Chasing The Sun

chapter 7

"Have you been cheating on me, Nova?" Ethan asked over the phone Monday night. I sighed and began massaging my temple with my one free hand. I had been in college for almost three months and had hardly spoken to Ethan. Ignoring his messages had started to become easier and easier. "I am your boyfriend. You need to make time for me."

"No, Ethan. You know I'm writing tests all of next week. I haven't been doing anything other than studying." This was a lie. Although I had been studying, I had also been spending almost every second of my free time with Charlie, Aspen, Damien and Cameron. 

Truth be told, I had completely forgotten that I had a boyfriend. It was something that I chose to ignore. It was easier to pretend that Ethan didn't exist. I was happier that way. When I was around Ethan, I had to be someone that I wasn't. The perfect girlfriend. He had an image to uphold, and if I did anything to tarnish that image, I would be in big trouble. It was so much simpler with my new friends. I could be myself, without any fear of judgement. They accepted me for who I was. 

"I don't know why you bother with this nonsense. I am more than capable of providing for you. You don't need to study."

I rolled my eyes, "I want to study though. I shouldn't have to rely on you my whole life!" 

Silence. That's all there was on the other side of the phone. I had never raised my voice at Ethan ever before in my life and even I was shocked at myself. If my father had heard me talking to Ethan like that he would've had a heart attack. 

"Ethan, I'm so -," he cut me off before I could get my false apology out. 

"Since you don't want to rely on me your whole life then I guess I should stop sending you money every week. Maybe you should learn what your life would be like without my financial support." With that, he dropped the call. 

I stood there, staring at my phone in shock. A million and one thoughts running through my head. I had enough money saved up to last just until Christmas break. What would happen after that? I couldn't ask my father for any money, he was already struggling to pay for my education. I could not believe what I had just done. Furthermore, I couldn't believe Ethan. He had never one to be petty and vindictive. He knew I needed to eat every day. What was going on with him? 

"Boyfriend drama?" I had been so distracted that I hadn't even seen Aspen staring at me. 

My eyes met hers, "Yeah. Did you hear all that?" She nodded her head. I sighed once more. What was I going to do?

"Don't worry about him, girl. You don't need him or his money. I'm sure you can get a job at once of the coffee shops around campus." 

Aspen was right. I didn't need him. It wouldn't be long before my father heard about this though, and I can only imagine how he would react. I didn't have to wonder because with in seconds, my father called, yelling at me. I tried to get a word in but he wouldn't let me. He demanded that I apologise to Ethan at once or I would have to come home. Once he put down, I quickly sent Ethan a weak 'I'm sorry' text. 

"Why don't you come and help me with psych? I'm like one hundred percent sure that I'm going to fail." I laughed lightly at Aspen weak attempt at trying to make feel better and made my way over to her desk, helping her go over the notes that she had made. 

We spent the rest of the night like that. 

-- 

Halloween was tomorrow night and we were sitting at our favourite pizza spot arguing about what we were gonna dress up as. Apparently it was tradition for Cameron to throw a Halloween party and this year wouldn't be any different. I hadn't wanted to go, considering that we were writing tests all of next week, but Aspen had convinced me to go. I couldn't afford to be having fun. The only way my father would allow me to stay in college was if I was able to uphold my good grades. I had to make my family proud. I couldn't waste my father's money. 

"I'm gonna be a slutty kitten," Aspen grinned. 

"You're a slutty kitten every year," Cameron said. 

"Yeah, but it's only because I look so hot like that."

"I think that Nova and I should go as Flaca and Maritza from Orange Is The New Black," Charlie said, smiling over at me. I smiled back. I was a lot more confident around her. Nothing had come of our flirting. It was harmless, and I really enjoyed it. 

"I agree!" I exclaimed, maybe a little bit too excitedly. Aspen shot me a funny look and my smile dropped immediately. She had been doing it a lot recently, but nobody else had seemed to notice it. I made a mental note to ask her what that was about when we were alone. 

Damien hadn't spoken at all yet, which was very strange for him. I looked at him and saw that he was on his phone, typing away. "Does someone have a special someone?" I asked. 

Damien looked at me and his face turned bright red. Everyone at the table opened their mouths in shock and began asking questions. 

"Who is he?"

"Where does he go to school?"

"Is he hot?" 

"I'll kill him if he hurts you!"

"Does he have a brother?"

Of course the last question came from Aspen. Everyone looked at her and burst out laughing.

"His name is Malik. He doesn't go to college, he's a working man," Damien smirked. "He's hotter than hot, and no, he doesn't have a brother that is old enough for you," he said to Aspen. She groaned and rolled her eyes. 

"Okay well why haven't we met this mystery man?" Charlie asked. 

"You will. Tomorrow at the party," Damien said. Everyone immediately had something to say, but he quickly cut us all off. "Please do not embarrass me. None of you are allowed to ask him any questions. It's still new. Please, I am begging you guys."

"Fine," Aspen rolled her eyes. 

"But he better not hurt you, I'll kill him," Cameron added in. Cameron was incredibly protective of the group, that was one thing I had noticed about him. He never allowed people to make his friends upset. Although I wasn't the closest to him, I had a huge amount of respect for him. 

He was never really around us, but he still made time for us. I noticed that he preferred to hang out with Alex and Marcus, which was understandable. They were the party boys. 

I felt Charlie shift closer to me and calmly place her hand of my leg. My breath got caught in my throat and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. I quickly looked down so that nobody would notice. Regaining my composure

We all finished up our food and finalised our costume ideas and then went our separate ways. While we were walking back to our dorm room, I decided to ask Aspen if there was something wrong. 

"Can I ask you something?" I asked. She looked at me and stuck her hands in her pockets, nodding gently. "I've noticed that you shoot me these weird looks every now and then? I just wanted to know if I was just imagining things or if there was actually something wrong?"

"I've actually been meaning to speak to you about it." We stopped walking. "Charlie's been through a lot, you know? I just worry that you might be leading her on. Like you have a boyfriend and everything, but it's hard to ignore the fact that Charlie feels something for you. I don't want her to get hurt, Nova."

This was news to my ears. Charlie felt something to me? It took me a few seconds to gather my thoughts before I was able to respond to her. "I don't mean any harm to Charlie, Aspen." It was a weak response, but quite honestly, I was taken aback by what she had said. I was at a loss for words. The fact that I could even form a response was shocking to me.

She smiled softly, "I know that, Nova. I just worry that's all. Just don't be in denial about the whole thing."

We began walking again, silent the whole time. My mind was going crazy. I thought whatever had been going on between had been harmless, but maybe there was something more. Denial. That's the word that Aspen had used. Was I in denial? I didn't know what to make of the feelings I had for Charlie and it wasn't something that I wanted to deal with. Yes, I liked her. Maybe as more than a friend, but my family would never accept. How would that look for Ethan and his family. Whatever I felt for Charlie had to come to an end. The shame I would bring my family wasn't worth it. 

Or was it?