Room 241: A Josh Richards Story

21- The Truth

You run outside and stop to catch your breath at the bottom step of the building entrance. Tears are starting to catch up with you when you hear a voice come from the shadows.

Josh: *sitting against the wall of the building front*
"I understand if you didn't want to be with me... but my roommate?"

You: "There is nothing going on with me and Jaden. It was just a complete misunderstanding."

Josh: "So you didn't just crawl out of his bed minutes before I walked in?"

You: "You have to give me a chance to explain... please."

Your tears are starting to spill over so Josh stands up and walks towards you before responding:
"Go ahead and look me in the eyes and tell me you haven't slept with him..."

You think back to your first night here and know there is no way you can answer that truthfully without losing Josh forever.

You: "It's complicated."

Josh: "Either you slept with him or you didn't... it's not that hard to answer."

You: *pleading*
"You have to understand it was before..."

Josh: "Before what? Before you met me?"

You: "Well no, technically-"

Josh: "I've heard enough."

You throw your arms around his neck and start to sob into his shirt and he grabs your wrists and pushes you off of him:
"Don't touch me."

You: "It's him... Jaden is the boy I met the night you didn't show up to the party. The one that never called."

Josh: "And last night while I was home with my family, he finally called?"

You: "You have to believe me. I hadn't talked to him in weeks and I just ran into him at the party and I was drunk and have no clue how I ended up in that room."

Josh: "Of all the people you could have drunkenly hooked up with, why my roommate?"

You: "I had no idea he was your roommate. I swear to God. I passed out and just woke up there."

Josh: "So you mean he brought an unconscious girl back to his room and took advantage of her?"

You: "No! Nothing happened last night. My ex showed up at the party and threw me down and broke my phone and I was too drunk to fight back and Jaden just rushed me out to protect me. I just woke up in the room minutes before you showed up but Jaden swore to me nothing happened. He just fell asleep waiting for me to wake up."

Josh: "Why wouldn't he have taken you to your room?"

You: "I meant it when I said we haven't talked in weeks. I've never run into him before here so I had no clue that he even lived in the building much less was your roommate."

Josh: "So you hung out at least twice before but it never came up where either of you lived?"

You: "No... I swear. We never exactly made time to talk."

Josh heard that and knew what it meant and suddenly looked like he was going to be sick. In the quiet moment that followed, you remembered what sent you in a tailspin at that party in the first place.

You: "Why do you even care? You spent your trip with your ex-girlfriend. I would have had every reason to assume that THIS was nothing."

Josh: "I saw her for all of 10 minutes when she showed up to the family dinner looking for my sister."

You: "I saw a picture she tagged you in on your instagram..."

Josh: "She showed up after a bad fight with her boyfriend she just found out had been cheating on her and wanted to talk to her best friend about it who I've told you was my sister."

You: "And the picture?"

Josh: "My sister took it and it was dumb, I know. It was her idea to have her post it to make her boyfriend think that she was unbothered or something. I have no clue how girls' minds work."

You lean back against the wall and sigh. He wasn't wrong. Girls get things so jumbled up in emotions sometimes that they just jump to conclusions. You knew he was guilty of that too, but in all fairness what he'd walked into just about anyone would have assumed the same.

Josh: "I know she was in a rush to prove to me she'd moved on, but I'll never understand why girls go for guys like that. Why? "

You: "I think we want to be loved so badly that we go for easy attention even if it ends up being fake or from someone who's not what we wished they were."

Josh: "So no one just ever wants the guy who just falls in love and wants to make her happy. No one is ever going to just want me."

You see him in front of you looking completely broken at the realization of how much he wants a girl to love him back. It's the same way you have always wanted someone to love you. Not use you, not cheat on you, not hurt you... just love you. Finally it hits you that the girl he wants is YOU. You can't take another second of space between you and stretch onto your tiptoes and kiss him.

Josh: *pulling away just slightly*
"Why did you do that?"

You: "Because you're wrong, Josh."

He looks confused so you continue:
"Someone does want you. I want you. From the first moment I met you, I wanted you. I was so afraid I didn't deserve you, but it never stopped me from wanting you."

Josh: "You want me..."

You: "Yes. You. Over absolutely anyone. More than anything. Just you. A thousand times you."

He didn't waste a single breath responding and pulled your lips back to his. He pushed you back into the wall as the kiss intensified.

Suddenly he pulled back:
"Wait... did you say your ex showed up? What is he doing here? I thought you blocked him?"

You: "I did. I have no clue. He grabbed me and broke my phone when he saw I had a picture of you as my lockscreen. Jaden chased him off before I passed out and I still don't know why he's here."

Josh: "I am your lock screen?"

You: "Yeah... you know girls and their crushes. It's kinda embarrassing, huh?"

He kissed you sweetly again:
"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this out in the open. He could be anywhere and he sounds dangerous. Let's go inside."

You: "Charli is gone doing laundry, so we can go to my room."