For Real? ✅

Chapter 36

TESS

I didn't let Adam and Heather get away so easily.

When I had cornered Adam, he had looked clueless more than anything.

"Look, I know that your friend matters to you, okay? But I don't even remember seeing her."

I open my mouth, but he speaks again.

"After what happened with you, Tess, I've changed. Heather here made me understand how amazing it is to be in love. She's the one who opened my eyes."

Heather nods smugly, as Adam continues to speak.

"I realised today that I had to stop randomly sleeping with girls. That it's so pointless now."
He pauses to smile at me, "I guess that's why everyone was surprised to see me kissing Heather again after I'd dated her two weeks ago."

Adam wraps his arms around Heather, who snuggles against him.

I look at them in disbelief. There's something so wrong about it.

Everything Adam said was true.
Except that instead of Heather, it should have been Leah.

I'm still deep in my thoughts when Heather talks to me.
"You should go and find your friend. She looked like she needs you more."

With that, the pair of them walk away, leaving me alone in the empty corridor.

*****

I try calling Leah the whole afternoon.

She doesn't pick up my calls.

I guess that she's getting drunk, like after she got temporarily fired at Betty's.
The problem is that I don't know where the bar is.
And I'm so worried about her.

I decide to approach Greg and Will for help because I don't know who else I could possibly go to.
The fact exists that Will has also dated Leah for a while, so maybe he could have an idea of where she might be.

Greg and Will are reading a book together, under a tree in the serene campus.
How romantic.

Then I scold myself for being jealous of them.

"Hey!" I speak, hoping that they look up.

Greg ignores me, feigning concentration as he pretends to read the book. On the other hand, Will looks up and gives me a smile.

"Hi, Tess!" Will replies.

"Listen, have you guys seen Leah? I think she's trying to get drunk... So any idea at which bar she might be?" I ask.

Will seems to be thinking. "She wants to get drunk? .. Hmm... I don't know." He says, then adds suddenly, "Oh wait! Check Old Point. I took her there once."

Greg, meanwhile, seems to be determined to ignore me.

"Okay! Thanks a lot, Will." I reply.

Greg snorts.

"What?" I snap at Greg, hoping to annoy him so that he talks to me.

"Nothing." He mutters, although his sneer is still intact.

"Seriously, Greg, what is it?" I ask forcefully.

"Nothing. It's just how much you've changed Tess." He says, looking straight at me.

"I've changed? Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?" I throw out the words.
Maybe if we end this cold war in a fight, I'll stop wanting him.

"See, you've been too involved with yourself to notice that Leah's had a whole relationship with a guy like Adam. I can't believe that you didn't try to stop her, even after knowing how Adam just wants to get in her pants." Greg ends coldly, his sneer now an accusatory frown.

"Shut up, Greg! I can't believe it! I've been warning her, and she never listened. Now I've been running around the campus, searching for Leah and you sit there like some Supreme Leader, thinking you can JUDGE ME?" I yell.

Greg gapes at me. Will watches us like an intense tennis match.

I'm about to open my mouth, but my phone begins to ring.
I pull it out, only to be disappointed by the fact that the call was from Greyes and not Leah.

"Honestly, I just feel bad for the people you're friends with, you SELFISH -" Greg shouts, but I turn around and walk away from the place. Honestly, I've had enough.

I hear Greg swearing at the top of his voice, and it takes all my self-control to not go there and punch him on the face.

I can't believe that he thinks I'm selfish.
Am I?
Well, maybe kissing him was selfish...

Oh wow, I can't deal with this right now.
I need to focus on finding Leah.

I try calling Greyes again, but her line is busy.
Maybe she'll call me again.

I decide to go to Old Point like Will had mentioned, hoping that at least I find Leah there.

*****

Its been five hours and there's still no sign of Leah.

She had been drinking at Old Point, but the barmaid tells me that she had left a while ago.
I go back to her apartment, but she's nowhere to be seen.

Greyes doesn't pick up any of my calls after that. I try to call Andy, but he's not there too.

I call Leah's parents, to ask if she was visiting them. It was a huge mistake because her parents began to panic when they heard that Leah was missing.

"We'll be there right away," says her mom hurriedly, as she asks her agent to arrange for her trip here.

At this point, I'm starting to get worried. Leah had been going on about how she might get murdered like her cousin.

Was she dead at this point and I didn't even know?
I really hope that she wasn't murdered.

Oh God, I am a horrible friend!

I'm about to report everything to the police when my phone rings.

Greyes is calling me.

Five minutes later, I set off to Leah's apartment, finally feeling hopeful that Leah was supposedly alright.

Everything was going to be fine.