Chapter 2: Chapter 2

"I'm telling you it's fate. The chances of us ending up being roommates again for the third year is the power of the universe!" Tess exclaims and I laugh as we lock up and leave the room.

"Tess you're being over dramatic, again. We are roommates because we always end up picking the same room in the same dorm. It's not the power of the universe it's the power of,... Gee, I dunno, planning?"

She nudges my side and I roll my eyes at her.

"Come on, Lu. Agree with me for once. You have to have my back when I tell this to people." she says as we make our way across campus.

"You sound like a gypsy."

"I'm pretty sure those people find it offensive when we compare ourselves to them." she says, smoothening her hand over her tight, leather skirt.

I looked Tessy over. She had on a pair of black suede boots, a leather skirt and a navy blue crop top that said, "look into my eyes." But the said eyes were fixed solely on the breast area.

She was confidence in a skirt, that's for sure.

"My eyes are up here, dufus!" she yells to a guy passing by.

"That's not what it says." he says back as we walks past him.

"Guys that stay in frat houses are so irritating." she says to me and I stop to stare at the incident in front of me.

"You can say that again." I mutter and Tess follows my gaze.

The frat house in our front had a bunch of guys around a drum which I'm guessing is filled with beer.

A guy was submerged in the drum with his legs being held by others as they yelled,

"Munch! Munch! Munch!" over and over.

"Why are they yelling munch?" I ask Tess and she shakes her head saying,

"They fill the drum with beer and slices of apple. The idea is to get as much apple slices in your mouth before you get out." she says and turns to me.

"Lunar, you know who is in that drum right?" she says and I think of a way to deny.

How could I?

Of course I knew who it was.

The jeans, the sneakers, the unmistakable tattoo on his feet.

"Yup." I say just as they bring Lucas out of the drum. His mouth is filled with apple slices and he raises both hands into the air.

"Yeah! Yeah!" he yells before spitting them out. Our gazes lock and he gives his cocky smile as he walks over to me.

"Hey hot stuff." he says and spanks my ass.

He turns to Tess, "Hot stuff number 2." he says and she rolls her eyes.

"Luke, what the hell are you doing? It's 11 in the morning and you're already halfway down a beer drum." I say in a hushed whisper.

His face goes from naughty to blank.

"So?" he asks, his eyes daring me to protest.

My courage melts down to nothing and I look away.

We stand in silence and from the corner of my eyes, I can see Tess glaring at me. Her eyes willing me to speak.

"You've got something to say, Lu?" Lucas asks me and I take a deep breath to stop the fear building in me.

"It's just, you don't even stay in the frat house anymore. Why do you still hang around those guys? At this rate you'd be drunk by noon, and would have missed your classes. Look at you--"

"What about me?" he replies sharply as he comes closer, his gaze intimidating me, daring me.

I look down.

"Nothing." the whimper comes out and I hear Tess's grunt of frustration.

"That's what I thought." he says and then his hands grab my ass as he pulls me into an aggressive kiss.

"See you tonight at my place." he says and walks back to the Frat house.

"Don't say it." I mutter to Tess who raises both her hands in the air as she backs away from me.

"I don't have to. You already know." and with that, she turns and heads for her class.

I sigh as I turn away from the frat house and head for class.

***

'Miss Lexington, do you know why you're here?' Mr. Layne's voice echoes, soothing as a fountain.

I look up at him and I nod.

"Can you tell me why you're here?" he asks and I stare at my thighs, finding the right words... If any words at all.

I look up at him and open my mouth,

'Because I found my boyfriend hanging from a rope.' the words hang in my thoughts but don't escape through my lips.

Mr. Layne looks at me with an encouraging nod,

"Come on, try." he says and I blink at him. I want him to know I'm trying but all I can think of is Logan's red face, the belt squeezing his neck from pressure and I burst into tears.

Mr Layne is patient and wait for me.

"Logan." comes out my whimper as I look up at him.

"I'm here because of Logan." I say and he nods. Those were my first words in three weeks.

After the therapy session is over,  I leave and Lucas is waiting for me outside.

"How did it go? Any progress?" he asks and I smile up at him and nod.

"You spoke?" he asks as he stops and stares at me with shock.

"Yeah." I say and he pulls me into a warm hug.

"I'm proud of you, Lu." he says and I dwell in his comfort.

Sighing, I try to shake away the memory as I take my seat in the lecture hall. Lucas had always been there for me when I felt alone and guilty.

After Logan died.

Though we never spoke before then, after his dad became my therapist, he was always there for me.

It must have been difficult considering I couldn't even speak to him for some time.

Now I just want to always be there for him, stick by him the way he did with me. And at least make sure he was happy in the relationship.......that is my job.

I couldn't afford the same mistake I did with Logan.

He may be acting differently now but.... It's still Lucas. Sighing with guilt,  I grab my phone and text him.

**Me: Sorry about earlier. Want to meet for coffee?**

**Luke: Be there in an hour.**

I smile to myself and sit back with relief when Nathan enters the class.

He always sits behind at the highest seat, but this time he stops at my table.

"Lunar. Have you seen Lucas today? He's got the keys to my apartment." he says and I nod.

"Yeah, uh.....he was at the Frat house near my dorm this morning." I say and he grunts in anger.

"Thanks." he growls and I watch his eyes dart to my hand. Confused, I follow his gaze to where I'm holding my phone and it displays the text I sent to Luke.

I don't know why, but I turn my phone over in a reflex action and turn back to Nathan.

He looks at me for a while, then heads to the back.

I don't know why but his look envelopes me with shame for a minute and I chase the feeling away.

Luke was a good guy.......

So why do I feel like I'm trying to convince myself that he is?

***

The Sunnyville Cafe was the number one coffee spot for all Gregory University students and my hidden fear was that Tess would walk in and see me with Luke, especially after this morning.

Taking a deep breath, I walk in. I don't spot Lucas anywhere but I see Nathan and Rex at a table.

"Hey guys, have you seen Lucas?" I ask and while Rex nods towards the counter where Lucas is, Nathan keeps his gaze on me, looking at me like I'm nuts.

"Thanks." I say and pick the table behind them as I send Lucas a text to let him know.

I turn to where he is standing now, knowing I don't have the guts to walk up to him and say it.

The heated conversation he is having with the girl next to him sends me wave of sadness.

I can't remember the last time he stood so close to me,.....unless he was trying to prove a point.

He brings his face closer to hers, their foreheads touching as he wraps his hand around her waist.

He suddenly brings out his phone and looks at it, then turns around to look me.

I smile and wave as cheerfully as I can, but he just turns back to the girl and keeps talking like nothing happened.

I drop my hand shamefully and stare at my feet.

At least he is happy,  at least he is happy.

I tell myself over and over.

"Lucas!" Nathans deep voice drags my attention as I look up and watch him glare at Lucas.

I don't know what the look says but Luke comes over to my table anyway and sits opposite me.

"Hey." I say with a smile.

"I told you to be here in an hour."

"I'm sorry, I had to return some books at the library, and-"

He glares at me, making it clear that he wasn't interested in the explanation.

"I'm sorry." I say quietly.

"So what did you want to talk about?" he asks.

"I just... I wanted to apologize for this morning. I didn't mean to talk to you like that, I'm sorry."

"Sure." he says and gestures to a waiter, and she approaches us carrying two cups of coffee.

"You ordered coffee?" I ask and he frowns at me,

"You don't want one?"

"I.... I do."

She drops the cups, bending a little too low to give Lucas his own and she plops mine in my front, her thumb evidently inside the cup.

"Oops." she says and leaves. I stare at the cup in disgust and push it away.

"What?" Lucas asks, stating at me.

"She had her thumb in it. I can't drink that." I say and Lucas whistles loudly at her.

"Betty!" he yells and she turns around, then returns to our table.

I can't help but stare in shock. Is he about to ask for a replacement? For me?

A blush creeps to my cheeks as Betty comes over.

Lucas raises her left hand, branding the thumb that was coated in coffee foam.

"This thumb?" he asks and I nod in confusion.

To my utter dismay, Lucas raises her hand and brings the thumb to his mouth. I watch, completely embarrassed as he sucks on her thumb slowly while she giggles.

After that, he winks at her and she leaves with a coy smile.

"Problem solved." he says to me and I stare at him in disbelief.

"That was completely humiliating." I say and he gives me a straight look.

"I can't believe you some times." I say when he doesn't reply, then I get up and head for the door but he grabs my hand, squeezing tight.

"Are you just about to walk out on me?" he asks, scowling.

When I remain quiet, he grips tighter.

"Are you?!" his voice raises and I shake my head fearfully.

"No." I whimper, and he let's go, glaring at me.

"Pathetic." he says as he grabs his cellphone and leaves.

I turn away from Nathan and Rex  who have their eyes on me, just to bump into Tess.

She stares at me, observing my eyes. I try to blink back the tears but they roll down anyway and she holds me hand and leads me out of the cafe.

"You okay?" she asks and I nod, crying profusely.

"Why do you put up with him, Lu?" she asks and I try to control my sobs as I speak.

"I... I just want him to be happy."

"At the cost of your own happiness? He is manipulating you." she says and I shake my head.

"No, he is not. I know that's what it looks like but he isn't." I say and Tess stares at me in disbelief.

I wish I could make her understand. It's a tough time for him and I have to be with him through it, the way he was there for me.

"You won't understand." I say and she just sighs.

"Come on, let's go back to the room." she says and I follow her.

"You have to stop crying so you don't get a headache. I know you don't want to talk about it so I'll just let you rest tonight." she says and I shake my head.

"I can't. Lucas wants me to meet him at his place tonight."

"You're not going." Tess says, barely letting me finish the statement.

"But-"

"Lunar, you're not going!" she says, turning to glare at me and I nod.

"Okay." I agree, not bothering to argue.

Somehow I knew tonight wasn't going to end well, but I didn't want to think about that now.

***

The banging on the door makes me jerk my head up from my laptop screen and I look at Tess, fear dancing in my eyes.

Tess gets up anyway and opens the door and Lucas stands there fuming. He ignores Tess as his gaze goes directly to me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asks and I take a deep breath as I stand up.

"I didn't feel like seeing you anymore. You completely humiliated me at the cafe today." I say and his eyes spit fire.

"Let's go. Let's go now." he says and tries to reach out and grab me but Tess presses the door against his body, stopping him.

"I'm not going anywhere with you Lucas." I say, with my heart lodged somewhere in my throat and making it difficult for me to breathe.

Lucas looks at me like he can't believe it.

"I said let's go!" he says and forces his way past Tess as he heads for me.

"No, Lucas. No!" I yell with fear trying to move back but he already has a death grasp on my hair and I scream.

"Hey, let her go you bastard!" Tess yells and lurches after him.

He leaves me for an instant and pushes her with so much force she goes crashing into the shelf.

"Oh my God! Tess!" I exclaim in fear and rush to her, bringing her close to my body as I hold her, my head aching from the force Lucas had used to grab my hair.

"Are you okay?" I ask in tearsand she groans.

Before I can say anything, I feel Lucas's death grasp on my hair again and he begins dragging me,  my legs kicking.

"Let me go! Lucas, stop! let go of me! STOOOPPP!!" I scream, holding my door frame. He let's me go and I get up in tears to turn to him, to the shock in his eyes.

"Get out, Lucas! I never want to have anything to do with you! We're done! GET OUT!" I yell and he raises his brows in shock.

"Lu."

"Get out!" I yell and he leaves. As I watch his retreating body, I want to call him back but I shut the door instead and cry.