“I can’t do a relationship Stone, it’s not something I’m capable of” her eyes start to wander anywhere but my direction. “Alright no labels, that’s fine. But Seven I meant it when I said I was going to be there. There is no one else but you now.”
Shaking her head she turns to walk into her building. “I’m going to call you tomorrow” I yell out the truck. “You better not stalk me” she smiles. Too late for that little one, I am pretty much certifiable crazy in love with her now.
I was too wound up after this evening to go home, so I found myself sitting in front of the gym. Picking up my cell I call Hunter to come be my sparring partner tonight, lord knows he needs a good ass kicking every once in a while. It was pretty quiet in here for a Sunday night, not like it was normally slammed but only a couple people were working in the cage this evening.
Opening my locker I find a spare change of clothes and drop my drawers to put them on. Walking over to the cage I notice Jason sitting behind his desk in the office. Tossing the role of tape at his head he ducks in the nick of time. “What the hell Stone, want me to kick your ass tonight” Jason barks from behind the desk. I walk over and take a seat across from him, holding my hands out for him to tape. “No dickwad, I’m going to put Hunter through his paces tonight” I smile. Jason just shakes his head and begins to work the tape around my hands.
“My money going to be a problem tomorrow?”
“Nah man, I know the guy. He’s good for the cash, just a douche to deal with” as I flex my hands to break in the tape. Smiling I stand up to hit the cage. “You got some didn’t you?” I can’t help but smirk as I turn back to Jason and flip him the bird. “It was the red head wasn’t it” he laughs. I say nothing as I bound up the steps, Hunter better hurry it up, I doubt these losers in the cage right now can hang in a couple rounds with me tonight.
Waking up the next morning I was sore and stiff, and I don’t think it was from working the cage last night either.
*Stone* Good morning beautiful
I punch out on my phone to send to Seven. I know she has several classes today but maybe we can meet for lunch. I’ve only got the one class but I still need to head over to the house and pick up the cash from Preston. Throwing on a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt I wander in to the bathroom to finish putting myself together. I hear the beep of my phone while brushing my teeth and run to my bedroom to grab it.
*Seven* You sure know how to make a girl smile, I bet that’s how you reeled them all in huh?
*Stone* Just the important ones babe, I believe there is a grand total of one in that category.
Tossing my phone back on the bed I head back to the bathroom to finish with my oral care. I’ve got to work on her confidence, she is the only one for me and there has got to be a way to prove it somehow.
Getting out of my only class for the day I wander over to the frat house, hoping to catch Mr. President before he left for the afternoon. Opening the front door I notice the place is still trashed from a mixer they had this last weekend. Kicking a red cup out of my way I head up the stairs to knock on Preston’s door.
“Open up its Stone” I lean against the door jam. A few seconds of silence comes before I turn the knob and walk in. The stupid idiot is naked ass up in bed, looking like death warmed over. Kicking the side of the bed I try and nudge him awake. Shit, this fucker is out cold as I smack his arm. There wasn’t even a grunt as my hand made contact, and that shit stung me when it connected. Shaking my head I grab his shoulders to get him up, only then seeing the puddle of vomit his face was laying in. “Oh shit balls” I say in shock.
Rolling his body over I can tell he is still breathing thank god but not responsive. Grabbing my phone I dial 911, trying not to panic as it is taking forever to connect. “I need an ambulance to the Kappa Tau house on the WSU campus.” Running out the room I start banging on a couple doors down the hall hoping there is someone else left in the house this morning.
“Sir I need some information from you” The dispatch person says. “I don’t know what happened; I just came over here to see about some shit and the president of our fraternity is fucking naked face down in his own puke” I ramble into the phone. “Is he responsive?”
“Fuck no, this is why I called you, are you sending someone?” wandering down the stairs desperate to find anyone in this house. “Sir I’ve already notified campus police and a medical team is on their way.”
“Good” I say slamming the phone down on the kitchen counter. Running to the front door I decide to leave it open and then take the stairs two at a time quickly getting back to Preston. “Fuck man” as I run my hands through my hair, this isn’t how this morning was to go. “Hey dude what’s going on” I hear from the hallway. Glancing around the door frame Travis’s face drops when he sees Preston laying on the bed. “Oh shit what happened Stone” his face looking as white as a ghost. “Fuck man I don’t know, I came over here to talk to him and found him like this” as I pace around the floor. “Campus PD” we hear coming from downstairs. “Go man, get them up here” I wave Travis out of the room.
Grabbing a blanket I toss it over the naked Preston, at least let the dumbass have some dignity when the medics get here. Quickly the police come bursting into the room and take control of the situation. I step to the back of the room, waiting quietly as they do their thing. Closing my eyes I can only hope this fucking idiot isn’t dead as I slide my body down the wall.
The medics arrived couple minutes later and quickly load him out as I’m still frozen sitting on the floor. “Son we are going to need to take a statement of what happened” a cop standing over me says. Nodding my head I stand to walk with him out of the room, my fucking day was completely tanked now.
Seven
I texted Stone several times this afternoon, not once hearing back from him. Glancing at the clock it was already eight this evening and I was beginning to feel like a caged lion. “Alright let’s go do something” Tammy says as she throws her magazine on the floor. Bending over to pick it up I scowl at her. “Seriously you need to get out of here; I seem to recall telling you that my brother was a piece of shit so no moping about it.”
Tossing the Cosmo on the desk I walk over to the closet and search for some gym gear. “That a girl, let’s go get our drink on” Tammy grins while grabbing her purse. I finally find my shoes and turn to smile at Tammy. “Ugh really, I was kind of hoping to get shitty and not sweaty” she drops her purse to the ground. Laughing I pull out a change of clothes and start to get dressed. A distraction is exactly what I need tonight, and putting a good couple miles on the treadmill sounds like a winning option. “Well it does take a lot to stay this hot” Tammy giggles are she searches for a pair of shoes.
The mind numbing of the treadmill is exactly what I needed, as I crank up the speed to push myself that last mile. “Seriously girl I’ve only gone like 2 miles and you’re now on four! My shapely behind is going to go do some weights, at least I can sit while doing that” Tammy says while powering down the machine. “What” I say while pulling out one of my ear buds. “I’m done! My ass is finding a bench and parking it” she says while walking off. Giving her a slight wave I pop the ear bud back in and let the voices from the Eagles thrust me further.
Keeping my eyes trained forward so I don’t face plant I notice out of my peripheral vision someone else set up next to me. Not thinking much of it I pound out the last mile till I am out of breath and completely drenched in sweat. Hitting the cool down button I yank the music from my ears and reach for my towel to wipe the sweat dripping from my face. “That’s a hot look for you half-pint” Trent says with an evil grin. Had I still been running, I’m sure there would have been a YouTube video of me falling off this damn machine when I heard his voice.
I knew it was him instantly and didn’t have to look his way to confirm the dread in my now worn down body. Quickly I smack the power button and seize my water bottle from the holder. Keeping my head ducked I climbed off and head to the women’
s changing room knowing he can’t follow me in there.
Calm down Seven you knew he was on this campus and were bound to run into him again, as I tried to talk myself out of major panic attack. Grabbing my phone I quickly send another message to Stone. “Please answer” I mumble nervously. Bouncing my legs up and down on the bench I decide to text Tammy and ask her to meet me in the locker room. Strength in numbers even if she has no clue what I need her for, as I send out a quick text. Walking over to the sink I splash some cool water on my face, letting it slowly drip down as I grip either side of the sink. I can handle this I think while staring at myself; I’m a stronger person now and there is no way I’m going to let this jerk make my life living hell again.
Taking a deep breath in I reach for a paper towel to dry my face when my saving grace of a roommate walks in. “I thought you were going to run forever” she says exaggerating the forever part. “Na, I just needed to blow off some steam” I shrug. “Still no word” a frown comes across her face. “Nope, but it’s not like we are exclusive” Grabbing my bag I toss it over my shoulder. Linking arms with me, Tammy smiles “I think this calls for ice-cream!”
“Wait we just ran so we can put it back on?”
“Well duh, and ice-cream doesn’t count. It’s like totally fat free” we walk out the door. Giving her arm a squeeze I don’t think she realizes how important she is to me; she made me laugh when I needed it and gave me support to help me deal with life. Yep this girl was my best friend, now if only I could make it work with my, well I won’t define my relationship, boyfriend.
Glancing around the open gym I sigh as Trent is nowhere to be seen. Maybe the gods are finally bestowing some good luck in my direction today. “So I’m dying for a double scoop of cookie dough” Tammy says while pulling me out the door. “Oh half-pint, please introduce me to this beautiful creature you are with tonight” comes the snake of a voice leaning against the outside wall. “I’m Tammy” she turns immediately to the sound of a male voice, batting her eyelashes and extending her hand to him. “Sorry we’ve got to go” I pull on her other arm; the last thing she needs is to get wrapped up in a slime ball like Trent.
“Um rude much Seven” Tammy scowls as she rips her arm out of my grasp. Looking back at the monster he has a sickening smile on his face, he knew I was trapped and he’s enjoying it. “You know Seven?” Tammy asks innocently. No shit Sherlock of course he knows me. This man was with me prom night, he was best friends with Anderson. He has made my life living hell since that night and to think I could get away from him was obviously a joke. “Seven and I go way back, we were close in high school” his black eyes staring straight through mine. “Really” She never mentioned you but then come to think about it she never really talks about anyone” Tammy says cocking her head to the side.
What I wouldn’t give to smack her up side that damn blonde head of hers right now. “We really should go” I plead with Tammy. “Oh yeah the ice-cream! Care to join us um…….I never got your name?”
“It’s Trent beautiful, and I would love to get ice-cream with you two” the sick bastard smiles. “Seven wait” Tammy yells as I start walking to the parking lot. I need space to breathe, I’m starting to panic and I refuse to let this jerk see it. “Seriously Seven there is no need to walk that fast, the place doesn’t close for like another hour or so” she yells at me. I can hear Trent laugh behind me, that spineless jellyfish knows exactly why I’m booking it to my car.
Hitting the unlock button I climb in the driver’s side, tightly gripping the steering wheel to keep my hands from throttling my roommate. I can see Tammy and Trent exchange numbers in their phones and she then opens the passenger door. “Um rude much chicka?”Blowing out a deep breath I close my eyes. “Trent and I don’t exactly get along anymore” I say through clenched teeth. “Oh shit Seven, you should have said something!”
“I kind of thought the way I was acting would have clued you in” I slammed the key into the ignition. “You know I’ve got blinders on when it comes to guys” she laughs nervously while putting on her seatbelt. “Anyways he said he would catch us later, I’m totally sure he is blowing us off” as she gives a little frown. She doesn’t know Trent like I do; this man wouldn’t blow us off. He was going to ruin my life and share all the fricken secrets I’ve been trying to hide and throw them out in the open. Pretty sure the gods just sent me a sign that my life officially blows.
Chapter 8
Stone
After talking with the cops Travis and I head over to the hospital to see how Preston is doing. Pulling into the parking lot I reach down to grab my phone only to realize it isn’t there. “Fuck” I grumble, trying to remember where I set it down. “What’s your deal man?”
“I forgot my phone at the house somewhere” as I turn off Ol’ Red and shut the door. Walking over to the entrance Travis holds his phone out to me. Shaking my head “thanks man, but I don’t have her number memorized.”
“You actually call them back now” he laughs. Rolling my eyes I let the automatic doors open before I push him to the side. Seven isn’t just a girl; she is the woman I am going to spend my life with.
After speaking with lady at the reception area we were told the family was in the private waiting room. Hospitals still give me the creeps since mom died; we spent so much time here the last few weeks of her life that I never really wanted to come back. I push Travis to open the door and go in first, something just didn’t feel right. Gently knocking Travis turns the knob and sticks his head in the door.
“Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael” as he steps in, holding the door open for me. The air in the room is heavy with sorrow making it very uncomfortable to be in. “Boys come in” a shattered voice comes from a chair. I noticed Preston’s mom huddled over someone quietly crying; shit man this doesn’t look good. Travis nudges me as we both freeze in the middle of the room. “Thanks son for getting him here, I’m glad…..” Mr. Carmichael’s voice cracks and tears spill down his cheeks. Shit man; I rub my hands, I know what’s coming next. Wiping his eyes Preston’s dad walks over to us and places his hand on my shoulder.
“Sorry guys but we lost Preston today.” I really never liked the douche but dying wasn’t something I wished on anyone’s worst enemy. “We’re really sorry” Travis mumbles out, while I can’t seem to take my eyes off his mom in the chair. “Thanks gentlemen, can you do me a favor and let the others know?”
Yeah, sure Mr. Carmichael” I say while nodding my head. Preston’s dad offers a weak smile as he wanders back to speak with a guy standing in the corner of the room. “Do we leave now” whispers Travis. I slowly nod my head; I don’t think we need to stay anymore. Quietly we exit the room and walk quickly outside. Leaning both hands on my knees I take a deep breath of fresh air, thank god I’m out of there. Patting my back Travis offers me a smile; they were all there with me last year when mom passed, being back here stirs up some memories I don’t want to rehash. “Well I guess we better go do this” I look out at the parking lot. Today officially sucked and I don’t see it getting any easier anytime soon.
After letting the housemates know and dealing with some chapter stuff, several of the guys decide we need to get a drink. Heading downtown we hit up a small corner bar that wouldn’t be too busy on a Monday night. Sitting in the corner booth at the front of the bar, we all took several shots to try and relax from the hellish day we encountered. As the other brothers talked about what was going to happen I couldn’t help but wonder what I was going to do with Jason and his cash. I still had yet to find my phone and I’m betting it was full from texts and voicemails from him.
Shaking my head I tip the beer in my hand back and stare out the window. I notice two girls and a guy sitting across the street down by the ice-cream shop, squinting my eyes I lean closer into the window to get a better look., Holy shit it is Seven and my sister, but who is that guy with them? Tossing the rest of my beer back I throw some cash on the table and stand up to leave. “You taking off bro?”
&nb
sp; “Yeah my sister and Seven are down the street.”
“Oh shit your sister, tell her to call me” Hunter says in a drunken haze. Flipping him the bird
I exit the bar and start to head down to the ice cream shop. I can see Tammy talking all animated with her hands, but Seven looks uncomfortable sitting there. Picking up the pace I jog across the street, anxious to get to her. “Seven” I yell out when I’m closer. The look of shock and almost panic shows on her face when she sees me, yeah something isn’t right.
“Hey babe sorry I’ve been MIA today” I lean down and kiss her cheek. Seven forces a weak smile and nods her head. “This day just keeps getting better” the guy across the small round table says. “Hi I’m Stone” I stick my hand out to greet him. “Trent” as he takes my hand and gives it a shake. “Hello brother” as Tammy rolls her eyes at me. Pulling up a chair next to Seven I reach out and try to take her hand. She quickly pulls away and locks her eyes on the ground. “So Stone, how long have you been dating Seven” Trent says with a smile that borders on the creepy side. “Were not dating” Seven quickly pipes up. “Yeah we are just friends” I shrug noticing the tension in Seven’s body. Trent just laughs and goes back to starring at Seven.
“So how do you know Seven?”
“They went to school together” Tammy throws out there while scooping a large bite of ice-cream into her mouth. “Yeah Seven and I have a special history, I was best friends with Anderson” still sitting there all smug like. I notice Seven is no longer breathing, reaching over I pat her leg.
Life Altering Beautiful Page 10
