Love and Hate

chapter 1

Chapter 1

Emily Jones could not believe her luck. This was supposed to be the day when she could finally unwind. Her college NYU had closed off for the summer vacation and she was supposed to be at a party rocking it on the dance floor. Instead she was stuck here, packing all her suit-cases because her room-mate Sonia Mendez, also the landlady, had suddenly decided to throw her out since Sonia’s boyfriend was coming  to live with her the next day and he apparently needed a separate room for his “activities”.

Emily finished her packing and sat down on the bed. Where was she supposed to go now? If Sonia had informed her earlier, she would have made a few arrangements. How selfish was Sonia to have kicked her out on such short notice? To be fair, Emily should have expected this kind of behaviour from her, considering how Sonia was a spoilt entitled bitch. She thought about the motel in Jersey. She had the cash and the motel was fairly cheap. So she guessed one night wouldn’t harm anybody. As if on cue, her cell vibrated. It was Amanda.

“Hello….” Emily answered wearily.

“Emily!!!!! Where are you?? Why aren’t you at the party yet? You were suppose to meet me an hour ago! Don’t you dare back out on me. You promised me that you would come to this party.” Amanda practically blasted Emily’s ears off. She could hear the loud music thumping in the background.

“I am sorry, Amanda but I am kinda in a fix right not. I cant come.”

“What fix? Tell me! You are not gonna skip this party. Exams are over and its time to live a little. Let loose girl!! Your internship doesn’t start for another two weeks, so have fun!

This party is bloody amazing!!!!!!!” Emily rolled her eyes. Amanda thought that about every party.

“Sonia kicked me out. So I finished packing my stuff right now and I am going to the motel in Jersey.”

“Wtf??? She kicked you out? But why?? And a motel? Are you serious dude?! No way are you gonna go into a motel. They are dangerous.” Amanda's voice clearly betrayed the calm. Not.

God, she was…she was Amanda. One couldn’t do anything about that!

“She kicked me out of the house because her boyfriend is coming to stay over and apparently he needs a separate room! So I have to move. And there is nothing wrong with a motel. Besides its just for a night. I will find a place to rent first thing in the morning. Don’t you worry about it....” Emily trailed off thinking how the hell she was going to find a place to stay in such a short time.

“Are you serious? Have you lost you mind? I think the exams have really taken a toll on you if you are having such thoughts. Besides are you sure Sonia can kick you out? I mean there are protocols to be followed, right?”

“Yes I am perfectly serious and yes, Sonia can do that. Its her house after all. Anyways you should get back to the party and I am gonna get back to things here.”

“No! You are not living in a motel. You are going to live with us for the rest of the summer. When the new term begins, you can move back into the campus. And we ain't discussing this anymore. It’s handled. You are going to live with us!! Comprehende???” Amanda said authoritatively. Emily hated it when Amanda got like this. You couldn’t do anything to convince her the other way and she would always fairly resort to emotional blackmail. Emily had no option but to accept what Amanda was suggesting or rather commanding.

“ yes....comprehende!!! but on one condition, I get to pay rent. I am not free loading off you.”

“Fine Emily! I knew you would say that. So I am coming to pick you in 10 minutes. Be ready. Please wear something nice. Your battered T-shirt and jeans won’t cut it.”

“Something nice? Hmmm…I don’t have something nice” Emily grimaced. “I have packed everything.”

“so??? Unpack it!!” Amanda’s voice rose again.” Wear that dress I got you for Christmas last year. Its perfect for a club party like this..”

“Amanda, c’mon!! I am so not wearing that! Its short and backless and I feel like I am wearing nothing when I wear that.”

”yes you are so wearing that! And its not short and its backless for a reason.” Emily could imagine her grinning."now hurry up! And try to look presentable.”

“ Yeah yeah….” Emily muttered.

 'Emily I mean it.” Amanda countered sternly.

“Fine! I got it.” Look presentable.””

The call ended. “Its gonna be a long night” Amanda said aloud to herself.

She got busy with the getting-read- to-look-presentable part because if she didn’t Amanda would do it herself and if Amanda took control of dressing her up, Emily would end up looking far more worse. Might as well get it over with.

Grudgingly she slipped into the dress. The dress was black in color with silver sequins attached to it everywhere. It ended just a few inches above her knee. She applied some kohl and put on her cherry flavored and tinted lip care. She hated lipsticks and glosses. Somehow they made her look ugly. She managed to tame her hair into a loose fish tail braid.

She replaced her sneakers with black ballet pumps; pulled on her non-descript jacket stuffing her mobile and wallet In it. She looked in the mirror only to find some stranger, with wide eyes and pouting lips, looking at her as if she was going to be massacred anytime tonight. She sighed. She looked like one of those bimbos Logan dated.

Logan…oh god she forgot! If she moved in with Amanda, she would also be sharing the apartment with Logan. Emily groaned. She would have to find some way to convince Amanda otherwise.

Sharing an apartment with Logan was not a good idea. Especially when she hated the likes of him. Logan was a downright playboy. He used girls and trashed them. He had no respect for them. Emily had learnt first hand what happens when you trust playboys and expect them to change their ways for you; making you believe they are  “deep in love” with you. She was never going to go through that again. It had taken her 3 long painful years to get over him and he had permanently colored her views about relationships.

Relationships were a waste of time and effort. There was no such thing as true love. On the other hand, lust, oh it was very real.

And right now her problem was even though she hated Logan; his touch alone sent her heart racing to the mountain tops. All she wanted was to have his hands all over her body and have her hands all over his body and do unspeakable things to each other.

Stop thinking like that. Emily chided herself. Playboys were trouble. Relationships were trouble. Love was trouble. And she was never going to get involved with any of the above three things. Period.