Invisible

Chapter 1

It was a rainy day on the Bringston campus. Thea Mays rushed into her dormitory as a handsome dark-skinned guy entering the building held the door for her after seeing that her hands were full. "Thanks" she mumbled as she closed her umbrella and stomp the mud off her Juicy Coutoure rain boots. 

"No problem, Babygirl." He muttered, eyeing her with interest. Thea smiled politely and pretended to be preoccupied with shaking the rain from her books as she awkwardly repositioning her gym bag on her shoulder. She felt a sense of relief when she glanced up to see the gentlemen move on. He probably sensed her disinterest and proceeded to link up with his friends over by the pool table.

She scanned the open concept of the rest of the room to see who else was there. Not that she spent a lot of time socializing. She was more of an observer of the scene. She immediately recognized the lean silhouette of Keisha McCalla, a cinnamon skin beauty with long box braids and a nose ring that Thea always thought competed with her baby face features. Keisha was the residence advisor. She was sitting on the arm of the sofa talking to other residences. One thin and petite with long relaxed hair and another with and mid-cut shirt that showcased abs and an afro puff on her head. Thea made a beeline to her room still overhearing their conversation. 

"We pay too much damn money on room and board to not have hot water in the mornings." Said the one with the afro puff. 

Keisha paused to rub her temples before answering. "Like I stated yesterday during the dorm meeting, a meeting that neither of you were present for I might add. There is a workorder in place for maintenance to check the water heater. In the meantime, yall have to limit showers to fifteen minutes. Which I know you are not doing. So why are you wasting my time when you are already know the deal?"

"Fifteen minutes is not enough time to bathe my cat, let alone the rest of my body." Said the petite one. 

"Okay, well pick one. And Wilinda don't act like you didn't grow up with seven of yall and one bathroom. Just like black folks to act all bougie like you ain't got no survival skills." Keisha walked off done with the conversation.

Thea was grateful for the showers at the gym. No matter the time of day they always had hot water. She circled through the crowd of people watching tv, playing Xbox, listening to music and simply unwinding in the open area. Once she made it to her room, she her tossed bags on the floor and changed into a cotton tank and sweats.

She and Nathaniel Hardin had plans to catch up on the latest episode of House of Dragons tonight, and if she was going to enjoy it with no distractions, she had to finish her kinesiology project. Before getting started she grabbed her phone to check out the latest campus gossip on Yard Yack.

Her perfectly manicure thumb clicked on the Couple Alert tab with nearly three thousand comments and a fire emoji next to it. Thea crossed her legs comfortably on her bed with her eyes glued to her phone.

She read the article and the excitement in her eyes quickly turned to horror. "What the hell!" She stood up from her bed in complete shock. "No, no, no! This can't be. How... how could you Damon? Oh my God. W-what have I done?"

The new couple on the scene was none other than her very recent ex-boyfriend Damon Sims who she recently broke up with but never intended for it to be permanent and her teammate and rival Simone Hicks. They were spotted out in the open at the Quad kissing and holding hands with smiles on their faces.

Thea could not stop the tears that fell so easily from her eyes. The pain in her chest was like nothing she'd ever felt before. It only got worst. At the bottom of the article was a picture of the couple in living color. Their faces were blurred out, but Thea knew it was them.