Hit & Run

Chapter Seven: Fight For Me

Alexander Alcott.

.Fight For Me

.Six Years Ago.

“What’s wrong?” I looked up into Zoe’s concerned face as she stood in the doorway of my dorm room. I was sitting on my bed and had my Biology book open on my lap and my cellphone by my side.

“Nothings wrong,” I mumbled. Zoe frowned and walked into the room, closing the door behind her.

She walked over and sat beside me on my bed.

“Is that why Ryder and I haven’t seen you all weekend? We have classes tomorrow and we’re obviously not going to have a chance to see you during the week.”

I shrugged. Between football, my classes, and my nightly Skype dates with Piper, I hardly had enough time to eat and sleep during the week.

At the thought of Piper, I felt myself deflate once more.

“Yeah. I know. Look, have you heard from Piper lately?”

“Ummm…not since last Thursday, why?”

I stared into my Bio book, not responding. Zoe sighed after a few moments and removed the Bio book from my hands, placing it on my nearby desk, before she lightly grasped my chin and moved it to face her. She smiled, her brown eyes compassionate and caring as always.

“What’s wrong, Alex?”

This time, I didn’t hesitate to confide in her.

“Do you remember Fitch Twain?”

Zoe thought for a moment before she nodded, her blonde hair falling into her face.

“Yeah, he played football with you. He was a year ahead of us, right?”

“Yeah. Right. Anyway, Fitch and I were pretty close and we’ve stayed close…he’s at Columbia now and we talk every once in a while. He called me Friday night and he was obviously kind of drunk or else he wouldn’t have gotten involved…but he said he was at a party his frat was throwing and Piper was there…he saw Piper head upstairs into a bedroom with some guy. The guy was holding her and by the time Fitch had called, he said they’d been up there for a while…”

“You don’t think Piper would cheat on you, do you?” Zoe asked, concern and disbelief clearly displayed on her face.

My chest felt heavy and my throat felt thick.

“Well, at first I wasn’t sure but I’ve been calling Piper all weekend and she hasn’t answered once. And I Facebook messaged her, telling her to call me-”

“You know Piper hates Facebook…she checks it maybe once a week,” Zoe pointed out.

I shook my head, all of my conflicting emotions regarding my girlfriend making my chest heavier and heavier.

“Fine, but she’s also avoiding my calls! I saw photos of her on facebook…she was playing pong with the guy Fitch described and there are photos of them taking shots together and…fuck, things just aren’t look good for her.” My fists clenched and unclenched as I spoke about the photos. “This long distance relationship thing is so fucked up.”

Zoe sighed.

“At least you have a relationship,” she uttered quietly, folding her hands together as she looked down.

I frowned, suddenly realizing that Zoe wasn’t in the best of moods either. 

“Are you okay? What happened?”