Lacey

Chapter 2

Saturday Morning

Saturday morning, I went to visit Darian's dorm room in the Southern Connecticut State University for the first time. According to him, his roommate sold off their part of the dorm to Darian so they could rent out an apartment. I could see why. It's a very cramped space.

"Welcome to my dorm room!" Darian cheered.

I looked around. One bed already took up a third of the room. The other stood up against the wall since no one was using it. It was slightly smaller, so I'd only be able to imagine how much space it would use. The desk was right next to the perched bed and smelled like mold. I could hardly breathe.

"Are there any air conditioners?" I asked Darian.

"This is a cheap dorm," he responded. "What do you expect?"

Right, I thought. I had almost forgotten not all university dorms have the comfort of Yale's.

"Any fans?" I questioned.

Darian chuckled.

"Of course there's one! But it doesn't actually help."

I sighed.

"At least you get summer housing," I snarked.

Afternoon

Darian told me the day before that his friend Inez would be coming over at 2 PM. Half an hour later, and she still wasn't there.

"She lives pretty far," stated Darian. "Often gets stuck in traffic."

"Ah," I nodded.

I then heard a door knock. Darian opened it. A tan woman with oversized glasses and a ponytail came in and greeted him.

"Hey sweetie!" she smiled at Darian.

"Why, hello!" he beckoned back. "Coffee's downstairs, by the way."

As Inez left, I narrowed my eyes.

"I thought you said you were just friends," I whispered to Darian.

"Well, I wanted to keep it a secret!" he responded.

"You know you can tell me anything," I said back. "Right?"

Darian sighed.

"It certainly didn't seem like it last time I dated."

Oh yeah, I thought. Eleanor.

"Eleanor was different!" I shot back. "She was an abusive jerk twice your age who isolated you from everyone! Not to mention she lied about being 17 to hook you up at 16."

"Chill, dude," Darian said. "This is different. Inez is 23."

"Whatever," I snarked. "Have fun with your girlfriend."

The door opened again.

"Actually," Inez stated, "I'm D's partner. Girlfriend feels a little reductive."

"Sorry," I apologized.

"No, it's fine!" Inez said back.

She took a sip of her coffee.

"Hello, by the way," Inez greeted.

I leaned against the bed that stood up.

"Hi," I responded.

"You're Darian's friend, right?"

I took a step forward.

"Why yes," I answered. "Best friends since high school."

"Aww," she said. "That's sweet."

Sure is, I thought to myself.

"I'm just going to leave you two here," Darian said. "I need to get some keys."

"Alright," I told him.

Leaving me with Darian's dates is never a problem. Firstly, he trusts me enough not to screw around with them. Secondly, I wouldn't be into them anyways.

I was getting some water when Inez startled me.

"You sound kind of familiar."

I turned around.

"I don't recognize you," I answered honestly.

"Okay then," she chuckled. "Maybe my head's just screwing with me!"

For a moment, I felt like I knew it from somewhere. Somewhere not so pleasant. I dismissed the thought. I couldn't bear to think of it again.

Besides, I figured, she's too nice.

(Tumblr version: https://www.tumblr.com/talesfromasnarkylisa/762237330457329664/lacey-chapter-2?source=share)