Tethered (J + P series) Read online

  “Have you met her yet?” my mom asked.

  “Nope, she moves in tomorrow.”

  “I see you got your weight back down. What are we going to do with this hair next?” she looked at my hair with a disgusted face. I clicked my tongue and let out a defeated sigh. Could she ever be around me without looking for a flaw?

  “Nothing, we are doing nothing. What's wrong with my hair anyway?” I asked defensively.

  “It's just not styled properly and there is no shine to it.”

  “Mom, it's the weekend. I put my hair in a ponytail. I am SORRY I have not dolled myself up enough for you. I like my hair. Can you just drop it?” I pleaded. But I knew my plea fell on deaf ears. In all of the times I had every asked her to stop ragging on me about something, she had never listened to me. My words meant nothing. My boundaries were so invisible to her, that she treaded back and forth over them on a frequent basis.

  We finally made it to the restaurant where I hoped the meal would keep our mouths occupied enough to spare us from starting in on each other again. We chose to eat at a place called Marta's. It had great German food and was set up like a German pub. I ordered the potato pancakes. They reminded me of my Grandma's home cooked food and I had been hungry for something savory. My mom ordered a plate with sausage and potato pancakes. I kept feeling her eyes on me with each bite I took. I knew she was judging me and thinking negatively about me, especially since I was eating. I tried to enjoy my meal and feel grateful that she had not said anything derogatory to me yet.

  After lunch, they walked me back to the dorm and say their goodbyes,

  The next day my new roommate arrived. She had two boys helping move her items. I noticed them bringing a fridge and TV into the room. “I was told you didn't have a fridge or TV. That kinda sucks. We don't have a lot of room in here and had I known you had these, I could have sent mine home with my parents.” Cindy just shrugged and smiled, “Oh well, misunderstanding I suppose.”

  I gave her some time to herself in the room. Besides, how could I study in there while she was up and down, all around, moving her furniture? I headed to Greg and Jared's to complain.

  “Perry, you know you can hang with us anytime. I mean, you need to sleep in there since girls aren't allowed to sleep in the boys’ wing, but the daytime hours, just hang with us.” Greg offered. I loved these boys.

  “Thanks, I don't want to occupy your time and space though.”

  “Whatever, don't be stupid – just hang with us when you need to get away from restraining order roomie!” I laughed at Greg's nickname for Cindy.

  At 10PM I went back to my room to go to bed. My roommate was already asleep and the room had an incredibly strong smell of sausage and pizza. I hoped I would not dream of having a giant sausage run after me, trying to shove pizza down my throat.

  In the morning I let Cindy know my schedule for the day. She did not offer me her schedule so I just grabbed my books and headed to class. After my second class of the day, I returned to the dorm to exchange books and eat some lunch. When I walked in the room, I found my roommate under a thick blanket, all the lights were on (even though it was 11AM and sunny outside), the heater blasting, and watching trashy talk shows. It must have been 85F in the room. “Hey Cindy, you feeling OK?” I asked.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “It's just REALLY hot in here.” she looked up at me surprised. “No it's not.” I nodded in a confused way, because I couldn't understand how she was not melting from the heat in this room. The smell of sausage and pizza was even stronger in this heat. “What's that smell?” I asked.

  “Oh, we had pizza yesterday, must just be from the fridge.” and I think to myself that this has gone from my cavern of solitude to a hot box I wanted to avoid. I officially decided that I would be Greg and Jared's third roommate during daylight hours.

  Chapter 21

  May

  In the last push before the year ended, I had to endure one more emotionally trying event. Tara, Jen's roommate, had been hanging around our group a lot more since she and her boyfriend broke up. She was more of a self-righteous animal rights/vegan kind of girl. One day, while studying in Jared and Greg's room, there was a knock at the door. Jared jumped up to answer it. I was surprised to see Tara there. She never sought out these two guys before. Maybe she was looking for me. “Ready to go?” she asked. “Yep.” and Jared shut the door behind him and followed Tara to God knows where. I tried to remain calm, but felt like my jaw was on the floor. I looked at Greg for any sign of him knowing what just happened.

  “What was that about?” I asked.

  “I don't know” he said with a shrug. “Maybe he's trying his luck with Tara. He always thought she was cute and now that she is available, he probably wants to see where it goes.” I am not supposed to care about this. I am not supposed to care about him. I was doing just fine with having Greg and Jared as friends. But all of those times he reached out and showed that he gave a damn about my life – I thought I had a different connection with him than everyone else. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was just a simple gesture that friends would do for each other. I didn't know if I was emotionally able to watch them try out this relationship right in front of me. A random girl was easier for me to stomach than Tara. Tara. What a bitch.

  “What the hell. Didn't you just say to me recently that everyone but Jared knew I liked him?” I ask perplexed.

  “Yeah.”

  “Apparently, Tara has no respect for the girl code. She should know he is off limits. I have talked about him enough.” I said exasperated. Greg just shrugged. Jared was letting his hormones take over and Tara was not a good enough friend to care about my feelings.

  The study session with Greg was a wash. I just stared at the pages of my Chemistry book, stewing over the betrayal of Tara. I would have words with her about this. Hopefully Jen would not be there because it was gonna' get ugly.

  Just before dinner I went back to my room. I heard giggling in the hall and saw Jared and Tara standing too close together in her room. I put my key in my lock and tried to escape to my room as quickly as possible. I was not ready to confront the two of them just yet. My escape from them was the hot pepperoni and sausage room. I looked across the room and found my roommate under a blanket, watching trashy TV AGAIN. Maybe her past roommate went crazy from the heat and smell and attacked her. My God, I couldn't stand to hang out in here. I grabbed my dining card and left.

  In the dining hall I saw Jen and Edward. They had been together for most of the school year and they looked as in love with each other as they did on day 1. I decided to sit by them and see what Jen knew.

  “Umm, what's going on with Tara and Jared?”

  “I wondered when you would see them.” Jen said while squirming in her chair from the uncomfortable direction the conversation took. “I think they are kinda dating.”

  “Since when?!” I asked in disbelief.

  “Since yesterday. Do you still have feelings for him?” she asked.

  “I don't know, no, I mean he is not mine. But on the other hand, I have liked him for so long, I thought EVERYONE knew that.”

  Jen looked at me in an apologetic way, “I'm not sure Tara cares about that.”

  I needed to have a talk with her tonight before their relationship developed further.

  After dinner, I found Tara alone in her room. “So, are you and Jared an item?”

  “Um, I guess, we just started dating.” she said confidently. I could see in her eyes that she was enjoying my defeat.

  “Why Jared? Don't you know I have liked him since the day I saw him?”

  “Well, I guess this is what happens when you aren't obvious enough with your feelings toward someone. You snooze, ya' lose.” she sneered at me. I was seeing red. I was so mad that I felt tears bubbling in my eyes. I did NOT want her to see me cry over this. She couldn't have that satisfaction. “I barely liked you before, but now...now I despise you.” I turned and stormed out, I went toward the stairs to escape to the
radio station. Maybe Jared would come in like last time and keep me company and put a bandage on another wound. Who was I kidding? Why would he care about me? And what would I do if he sis shows up? Would I be forthright with my feelings? Would I yell at him and tell him he is an oblivious idiot who keeps sending me mixed messages?

  I spun the CDs, but no Jared showed up, no anybody. All alone in the radio station with my thoughts and sorrow. After an hour and a half I closed up and went back to my room. It was close enough to bedtime that I decided to clean up and head to bed.

  On the way back from the bathroom, I heard giggling and chatting from Jen's room. As I slipped my key into our door, I steal a look over my shoulder into their room. Tara and Jared are entwined and reclined on the couch in their room. Jen was in there doing homework at her desk, but it was not interrupting their intimate moment. I closed the door quickly behind me. I needed for this to end. I needed to be done with this year and go home for the summer. I needed to be drama free for awhile. I officially gave up on Jared. Tara could have him. I sat in a bean bag and watched trashy TV with my roommate. She was surprised to see me hanging out with her and filled me in on the drama unfolding on the TV. When I was sleepy enough, I climbed up into bed and attempted to sleep. But sleep did not come, only tears. I couldn't get the image of Jared and Tara entwined out of my head.

  Chapter 22

  The last week of school arrived. I was busy studying and packing up for the summer. Chuck planned to pick me up on Thursday to take me home.

  Students were trying to arrange roommate assignments for next year. I wished I could afford a single room, but knew that was not in my future. A girl on my floor named Molly asked to room with me next year. I took her up on the offer since she was quiet, studying health sciences, and seemed nice. Mags and a friend from home were going to room across the hall from us, and Jen and Tara would be next to Mags' room. The boys were sticking together as well. Ian and Tim rooming together and Greg and Jared rooming together. Hopefully the summer apart would do us all some good. Maybe we would return in the fall less irritated with each other. I wondered if any of the couples would last through summer. Mags and Tim seemed like the couple to last. Jen and Edward had a few fights recently which might make summer hard on them, especially if Edward ran across his ex-girlfriend, an old temptation. And Jared and Tara, no comment.

  Wednesday night, I finished studying and grabbed a quick shower. On my way back to my room, Tara popped out of her room. “You can have Jared back now. I am done with him.” I felt like puking. “No thank you, I am not interested in your sloppy seconds.” I said and headed into my room. The door closed and I heard her mumble something toward my room. Probably cursing me. Good, their relationship didn't make it past two weeks. I hopped into bed. My roommate was already fast asleep so I laid down and drifted off peacefully.

  After my last final, I said goodbye to the girls and wished them a fun summer. Then I headed to the boys' side. Tim and Ian joked with me about some of the finals I had to endure this week. “Bet you wished we had shared our amazing brain power with you in more tutoring sessions before your finals.” Ian teased. I laughed and told them I felt pretty good about my grades and begged them to keep in touch over the summer. Then I knocked on Jared and Greg's door. Greg was the only one in the room, which was a relief. I had not seen Jared since he and Tara broke up and I was not anxious for an awkward moment. “Hey Greg! I came to say farewell.” he got up and gave me a big bear hug.

  “Perry, I got used to seeing you almost every day. What am I gonna' do this summer?” He truly looked concerned.

  “Come visit me,” It's a three hour drive from his house to my house so I doubted he will take my suggestion to heart. “or write me.”

  “I will.” We hugged again and I start toward the girl's side. As I passed the laundry room, I heard Jared call out my name. “Perry, hey, wait up.” I walked a little faster. I couldn't do this right now. His voice got closer as he called me again, but I kept my pace and made it to the girl's stairwell without turning back. “Goodbye Jared” I whispered. I headed back to my room, grabbed my bags and headed home for the summer with Chuck.

  Chapter 1 of Complications

  Book 2 of the J+P series

  The summer was not over yet and here I was heading back to school. The campus looked the same, no new buildings or statues erected as far as I could tell. The dorm had not changed over the summer. I claimed my side of the room since Molly had not shown up yet. She was more studious than my previous roommates and would hopefully be a good match for me. I hadn't seen any other friends on my floor yet. I was dying to know if any of the boys were here yet. How could I discreetly scope out the guys wing? I put on my Converse and decided to check out the lower level of the common area.

  I checked for mail and found a few back to school sheets in there. The radio station was locked up but from peeking through the window, I saw the old ratty couch and the graffiti on the walls. No change. I walked past the laundry rooms toward the guys’ wing, getting closer to where the guys in our gang resided. I heard loud boisterous guys arranging a game of football on the lawn between dorms. Our friends were not footballers. I peeked around the corner where the boys rooms were, all the doors were closed. I turned around quickly and slammed straight into Greg and a new boy.

  “Stalking someone Perry?” Greg teased as he steadied me.

  “Oh sorry,” I could feel the color heating up my cheeks, “I'm glad it was you I body-slammed and not some stranger.”

  “Good to see you too kiddo.” Greg smiled. “Oh, hey. This is Dave; he is a buddy from back home. He is living in the room next to ours so you will see a lot of him.”

  I extended my hand and David shook it. He was not my type, but attractive. He was shorter than Greg and more muscular (but not in the beefy way). He had blonde curly hair and blue eyes. He smiled but did not say anything.

  “Anyone else back yet?” I asked.

  “Not yet, Dave and I were gonna' pick up some pop from the store.” Greg had a car, he was the only one from our group and we were grateful for any trips he invited us to join him. “Wanna' come with?”

  I could not think of anything better to do at that moment. Plus I seriously had missed Greg over the summer. “Absolutely.”

  We walked to his car, which was actually a pretty cool car for a 19 yr old kid from a middle class family. It was a bit sporty and retro with a great stereo system. Dave let me ride shotgun and he poked his head between the driver and passenger seats to join our conversation. We chatted about the summer and the sucky jobs we had to work.

  I asked Dave who he was rooming with and he said it was another friend from home named Jim. “Boy, you all just love this college huh? So did all four of you hang out back home?”

  “Sort of, Jared wasn't in the mix all the time, but the rest of us were pretty solid.” Dave said.

  I liked Jared and Greg an awful lot, and Dave seemed nice enough. I wondered what Jim was like.

  “Who are you rooming with Perry? Anyone I know?” Greg asked.

  “Nah, a girl named Molly. She lived a few doors down from me last year. She is in life sciences too. Kinda quiet and shy but nice. I don't know how she will fit into the mix of us all.”

  “Oh man, a new one. Weird, you know you can always hang out in my room.” Greg offered.

  “Thank you for that.” I smiled and nodded. I looked out the window and felt the warm sun on my skin with the cool breeze blowing through my hair. The summer had been hard. I worked a lot and did whatever my parents bid me to do. I was glad to be back on campus with my friends and my freedom. I felt alive here. As I opened my eyes to come out of my thoughts I saw Dave looking at my from the side-view mirror. His eyes met mine for a moment and he quickly looked away, like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. I looked at him for a moment longer and then decided to engage Greg to push away any awkwardness. Something in my gut told me this year would be full of complications and excitement,
I could hardly wait.