The Professor

Chapter Thirty-Two

"Oh, shit! We gotta go!"

Collin hastily looks down at his watch and then writes the tip on the bill before signing it. I look at the time on my phone screen and note that it's close to ten. We literally sat here for almost three full hours talking! It was one thing after another and it all flowed smoothly. Collin and I talked about everything we could think of from life, to school, to sports... etc. I had a brief thought during our dinner that we had his party to get to but I didn't know it was this late.

When Collin is done, we rush to his car and head to the fraternity house. A part of me was sad to leave behind the restaurant and our conversations but I immediately pushed that sadness away. 

Collin kept up conversations on the ride to the party but it wasn't the same. When we get there, I can feel the vibration in my chest because of how loud the music is. The front yard is like the scene I witnessed my first time here: cups and people scattered throughout. 

I hop out of my seat as Collin does his and we walk to the house, weaving in and out of people as we make it inside. Collin grabs my hand as he leads us to the back porch and the contact makes my eyes widen. He's holding my hand...

Logan and Connor are on the back porch with Chelsea and Jessica. Chelsea's back is leaning against Connor and he has an arm wrapped around the area just below her collarbone. Logan is standing next to him sipping on a beer and when Jessica sees us, her face falls. Well, when she sees me holding Collin's hand.

"Look who showed up. It's about damn time." Logan says when he sees Collin. 

Collin rolls off Logan's words with a slight smile and an eye roll. Connor hands Collin a red solo cup and then offers one to me. I take it even though I don't drink beer and stand with this group of people I barely know. The only person I feel the most accustomed to at the moment is Collin. Jessica has been making me feel like an outsider this week, and to the other three people, that's exactly what I am. 

Jessica does her best to avoid me and act like i'm not here. It really makes me wonder if she has some secret feelings for Collin. Not that I care, I have Dean anyways. Dean...

The guys start talking about a memory from their high school days and I take this moment as a chance to go call Dean and attempt to make up for this mess. Despite how annoyingly controlling and ridiculous he acted, I still haven't been able to get him off my mind. I excuse myself and make my way into the house, careful to open doors this time. I try my hardest to remember what door led to Collin's bedroom and thankfully, I open the right one on the first try.

I close the door behind me and scroll through my contacts until I find Dean's name. Clicking on the call button, I pray silently that he answers his phone. I listen to the ringing on the other line until it goes to voicemail, making me feel small and defeated. When the tone sounds, I leave him a message, "Hey, Dean, it's me. I just--I just wanted to call and talk things over. I miss you. Call me back when you get this."

"Who's Dean?"

I jump at the voice behind me and turn to see Jessica, looking at me questioningly from the half opened door. My nerves start to rumble within me as I search frantically for a cover up lie. 

"Um--Dean's um," I can't think of an excuse fast enough. "My cousin."

Jessica's eyes narrow at me even more. "Your cousin?" 

"Yeah, he's more like a brother to me. We got in a fight last weekend when I was home." 

Jessica doesn't say anything back to this. After staring at me for a few seconds, she walks farther into the room. She walks by me and goes straight to Collin's closet and begins to sift through his clothes. 

"What are you doing?" I ask her, wondering why she's up here... in Collin's room. She replies with her back to me and in a light voice.

"I was cold and Collin said I could come up here to get a jacket." She finally pulls out one of his sweatshirts and throws it on over her head before turning to look at me. "Better." She says with a smug smile. Her eyes pierce into mine until we both hear the booming voice coming from downstairs. The noise in the house falls dead silent and someone has turned off the music. Jessica and I run to the staircase to see two policeman standing in the foyer with stern looks on their faces. 

"If you're not out of here in one minute, we're going to start checking ID's!" One yells.

Jessica and I start to take off down the stairs to the door but stop when we see Connor and the rest of the group approaching the policemen.

"Are you a member of this house?" The one who just yelled asks Connor. The officer looks bulky, indicating that the stereotype of police officers eating a lot of donuts is accurate. His eyes narrow at Connor and his hands grab the side of his belt.

"Yes sir. Why? What's the problem?" Connor asks respectfully.

"Well," the policeman says as his head swivels to look around the room, "we got a call about a suspected gathering and wanted to check it out."

Connor stands a little straighter with a confused expression plastered on his face. "So, let me get this straight, you got a call saying that someone suspected we were having a party? Not a noise complaint or anything like that?" Connor's tone is starting to get defensive. Jessica and I grip the wooden handle of the stair case tightly, watching this scene. 

The police officer gets defensive back. "Yes, that is correct, and it looks like they were right."

"Who made the call? A neighbor?"

The police officer snickers. "Just get everyone out of the house and be thankful we didn't make any arrests."

Connor remains quiet as the policemen give Connor one last stern look before turning around and leaving. Most of the students at the party have left and the only people remaining are the fraternity guys and a few of us girls. Jessica and I walk down the last remaining stairs to where Connor and everyone are in the hallway. Connor looks pissed and puts his hands on the back of his head, his bent elbows extending out to the side. Chelsea tries to calm him down by rubbing his back and telling him it's alright.

"I want to know who made that damn call." He says, shaking his head.

And in this moment, something registers with me. I think I know who called.