Solace In The Silence ✓✓

chapter 3

By the time i let myself into my dormitory the next afternoon, totally spent from hours of mind - numbing lectures, all I wanted to do was collapse into a heap on my bed and dive - bomb into the chocolate - chip ice cream tub I'd been saving in the mini - fridge-I swear, it was calling my name.
Instead, I'd had no choice but to squeeze into all my clothes and wrestle with the dilemma of what to wear to Danny's party tonight. After much deliberation, I settled on a fitted off- the-shoulder top and my favorite denim skirt.

I was fixing to reapply my makeup, mostly to kill time while I waited for a text from Jake, when I heard a soft rap on my door. My heart sped up. I wasn't expecting him to collect me for another fifteen minutes, or for him to come up to my dorm room, which was looking more and more like Moana's secret closet from Friends .

Oops.

The bed was unmade, the comforter still rumpled and strewn on the floor from my mad dash to class this morning. Worst of all, there were clothes scattered everywhere, indicating just how much effort I'd put into selecting this outfit- I think I'd changed at least eight times. The wooden desk underneath the small window was the only organized area of my room, storing all my textbooks and school supplies.

Dread fell heavy as I opened the door, not wanting Jake to see my dorm room while I was still in the very, very early stages of moving in. I was mildly relieved to find that it was only Lynn , grinning back at me.

"Hey, I didn't mean to intrude but-damn girl, you look hot!" Her eyes raked over me appreciatively.
I returned a smile in answer.
If it were Angie, I probably would've done a little self- indulging spin, but this was one of Jake's best friends. The last thing I wanted to do was make a fool of myself.

My belly twisted nervously. It was ingrained in me to want her approval. "So do you," I enthused.
She really did.
Her auburn-colored hair was half pinned back, and the loose curls framed her heart-shaped face. She was wearing a jersey playsuit, a studded biker jacket, and a pair of heels I could only dream of wearing, let alone making it five meters in.

"Jake's phone is either having a meltdown or it's dead. It won't switch on, and he's saying he charged it, but that's up for debate." She laughed dryly. "In other words, I'm here to escort you to his truck."
Jake held the title for being the most forgetful person I'd ever met, so I wasn't all that surprised. I swung the door open further and gestured for her to come inside. "Sure. I'll just be a sec."

Lynn brushed past me, stepping into my cramped, single room. She surveyed her surroundings briefly, and I was thankful her eyes didn't loiter on the mess or the stacks of cardboard boxes. Needless to say, I had no motivation left to unpack the last of my stuff from back home.

"Sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I wasn't expecting company."
"It's fine." She waved me off. "Believe it or not, I consider this clean. You literally can't even see my roommate and mine's floor." Lynn shuddered good -naturedly, like even the mental image was bad enough.
I smiled. "I won't lie, that makes me feel a tiny bit better."

Lynn sunk down on the edge of my bed, giggling as she watched me struggle to tug on my lace- up Doc Martens. "Is it too early to ask how you're liking UFA?"
"So far so good." I nodded, then scrunched up my nose. "Actually, wait. Yeah, maybe you should ask me that next week. I might change my mind when I'm drowning up to my eyeballs in assignments."

"Ugh, don't even go there," she groaned, burying her head in her hands.
"My body is
so not ready for this semester."

I could totally relate. Particularly because the idea of sitting next to Jake in class each week made me dizzy. A small kernel of anticipation bounced around in my chest.
Pushing thoughts of him from my mind, I cleared my throat. "What are you studying again?" I asked her, realizing that although I knew she was in Concepts in Design with us, I knew little else about her.
"Art Education," Lynn replied, flipping absently through one of the interior design magazines that were on my bedside table. "I'm really passionate about art, and I've always loved children, so I figured it was a no -brainer."

"That's awesome," I said, glancing back at her as I swiped some strawberry ChapStick over my lips. Teaching was a good, stable career, but I'd never considered anything other than interior design. I was fortunate enough to find my passion early in life.

Once I'd hooked in some earrings and located my shoulder bag, I grabbed my keys and took a deep breath. Not giving myself a chance to talk myself out of going, I announced, "All right, let's do this."
For the last hour, I'd been giving myself a much- needed pep talk. Tonight wasn't going to be a repeat of the last party I'd attended with Jake.

Tonight was, however, going to be fun and normal. It also happened to be the perfect chance to put the past behind us, once and for all -to convince him that I really was trying to move on.
But my composure took a nosedive when I spotted Jake behind the wheel of his pickup truck outside Denver Hall, parked at the curve. He looked incredible. While I could only see his top half, I knew keeping my hands off him tonight was going to prove to be a challenge, particularly paired with liquid confidence.

His hair was styled back in an artfully messy look, and he was wearing a faded gray shirt that made his eyes look even smokier. My lips parted on an inhale.
"You good?" Lynn eyed me.
Oh crap.
I'd completely forgotten that she was standing there, undoubtedly witnessing me turn to mush.
"I'm great." I scraped my long hair to the side and smiled at her as convincingly as I could.
Ignoring the way my heart thumped its way into my esophagus, I strode up to the passenger -side door as Lynn climbed into the bench seat.

"You could've come inside, you know," I heard her mutter to Jake in a lowered voice.
Following her league, I inelegantly hoisted myself up into the seat, trying to keep my skirt from scaling up any higher. It'd been so long since I'd been inside his two -door truck, and I was sealed against Lynn's side, Jake's big body taking up most of the room.

"Uh..." I blinked slowly. I wracked my brain for something to say —anything that would erase the suspicions she had. After coming up short, I sighed at the sad reality. "God, is it that obvious?"
"No, not at all. I promise," she reassured me. "I only picked up on it because, well, Jake told me what happened between the two of you last year."

Air snagged in my throat. "He did? What did he say?"
"You know I can't tell you that," she said, tucking an unruly curl behind her ear. "It's not my place. Hey, are you going to finish that?" Lynn gestured to my half - empty bottle of wine. After I told her no, she tipped the rest of the liquid into her plastic cup

A/N: Ugh. My heart. My soul.
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