Twisted Ties, page 2
part #2 of Ties Series
“I can’t. Please tell me that you’ll help me.”
He sighed. “We’ll try. I just don’t want you to get your hopes up.”
Over the next month, we’d tried. Neither of us knew the last name of Trish’s boyfriend, but we knew her last name and Jesse’s. We also knew they were in West Virginia. We’d tried everything that we could think of, starting with social networks. I had gone through pages and pages of Facebook profiles, and I’d ended up with nothing. I’d looked onTwitter next and then MySpace. I’d known it was a long shot, and I had been right. Absolutely nothing had come up.
We’d searched the Web for his mom’s name, but we couldn’t find a thing. It was like neither of them existed online. Andy had checked with the post office and his landlord to see if either had left a forwarding address. Of course, they hadn’t. It was like neither of them had ever existed, period. I’d cried when Andy told me that it was time to let it go. I had known he was right, but I hadn’t wanted to accept the fact that Jesse was really gone.
When it had come time to begin submitting applications for universities, I’d started looking at a few in West Virginia. It was obvious that West Virginia University was the biggest. I knew that Trish’s boyfriend had money and that Trish had expected Jesse to go to college. I was grasping at straws, but it was all I had.
My mom had been pressuring me to pick from one of the colleges she wanted me to go to, but I’d refused to give her an answer. I’d hidden my acceptance letter from my mom, not wanting her to find out that I was leaving until the last minute. I’d never even told her about Jesse, and I hadn’t planned to. I’d started to leave her house when I turned eighteen, but then I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d already felt so alone, and I hadn’t been ready to go home to an empty apartment every day. My mom might not have been home much, but our staff had been. I’d been around most of them my entire life, and they were the closest thing I had to a family.
My dad had known about my relationship with Jesse, and I’d finally broken down and told him what had happened between us right before I graduated. He’d thought I was nuts to leave everything I knew in hopes of finding Jesse, but my dad had tried to understand. He’d helped me get everything ready without my mom knowing a thing.
When I’d finally told my mom where I was going, she’d flipped out on me. She’d screamed that she would cut me off and take my car. I’d calmly handed her my keys, and I’d told her that I was leaving, and she couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
When she’d called my dad, he’d explained that he would take care of me financially, so she’d kicked me out. It hadn’t seemed to bother her that I was her only daughter, and I hadn’t been surprised by her reaction. She had never cared for me like a mom should, so why should she start now?
My dad had arranged for someone to pick me up, and I’d spent the rest of the summer in his apartment in L.A. Andy had become one of my best friends by this point, so he’d spent most of his summer at my house when he wasn’t working.
He’d refused to let me go all the way to West Virginia on my own, so we’d looked at apartments close to campus where he could stay. He’d claimed that he had nothing to stick around for in California, but I wasn’t so sure. He couldn’t afford the plane ticket to go with me, so I’d used that knowledge to blackmail him into letting me pay for his rent for the first few months until he could find a job. He hadn’t been happy about it, but he’d finally agreed. He hadn’t had any other options.
Ally had disappeared the day after she graduated. She hadn’t been around much anyway, but Andy was worried. He would get a text message here and there from her, but that was it. It was enough to let him know she was alive, but it wasn’t enough to make him stop worrying. I knew I was being a cruel bitch, but I didn’t care if she dropped off the face of the earth. She’d destroyed my life, and I hadn’t been able to do a thing about it. I had wanted to go after her when Andy told me what she had done, but he wouldn’t let me. I knew that she would kick my ass in a fight, but I hadn’t cared. As long as I could make her hurt a little bit, I would be happy.
I’d fought with Andy over it, but he’d finally convinced me not to hunt her down. I’d understood where he was coming from, but it hadn’t made me feel any better. She was his sister, but she’d hurt me. I just wanted to make her hurt, too.
“I think that’s our exit,” Andy said, pulling me from my memories.
I glanced up to see that he was right. I was nervous as I followed the signs pointing me to the university campus. The roads were clogged with students moving in for the school year, so it took a while to get through.
After what seemed like years, we finally arrived. This was it. I was finally here. I pulled into a parking lot directly across the road from a large brick building with my dorm name displayed on the front of it. Tons of students and their parents were unloading cars in the parking lot and along the street.
I felt a pang of jealousy as I watched a mom and dad hug their daughter a few cars in front of mine. I wondered what that would feel like—to have a dad around and a mother who actually cared. I tried to ignore my hurt feelings, but they wouldn’t leave. Kids were supposed to have their parents around to take care of them. Instead, I’d snagged a dad who cared from thousands of miles away and a mom who didn’t give a damn about me.
“Come on, let’s get you checked in,” Andy said before stepping out of my car.
My dad had known that my mom had taken away the car she’d bought for me, so he’d had a brand new SUV waiting for me at the Pittsburgh airport. I knew it made me a spoiled brat to accept it, but I didn’t care. I needed a car, and my dad had helped me out. I honestly thought the only reason he was helping me with all of this was because he felt guilty for leaving me alone with my mom for so long.
Andy kept his arm around my shoulders as we walked to the dorm. He’d become protective of me after Jesse left, and I was secretly glad. It was nice to have someone there for me just because he wanted to be. In this world, there were too few genuinely kind people to let one disappear from my life.
A line of students was waiting to be checked in when we walked into the lobby. I tapped my foot impatiently as the line slowly moved. I hated to wait.
When it was finally my turn, I gave the girl behind the counter my name and showed her my I.D. Once everything was checked off, she gave me a map of the campus and my key. I was instructed to go up to the third floor and turn left. She eyed Andy warily as she informed me that this was not a coed dorm, and no men were allowed after nine at night. I rolled my eyes, but I said nothing before we turned and walked away. I noticed several girls eyeing Andy, like they wouldn’t mind having him in their dorm room after hours. He smiled back at a few of them, but he didn’t stop to talk.
“If you want to flirt, go ahead. You need to remove your arm from my shoulders though before someone thinks you’re my boyfriend. I don’t want people to assume I’m the idiot girlfriend who stands around while her boyfriend eye-fucks the girls around them.”
He laughed. “You worry too much. I won’t eye-fuck anyone.”
“You can eye-fuck all you want. Just don’t act like my brother or boyfriend while you do it.”
“Maybe I want to pretend I’m your boyfriend.” He bent down and gave me a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
“You’re an ass,” I growled as I wiped his kiss away.
“I know.”
He finally dropped his arm from around my shoulders once we made it to the third floor. I wasn’t sure if it was because he really was looking for someone to hook up with or because we had to walk single file down the hallway since girls were everywhere, trying to carry boxes. Either way, I was glad.
Once Andy and I had started hanging out a lot back in California, we’d had to fight off the rumors within his circle of friends. Everyone had assumed that we were a couple since we were together all the time, but we’d finally managed to convince them that it wasn’t true. Andy and I’d talked about whether or not there was anything between us, and we’d both agreed that there wasn’t.
We were nothing more than friends, and I was relieved. I wasn’t over Jesse, and I wasn’t sure that I ever would be. Andy kept up with his man-whore ways, and I moped by myself, wishing daily that Jesse would come back.
“Hey, I think this is your room,” Andy said from behind me.
I turned back to see that he was right. I’d been so preoccupied that I hadn’t even realized that I’d passed right by my room. I unlocked my door and threw it open. It was ten times smaller than the room I’d had at my mom’s house, but I loved it anyway. My dad had called the school and arranged for me to have a private room since I was his daughter, so I knew my room was smaller than most since it only slept one.
A small closet was only a few feet away from the main door. A desk was against the far wall, next to the one and only window. I could see from here that the window’s view was of the parking lot out front. A twin-sized bed sat on the opposite side of the room, and another door was in front of the bed. I walked over and opened it to see that I had my own bathroom. It was small, but it was more than I’d expected. Now, I wouldn’t have to fight with every other girl on the floor to shower daily.
“What do you think?” Andy asked as he sat down on my bed.
“I love it,” I said as I smiled.
“Really? It’s kind of tiny. I’ve seen your room at your dad’s house, and this is the size of your closet there.”
“I don’t care. It’s mine, and my mother has no say here. I love it.”
“You’re so weird,” Andy said as he spotted a stack of boxes beside the desk. “At least your stuff made it here safe and sound.”
“Yeah, it would have sucked if they had lost my crap.”
“You want to get unpacked before you take me to my place?”
“Nah, I can do that later. I need to make a quick stop before we go to your place though.”
“Okay…”
He eyed me suspiciously, but I ignored him. He was going to kill me when he realized what I’d done.
I locked up and led the way back downstairs. I had to hug the wall more than once as girls passed by me with their arms full of boxes. Once we made it outside, I walked to my car and unlocked it. I double-checked my directions as I waited for Andy to get into the car.
“Where are we going?” he asked.
“You’ll see.”
“Emma…”
“Don’t use that tone with me. You’ll see soon enough.”
I drove through the congested traffic as I searched for the street signs I needed. Once we were off the main drag, the traffic thinned, and it was easier to watch for my destination. I spotted it and quickly pulled into the driveway of a two-story brick house.
“What are we doing here?” Andy asked.
“I have to pick up something.”
“What?” He spotted a car in the yard with a For Sale sign on it. “Emma, you didn’t.”
“Shut up.” I stepped out and started walking toward the house just as the front door opened.
“Can I help you?” an older lady asked.
“Hi, I’m Emma. We spoke on the phone about the car you had for sale online.”
“Of course. Let me grab the keys, and I’ll be right out.”
I walked across the yard to where the car was sitting. It wasn’t the nicest thing out there, but as long as it ran, I’d take it. I knew asking my dad for money to get Andy a car would be too much, so I’d saved some of my monthly allowance from my dad until I had enough to get him something decent. He only planned to stick around for a few months, but he still needed something to drive while he was here.
“I’m going to kill you,” Andy whispered in my ear.
I jumped, not realizing that he’d followed me. “You need something to drive.”
“I’ll take the bus.”
“You’ll take your car,” I countered.
“Here are the keys if you want to start it up,” the elderly woman said from behind Andy.
I turned and took them from her hand before walking over to the car. After unlocking the door, I started the car, and I was relieved when it took right off.
“Can we take it for a drive?” I asked.
The lady seemed unsure. “If you do, I’d like to go with you. It’s nothing personal. I just don’t want it to disappear.”
“Of course!” I said.
I got out and then sat in the backseat. Andy and the lady sat down in the front. I knew nothing about cars, so I figured it would be better if Andy did the test-drive. Andy put it in drive and pulled onto the street. We circled the block a few times before he parked it back in her yard.
“It seems to be in good shape. How much are you asking?” he asked.
“I wanted three for it. It was my husband’s car, and he recently passed away. I hate to sell it, but I need the money.”
“We’ll take it,” I said before Andy could say anything. I pulled my wallet from my purse, counted out thirty-five hundred dollars, and handed the cash to the lady.
She looked confused when she finished counting it herself. “Sweetie, you overpaid me. I only wanted three.”
“And I think it’s worth thirty-five,” I said calmly.
Her eyes filled with tears, and she hugged me. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this helps me. I’ve barely been able to afford food since my husband died.”
“You’re welcome,” I said as I hugged her back.
It was so unfair how some people struggled day after day while others rolled around in millions of dollars. I knew it wasn’t my money to give, but I didn’t care. My dad wouldn’t miss a few thousand, and this lady needed it more than we did.
We finished up with the paperwork, and the lady walked back inside her house.
“That was nice of you,” Andy said.
“She needed it, and I wanted to help her,” I said as I walked to my car.
“You’re a good person, Emma. I hope you know that.”
I didn’t answer as I got into my car before heading in the direction of Andy’s apartment. After what I’d done to Jesse, I didn’t feel like a good person.
Jesse was on my mind as I drove to Andy’s place. I wondered how different he would be since the last time I’d seen him. Two years was a long time, and people could change a lot in that amount of time. I knew I had. What if I find him, and he’s completely different? What if he isn’t someone I could love anymore? I wasn’t sure how well I would handle finding him, only to lose him again.
I saw Andy’s apartment complex up ahead. It looked exactly like it did on the website. I’d set everything up through emails and phone calls, and I had to admit that I was a bit nervous about renting something without actually seeing it for myself first. I only hoped that his apartment was how it had been described.
The manager had instructed us to use the parking lot around the back of the building, and we did as he’d said. I parked in the visitor parking area while Andy parked in the space reserved for apartment tenants. After exiting our cars, we walked through the back entrance and up to the front desk. A young guy was sitting behind the desk, looking bored out of his mind.
When he saw us, he took his feet off the desk and stood up. “Can I help you?”
“I’m supposed to move into 2B. I think everything was taken care of over the phone,” Andy said.
The boy sat down and started typing on the computer in front of him. “Driver’s license, please.”
Andy pulled it from his wallet and handed it to the guy. After a few minutes of typing, he returned the driver’s license and handed over a set of keys to Andy.
“You’re all set. My name is Josh, and if you need any help getting settled in, just let me know.”
“Thanks, I will,” Andy said.
We turned and walked back toward the rear doors. After locating the elevator, I pushed the button to take us up. The doors slid open instantly, and we shot up to the second floor. Andy’s apartment was right past the elevators. When he opened the door, I was shocked at how nice it was. It was even better than the website had described. I’d selected this place because it was one of the few where I could afford to pay rent until Andy saved up some cash. I couldn’t spend too much money, or my dad would know that something was up.
The apartment was the perfect size for one person. When we walked in, we were standing in the living room. The apartment came fully furnished, so there was already a blue couch and chair along with a coffee table and end table. A medium-sized plasma television was mounted to the wall directly across from the couch. To the left was the kitchen with the standard white appliances. There wasn’t a ton of counter space or cabinets, but it was enough for a single guy to work with. Across the living room, a door led to the bathroom that included a single sink, a toilet, and a small shower. Next to the bathroom was Andy’s bedroom with a full-sized bed beside the window and a dresser.
“This place is awesome. Thanks, Emma,” Andy said as we finished checking the place out.
“No problem. I’m not going to lie. I’m slightly jealous here. I felt bad for putting you here because I thought it would be a dump, but it definitely isn’t. I feel like I should move in here, and you can live in my dorm.”
“It’s nicer than anyplace I’ve lived in before, and I doubt your school would want me in a dorm full of college girls.”
“You’re right. I’d get kicked out of school if I left you there alone. Well, enjoy it here.”
“I will. I should have moved to West Virginia years ago. Compared to California, this place is cheap.”
I laughed. “You can stay here for as long as you want. I might not even go back to California once I finish school. I’ll just go wherever feels right.”
“I don’t blame you. I know enough about your mom to understand why you’d want to stay far away.”
I frowned as I thought about my mom. Even though she had known where I was, she hadn’t tried to contact me once since she kicked me out. It was like she didn’t even care.
“I didn’t mean to make you sad. I’m sorry.”
