expression when our new friend gave him a warning look. Normally, I would have avoided a conversation with this guy, but I wasn’t about to leave Taylor alone with him, and she seemed interested in what he had to say.

  “What the hell?” A male voice interrupted the moment, and my heart felt like it plummeted to the depths of my stomach. All I wanted was to get through until graduation without any trouble, but it seemed that trouble had found us today.

  “Ryan,” Taylor hissed his name as he made his way up the other side of the deck, hands on his hips, looking ev
ery bit like the petulant fraternity brother I’d heard he was.

  “You can’t answer my calls, but I find you out here with—what is this, some kind of double date?” His alabaster skin flushed pink with anger. He wore a navy and white gingham button-down that was clearly ironed and starched by his mother. I snickered, causing his glare to land on me, and I couldn’t help letting my eyes flash to those pleated khaki pants he probably thought were trendy.

  “She’s already told you to leave her alone,” Matt said, moving to stand in front of Taylor and me. He really was such a good guy, and we loved him for that. He was evenly matched with Ryan, and though neither of them stood a chance in a brawl with someone like Josh, they could probably hurt each other significantly.

  Taylor huffed, “I’ve blocked you on every number you text me from, and I’ve already called the Sheriff's office. What else do I need to do for you to get the hint?” There was no bite in her tone, which told me that he was really starting to get to her.

  I’d been in enough viral videos for the week, so I tried to diffuse the situation. “Ryan, Taylor and I were just out walking Remi. We just met…” The dark-haired man hadn’t told us his name yet, so I looked over at him expectantly. He was grinning, sizing Ryan up like a caged cheetah who’d just picked out his new chew toy might.

  The guy didn’t fill in his name, and I’m not entirely sure why I expected him to. He glanced at Taylor and then at me before he turned his attention back to Ryan. “They don’t owe you an explanation. Fuck outta here.” He lit another cigarette, and I wasn’t sure if he was truly craving the nicotine or if he just knew it made him look more intimidating.

  “I’ll talk to my girl whenever I want, asshole,” Ryan spat while grabbing at Taylor’s hand. He wasn’t able to get a good grip because of Remi’s leash. Remi started to growl, low and warning. I snatched the leash from Taylor, unwilling to let Remi get in trouble because Ryan was being an ass.