New Beginnings

Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11:

Alex woke first practically on top of Tobin so she gently rolled off and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Good morning, terrible roommate," Kelley scoffed sitting up sternly on her, or used to be Alex's, bed.

"Terrible roommate?" Alex asked confused cause it was still too early to think clearly.

Kelley rolled her eyes, "First, you lock me out of MY own room cause you're having sex. And second, you do it on MY bed."

"Oh shit, sorry Kelley. I'll make up for it, I promise," Alex said sincerely, "the reason we did that was because we thought you would go home with Hope actually."

Tobin was starting to wake and mumbled something inaudible to the pair before going quite again.

"Yeah no. Her heart is like surrounded by a steel wall...and bulletproof glass...and then a layer of brick," she sighed laying back down.

"Just give her time," Tobin quickly groaned, "She just doesn't think she deserves you so all you have to do is show her that she is good enough for you."

Alex and Kelley looked at the sleeping, badass girl, "How do you know all of this?"

"I hang out with Ashlyn sometimes. She's been like close friends with Hope for like three years now. Apparently Hope was a big player in high school and partied a bunch and hooked up with any girl that wanted to."

"Why are you just now telling me this?!" Kelley practically shouted.

Tobin groaned, "Cause I forgot, now let me go back to bed and cuddle with my...girlfriend?"

Alex could her the question in her voice so she just shrugged,  "I mean we practically are. So why not just make it official?"

"Ight I'm cool with that," Tobin smirked secretly into her pillow, "now back to bed please."

"You two are weird," Kelley shook her head before getting up, "I'm gonna go find my keeper."

"Have fun," the couple said together as their friend left.

***

Kelley was determined to find Hope since it was a Saturday and they didn't have class. She wasn't exactly sure where Hope lived but luckily she ran into Ashlyn and Ali running, "Hey guys!"

"Oh hey," Ali said stopping with Ash close behind, "Why are you awake so early?"

"I would ask you the same thing but obviously it's cause you're running," Kelley joked, "but do you know where Hope's dorm is by chance?"

"Yeah, she lives in Pacific like room 215," Ashlyn replied.

"Alright thanks, have fun on your run." Kelley called out while running towards the dorms.

"Do you think she'll get her?" Ali asked.

"Hope doesn't want love but I think Kelley is the type of girl to get what she wants."

***

Kelley took the stairs cause she was too impatient to wait for an elevator and ran down the hall until she found room 215.

She was about to knock until she realized what she was doing like what was she going to say to Hope if she answered and for God sakes it was 6 am on a Saturday. After waiting outside her door for a few minutes, Carli opened the door and gasped in surprise, "Kelley, what are you doing here?"

"Um is Hope awake?" She asked quietly.

Carli nodded slowly understanding what was going on, "Yeah, just go on in. I'm going on a run so I'll be gone for a few hours. See ya later."

"Alright thanks," Kelley replied before stepping into the room and hearing the door shut behind her.

Hope and Carli didn't have a normal dorm, it was more like a suite style since they were both seniors so it had a living room, kitchen, a bathroom, and two separate bedrooms.

"What are doing here?" Hope asked sternly causing Kelley to snap out of her trance.

"Um," she stuttered out as she saw Hope sitting on the couch drinking a cup of coffee while reading the newspaper in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and a sports bra, "sorry, never mind, I shouldn't be here."

Kelley turned towards the door but Hope stopped her, "Wait, you can stay. Let me just go put a shirt on and we can talk. Have some coffee if you want, I'll be right back." Hope quickly went into her room and searched for a clean shirt. Kelley took her up on the coffee and poured herself a cup before sitting down on the couch.

Hope came back out in soccer sweats and some random t-shirt but Kelley was still amazed by how good she looked, "Okay so why is Kelley O'hara in my dorm at six in the morning?"

Kelley bit down her lip not knowing exactly what to say. Hope noticed and decided to sit next to her on the couch which made her feel a little better, "Well I'm not even sure why I am but I guess I just want to ask you why you don't want us to...be together?"

The air seemed to thicken as the silence dwelled on for what seemed like several minutes. Hope had her eyes glued to the carpet and Kelley had her eyes glued to Hope, "I'm not the girl for you, Kels."

"That doesn't explain it. I know you hooked up with a bunch of girls in high school, I know you partied a lot, but I still want you."

"Kels...Kelley, you don't understand. You're a very good person and I am not, we do not mix." She sighed propping her feet up onto the coffee table.

"I like myself a rebel," Kelley replied innocently.

Hope knew she had to divulge more from her past if she wanted Kelley to understand, "It's more than that. I was a mess in high school. My father passed away, my mom abandoned me, I was living on my own at 16 which is technically illegal. I threw parties every weekend, had a schedule of girls that wanted to hook up, drank until I passed out, I'm not good for you."

"But you're not like that anymore. That was four years ago. You obviously stopped speaking here we are talking in the early morning of a Saturday."

"When I got to college, I knew I needed to change but I didn't know how," Hope admitted, "luckily Carli was a freshman like me and took me under her wing and shaped me into a better person."

Kelley raised an eyebrow, "You just said you were a better person, so I don't see the problem."

"I don't want love," she was blunt and saw the hurt flash through Kelley's eyes, "I want sex and that's it, it's just how I am. I stopped the partying and drinking and the schedule hook ups but every so often, I have some random girl in my bed cause being the star goalkeeper does have perks."

"Are you sure you don't want love or you just haven't found it?" Kelley asked with confidence for some reason, "I think you are just looking for the wrong types of girls. I see that you are more than just some amazing athlete. I see you as a human who wants to love but just won't allow herself to."

"You know nothing about me," Hope could feel Kelley's eyes piercing into her but she knew she was right.

"I better get going but I will wait. Cause like I said, I get what I want." Kelley stood to leave but Hope grabbed her hand which caught her off guard.

"You promise you're willing to suffer heartbreak if I can't learn how to love, if I just stick to my normal ways?"

Kelley intertwined their fingers, "I'm not one to run away from a challenge."