Hearts We Mend To Break (Book I)

.73.

💫GISELLE💫

After putting together a successful toy drive for the holiday season, I felt complete for the day. The only thing that bothered me was that I had to hide the entire thing from Angel, due to the fact that Roman was assigned to partner with me on the project. Roman and I hadn't spoken more than Hi's and Bye's since he and Angel's altercation, but we seemed to have put all of the personal issues aside for this big day.

Sitting in the storage room, organizing the toys by age group, was the first time that I'd gotten a chance to be alone with my thoughts, so thinking and beating myself up inside was all I did. That was until I was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey there superstar!" Vanessa greeted me, hugging me almost immediately.

"Hey V. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Oh yeah. A friend of mine is in the fraternity and invited me to come through. You all put together something really special."

"Thank you." I smiled, feeling proud of my small accomplishment. "Roman and I worked hard to make sure this was a success. There are two shelters nearby and we are donating the toys to them for Christmas. Roman even went by and setup a ten-foot Christmas tree at both facilities."

The way her eyes lit up, like I'd bitten the bait she had dangling on a hook, should have signaled me to shut the hell up and move along, but I didn't. I stayed cornered in her trap, unbeknownst to her true intensions.

"So, you two are back cool?"

"Not really. We're just doing this for the kids. Me for the sorority. Him for the fraternity. I hadn't told Angel yet. I think he'll flip out and I need this."

"Why?"

"This is all a part of my grand scheme. I want to be someone great. Someone special. And I want to do extraordinary things. I've planned out my entire future. This sorority is apart of me earning a higher rank in life. Having sisterhood, support, notoriety. It's all a part of my future."

"Nice. I wish I had my future planned out like that."

"So do it! You're beautiful. You're smart. You have the best energy I've ever witnessed. You can do amazing things, V."

"Thanks, Sunshine. I'll take that into consideration."

I giggled, knowing she would never take the kind of action that was needed, and no longer willing to waste my breath or compliments. So, I turned my back to her and finished organizing the toys. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her place my phone down on the table and walk out of the storage room. Completely unsure of what she had it for in the first place, I picked it up and went through the recent apps. My messages app was the first one on the list, but there were no recent messages received or sent. I placed the phone in my pocket and finished working, making a mental note that the bitch that was once cool, was quickly becoming one I needed to keep an eye on.

"What's wrong, Giselle?" One of my sorority sisters, Ashton, was helping me lock up. She must've noticed my mood change.

"Nothing. I'm a little tired. That's all.

"Seriously?"

"What?" I laughed.

"I've been around you every day this week. You're always so bubbly and happy and sweet. Something's wrong."

"Not really 'wrong'. I'm just thinking about something."

"Need any help? Is it Roman?"

"God, no." I frowned. "I am dating this guy who was fooling around with a friend of ours for a while. Well, now that we're borderline exclusive, I feel like she's going to be a problem."