call it what you want

Chapter 26

Ameeriah

Jackson stayed up with me until midnight helping me study. What I didn't know was that he had a 5AM weight room before a 6AM practice. I honestly feel so bad about how I kinda went off on him yesterday.

I just got so overwhelmed with fucking everything and then when I couldn't understand the last unit that I needed to study for, I just lost it.

Jackson was a saving grace though. He explained it in a hundred different ways before I was able to understand it and was so patient the entire time.

I honestly never would have thought Jackson would be a pretty good tutor.
He just doesn't strike me as the patient type of guy, but after the blind maze game he led me through and how he was able to be so forgiving and patient with me whenever I couldn't understand Bio, I think I'm starting to realize that there may be some more parts to Jackson I haven't even uncovered yet.

Today I slept in and when I woke up at 11AM, I slowly got ready for my class at 2PM and grabbed an oatmilk latte from a little coffee shop on the way to class.

I listen to some Evermore by Taylor Swift on the way to class before I shoot Jackson a quick text to see if he's free later to help me study some more.

Jackson

Ameeriah texted me earlier to help her study for her bio exam that she has in 2 days. We've already covered most, but I guess she just wants to review it.

Whenever I get to her dorm, I knock but I don't hear anything back.
She literally just texted me that she was here like ten minutes ago.

"Meeriah? You in there?" I ask into the door.

I knock once more. "It's Jackson.." I say in a singsong voice.

"Yeah hang on sorry!" I hear a muffled voice through the door as I hear a little bit of scrambling around before I finally hear the lock on the door and she opens it.

She's standing in front of me with a pair of maroon pajama pants that are sitting low on her hips and a dusty navy blue crop top that reaches to about her belly button.

Before I even get the chance to tell myself to fuck off with the thoughts I'm having, I make eye contact with her and her face is a little red and puffy and her eyes are slightly pink.

"Who did it?"

"What?" She asks back, confused.
"You're crying. Who did it?"
"No one, I'm just," she sighs, "I don't know," she says as she lets me in and shuts the door behind me with her back to me, but I don't shift my gaze from her.

"Did Ryan stop by again? Fuck, Ameeriah why didn't you call me?"
"I'm not crying about him," she says as she sighs and moves her hair to one side of her neck.

"Then what?" I ask, because it's very clear that she's been crying.

"It's nothing. Sorry for making you come over, we'll review tomorrow," she says quickly.

"Meeriah—" I start.

She sighs before she starts talking. "It's really nothing dude, I just saw a picture like five minutes ago and it just triggered something and I just felt really bad."

"What picture?" I ask as I look at her. But as soon as I ask I realize she may kick me the fuck out if I'm being annoying. "You don't have to tell me," I say quieter.

But I really do wanna know, so I quickly add, "if you don't want to," at the end of my sentence.

"It was just my friend Chelsea."