Mistakes : A College Bully Romance

texting my parents to see which one of them could pick me up, she added, “Uh, can you…I have to change. Normally you’re asleep when I do it.”
“Right, sorry,” I said, laying back down and giving her my back.
It was official. I was going home tonight. Mom was going to pick me up after she got off at three. She’d be here around three-thirty, and then we’d be back at home at four, missing the rush hour traffic. Perfect.
All throughout the day, I tried to focus on my classes, on the fact that I was going home later. Anytime my thoughts wandered to Levi, I immediately thought of something else. Like elephants, or rhinos, or even those adorable little foxes. I loved those videos you saw online with foxes. Never wanted one as a pet, but they were freaking cute.
Cute. You know who wasn’t cute? Levi. Because he was the sexiest man I’d ever seen.
Wait, no. I wasn’t supposed to think about him. I was supposed to think of other things, pretend he didn’t even go here. Right.
Harder than it sounded, and it sounded pretty damn hard.
Ugh. My first year at SCC couldn’t be a simple one, could it? It couldn’t be easy. Of course I had to go and fall for some stupid guy. Like, come on, Kelsey. Shape up. You’re better than this, you know better than to fall for any guy, no matter how attractive his face is.
Giving myself pep talks throughout the day didn’t help.
Well, at this rate, I was royally fucked.

Chapter Ten – Kelsey
Mom picked me up right at three-thirty. Her black hair was pulled back, perfectly blended eyeshadow around her green eyes, making their hue pop. She wore khakis and a nice blouse, whatever nice clothes she had to wear for her day job in the office.
“Hey, honey,” she said, giving me a warm smile as I got in the car with nothing but a backpack. “I’m surprised you want to come home so soon. I thought you’d be running wild.” She was joking, mostly.
I shrugged, reaching to put my seatbelt on. “It’s hard to run wild when my best friend is hours away.” As much as I loved Mel, she just wasn’t the same as Ash.
The drive passed quickly. Mom asked me how my classes were, even though I’d already told her. I made sure to do my once a week call to them. It was a lot of regurgitating the same information, and I knew I’d have to spit the same shit out when Dad asked.
Soon enough the streets turned familiar, and I heaved a sigh as Mom pulled us into our driveway. I leaped out of the car, wanting to bend down and kiss the gravel, hug the siding on the house that I missed dearly.
No one told you how growing up made you so nostalgic.
Dad wasn’t home yet, so while Mom started dinner, I made my way into my bedroom, collapsing on my familiar bed, breathing in the smell of my old, well-worn sheets. They were dark blue and black, and the comforter held a sea of starry constellations. I’d had the same bedding since I was twelve, but growing up with a family who was always tight on money made me have the mindset that it was just plain stupid to throw away what wasn’t falling apart. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, and all that shit.
I rolled onto my back, feeling comfortable here. My entire childhood was spent in this house. I loved it, even if it held memories of being strapped for cash.
My mind then wandered to the one person it shouldn’t, the one man who was the whole reason I’d come home this weekend to avoid. Levi. What was his home life like? Did he come from a more well-off family? Did he have money? Was he middle class? Any siblings?
Ugh. Stupid questions I shouldn’t think. I’d never get answers to them. Me and Levi, I meant it when I thought we were two colliding, unyielding and unbreakable forces. People like us shouldn’t be together. I didn’t want to be together.
Yeah, that’s right. I didn’t want to be with him. I might want his dick, but I didn’t want his stupid self.
It was a long while until my dad came home, and he immediately came into my room, gingerly sitting on the edge of my bed, setting a warm, comforting hand on my arm. “Hey there, kiddo. I was surprised when you texted earlier. Miss this place that much, huh?” He wore a bit of stubble now, its brown speckled with grey.
I sat up, hugging him. “I missed you guys,” I whispered, letting him go almost instantly.
That was strange. I wasn’t a hugger. SCC was doing weird things to me.
“Hmm,” Dad spoke, giving me a small smile. “I think you miss Ash, not us, but I’ll take as many hugs as you’ll give. You were never really a hugger growing up.” His shoulders shook with a chuckle, and it was then I realized that my dad looked a bit too skinny. Bags hung under his eyes, and he seemed…unwell in general.
“You okay?” I asked.
The smile his face wore fell, and he got up, moving to leave. “Yeah, I’m fine. Your mother said dinner will be ready in ten minutes.” He tossed me one more look before heading down the hall, leaving me alone.
I checked my phone, finding that I had no messages. Ash was busy dealing with her shit, and I had a sinking feeling in my gut that I was about to deal with my own shit. Sliding off my bed, I kicked off my shoes and went barefoot down the hall, as quiet as I could be.
My parents were in the kitchen, but they weren’t talking to each other. Just the way they