Lessons || MJ

Lessons || Chapter 10

LESLIE

Homework and Max turned to be the perfect distractions. Every time I stayed up alone in my dorm, stress twirled in my mind constantly. Yvonne played sick just to scold Witness Protection in her office. I'd only stay on campus until December. I wouldn't have very much time left on this campus from what Yvonne explained. I now wanted to strangle those in charge of my situation, especially considering that a murderer practically lived right under my nose at this point.

For obvious reasons, I hadn't spoken to The Kid. With every day that passed by, I could only think of Mommy. She'd pace the kitchen just waiting for me to call. I'd do so every weekend. Studying burnout left me no choice at times. With every call, she'd let out trembling sighs of relief, crying into the phone whenever my voice shrunk down to a childlike state.

Witness protection led Ma to Florida of all places. A small town. Not far away from Disney World though. I'd always remember seeing those Poloids of the house she'd hide in. Barbie Pink. Only one floor. Single phone on the kitchen wall.

She'd only leave for the grocery store if nowhere else. I'd never felt so worried in my life. To think, a woman I'd admire eternally just walked into a shell and never came back out. All because of a crippling fear I never believed she'd succumb to. Mommy never gave up when I was much younger. Sure, she'd sacrifice anything for me, but this? I never realized that losing Dad would slam her this hard.

I'd been so immersed with school now that my second GPA hit the roof. Study burnout and all, I'd felt proud of myself for the first time in weeks. Even Tricky would've been honored. When I received an A for my English paper, I wanted to honestly cry. Again, at least this hard work saved me from thinking about my departure in three months. I never understood my time in college now had been cut short in the first place.

I wasn't even ready to leave on my own yet because of Mom. If Calvin somehow discovered her location, we'd end up having shortcuts closer to me. There was no way I'd jeopardize her safety in the name of my own. As I've learned, some sort of family detachment had been the key to survival now.

At lunch one day, Max had been sweet enough to bring me flowers. I'd just finished studying for a slew of mid-terms, but my eyes displayed quite the fatigue. He plopped into his usual seat next to me and kissed my cheek. Turk and Fredrick greeted me, but Darryl remained silent for whatever reason.

"Thanks, babe." I told Max.

"You're welcome, girl. Mid-terms are evil, I just left Science. I've wanted to see that pretty smile on your face." he soon pretended to cringe. Fredrick and Turk snickered like children. I rolled my eyes, but smiled as usual.

My eyes narrowed watching Darryl across from us. "You okay? Pretty quiet over there." Max already set down my flowers in a carefully way and expectedly draped his arm around my shoulder. Just when I planned to snuggled a bit closer to him, Darryl cleared his throat. Out of respect, I made eye contact.

"Could I talk to you, Leslie?" Darryl shrunk his voice.

I nodded almost feverishly and excused myself from Max. This time, he didn't whine or protest. I rose from the table and followed Darryl to his usual corner among everyone else here. Even with my comforting smile, he didn't even look remotely happy now. I didn't know what to think.

"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"Could we walk out? Very few students are there right now and this is personal." Darryl stepped closer, but continued acting respectful toward me. Given the pain in his brown eyes, I listened. He was a good person after all.

We walked out of the nearest door gingerly. Cool fall air greeted my arms before long as we stepped out to another gorgeous section of the campus. Once again, autumn leaves scattered beneath our shoes. Across from us, a lone wooden bench had been worn, but no students occupied that space.

"Would you like to sit down?" I asked Darryl now.

"No." Darryl sighed. A blow of air escaped his lips when he turned away from me. His brown eyes now faced a different side of the campus, which led to others dorms. His cheeks reddened like a tomato, but I couldn't even blush right now.

"What's going on?" I tucked both hands into the pockets of my coat just stood alongside him.

"Why are you with him?" Darryl squinted, barely turning his footsteps in my direction. "You were mine just the other day, he pulled these stupid crocodile tears, and now back with him. Why?!"

"He wasn't truly ready to give me up. That's all you need to know, Darryl." I scoffed, turning on the heels of my feet now.

"I care about you." Darryl said.

"I know." I grumbled back. "I thought thing would be different between us by now, but I was wrong. Now leave me alone before you lose a good friend. Max always looks out for you. Are you honestly willing to risk losing a friendship like that?"

I knew for Darryl wanted to rip out his own hair at this point, but he stammered trying to respond. I folded my arms this time.

"Baby, right now I only care about you." Darryl's voice trembled instantly.

I could've fainted at this very moment.