Falling For Seconds

Chapter Two

I hadn't lied when I told the mystery guy I had a boyfriend. I did have a boyfriend; we just weren't able to be with each other much. He lived on campus at one of the two universities in this city. I would've been there with him, but I didn't want to live on campus in a dorm with other people I didn't know. I'd been forced to watch too many horror movies to know one of those roommates could quite possibly be a serial killer. 

  So, immediately after graduation, I convinced my parents that community college was the best option. It took a month of persuading, but finally, they gave in. So, I spent my first year of college living at home.

Greyson, my boyfriend, had pleaded against me taking classes through a community college as much as my parents. He repeatedly talked about how "community college was just a college for the less fortunate and extremely stupid." I didn't see it that way, but that's why opposites attract. Right?

Greyson was two years ahead of me, and he'd promised as soon as he was let out of his housing contract, we'd move in together. That was the main reason we were spending so much time apart. The university would only let a student out of their contract if they deemed you were eligible. In turn, Greyson was working his ass off trying to be in all the extracurricular activities he could all while maintaining a stellar grade point average.

"Are you still coming over?" I whined into the phone, hoping that he would say what I longed to hear.

"Babe, you know I want to, but you also know I should be hearing from the dean of students tomorrow. I'm not positive when they are going to call, but I need to be here and available when they do."

I couldn't hear the regret in his voice as he spoke. I knew it bothered him that he had to cancel so many of our dates, but where was the guilt? He'd only signed the contract two months before; I didn't understand why getting it overturned was such a process during the summer months. 

  "Then I'll come to see you!" I blurted, then immediately let out a sigh, knowing how he would respond. 

"I don't like you driving in city traffic, and you know that. I promise I will make all of this up to you as soon as they get back to me with an answer."

I fell onto the couch and rolled my eyes. "I know you've said that a million times."

The original plan was to have a date night at my house. I had cooked pasta and cleaned in hopes that our plans would follow through. It had been months of rain checks, and I was getting annoyed.

  "I'm just really getting tired of planning things, and they never end up happening."
Tonight had been a conversation full of compromises and letdowns.

"Hadley, we are going through a lot. I promise after tomorrow we will finally have an answer."

"You sound so positive the school is going to let you out."

He laughed, "I haven't given them a reason to turn me down."

I didn't say anything to him as I chewed on my bottom lip. My mind played scenarios of how tomorrow's conversation could go. I was full of fear as I felt we wouldn't come out of this situation with what we wanted.

  "Are you still there?" Greyson's voice pulled me back to reality.

  "Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm just exhausted." I lied.

"Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Get some rest. I love you; goodnight."

"I love you too, goodnight." I let the words slip through my lips robotically and hung up the phone. I let out yet another sigh and looked around my tiny apartment.