Heart Strings

Chapter 2

Stephan
All summer I've been dreading coming back to Oxford. I've lived in Covington all my life, so coming back home isn't necessarily the problem. But seeing her. I don't know how to handle it. Growing up was really rough for me. I was constantly in and out of foster homes. Then I met my dad. And for a few years, everything was perfect until he disappeared. Now, I'm living on my own. All of summer was spent looking for him to no avail. Scanning news articles on missing people. I even hired a private investigator. But nothing. I glance down at my class times on my phone. Fuck it, I'll just be late. I need a few more minutes before I have to see her. Losing her was by far the hardest thing. And I don't even understand what happened. We were perfect for each other. There was never anyone else. Just her. And I thought she felt the same, but I guess not. Whatever. I need to get over it. I grab my jacket and check my hair in the mirror. I look like I've been to hell and back but I kinda like the look. The clock reads nine. I'm already late so I head out and take the stairs to the classroom. The door is already closed, so I jerk it open. Everyone's eyes land on me. I put on a fake confidence and start walking to the back where I find some empty seats. All of a sudden my eyes find her. She's staring at me in shock. Guess she thought I'd change classes. But that's not like me. I look away and find my seat. The professor makes a weird coughing noise and then continues his speech. I can't seem to focus though. All I can do is stare at her. At least she can't see me since she sat at the front. Of course she did. My pure sweet Libby. But she's not my Libby anymore. I think back to the night of our argument. "I can't do this anymore Stephan. One day, you're going to look back and see that I was right. I'm not right for you. I've knew it all along but I let my emotions get in the way. In fact, I'm already over it. I don't love you. So just go." It doesn't make any sense to me. I know her too well. But it's no use thinking about it anymore. Not that I can stop myself from thinking. For fucks sake. People are getting up now and leaving and I notice the professor is no longer talking. Fuck. I missed the whole class. I get up and grab my backpack and follow everyone out. As I'm leaving though, I glance back to see if she's still there. She is. My heart aches but I push it down and head out.
"Wait up man!" Ben is running towards me. "It's been forever. How was summer. Anything on your dad?" He asks. I shake my head. "Nothing dude. I hired an investigator but they'll only do so much since I don't have a lot of funds for it." I keep walking and Ben follows. "Sorry man. I know it just be rough. How's Libby?" Fuck. Of course he'd ask that. He doesn't know we're not together anymore and I didn't necessarily feel the need to tell anyone. "I don't know." I answer honestly. He gives me a questioning look but I just leave it at that. "Well I'm having a party tonight if you want to come. Lots of beer!" I nod and agree to come. I don't really want to go to a stupid party, but I can't deny the beer. I need it tonight if I'm going to stop thinking about her. My next class is in an hour. I consider skipping, but decide I need to go. She won't be in this class so at least I can concentrate.
After all my classes I head back to my house. Before the break up, Libby stayed here with me. At first, she had insisted on staying in the dorms for the full college experience. But I quickly changed her mind. The house is downtown and very historic. Libby loves anything to do with history. But now that it's just me, the house feels too big and empty. Aside from the couch and a few books, I don't really have anything here. The walls feel bare without her paintings all over the place. I used to hate them, but now I'd do anything to see them cluttering every free wall in the house. I head to the bathroom for a quick shower before leaving to go to the party. When I get out, I see my phone was five text from Ben. I figure I'm late so I put the address in my gps and get in the car. The drive is short and as I pull up to park, I see a mass of people. Fuck. I hate large crowds. Drunk girls are littering the yard with red solo cups. Where the heck is Ben. One girl reaches out to grab me, but I gently push her away and keep walking to the door. Inside, music is blaring and I can't hear my own thoughts. I see Ben standing in the kitchen and make my way towards him. "Man, you made it! Come get a beer." He shouts enthusiastically. I smile for the first time today. Ben is like a brother to me. He was in foster care for a while before getting adopted. He really is the nicest guy, kinda like a teddy bear. But geez he gets himself in some interesting situations. I grab a beer from him and listen as he rambles on about his summer. "Dude I meet three girls. Three. And they are all in love with me. We were at this beach in Florida and I went to some party. It was great man." He claps his hands together like a three year old in glee. "How many beers have you had?" I ask a little sternly. "Only 5." He replies sheepishly. Boy this is going to be a long night.  At least now I have something else to focus on. I find an empty cup and fill it up with water before handing it to him. "Drink." I say as nice as I can. "Man I think I'm drunk." I nod in agreement. That's an understatement. Suddenly Ben gets up and heads for the stairs wobbly as can be. I head after him and steady him with my arm. "Dude I gotta throw up." Shit. I heave him up and carry us to the bathroom as quickly as I can. For being a smaller guy, he sure does weigh a ton. Ben heaves over the toilet and throws up for a solid ten minutes. Looking up at me, he gives me a little grin. "Not funny dude. You can't drink that much. Five beers is way too much. You usually only drink two." I say. "Okay I drank a little too much. But you're my absolute hero!" he says cheering up some again. I laugh and head downstairs to clear out the people. The whole yard and downstairs is an absolute mess. Guess I'm cleaning up tonight. If Libby was only here. I go to check on Ben and find him sound asleep on a bed. Sighing, I start picking up cups and broken plates off the floors. This is going to take all night, and I'm not even drunk.