Reaching Out for You (31 page)

I point at her.
“I told you! See!”

“Yeah I know. I
told Connor I do not like her and he sees what I mean. There is something weird
about her.” She takes a seat at the table. “Connor caught her in Adam’s office
looking at his pictures. He said she had a scary look on her face when she saw
the picture of you.”

I instantly feel
my face burn up. “She is up to something!”

“We know that
but Adam doesn’t see it.”

I can’t believe
what I am hearing. Is Adam that blind? “Alright, I don’t want to think about
it. Can we go please?”

We freshen up
and head outside to explore LA. The driver is waiting for us as he opens the
door to let us in. It is so hot out, but it feels so good. I put on my
sunglasses, as Erin and I sing along to Carrie Underwood and dance in our seat.
We stop at

After hours of
shopping, we are exhausted. We stop at a little café and decide to get
something to eat.
Erin
bought herself a Gucci purse and wallet,
courtesy of Connor. I bought a few outfits and a nice dress for tonight. We are
seated at a table outside and look through the menu.

“What are you in
the mood for?” I ask
Erin
.

She looks
through the menu. “I don’t know, maybe a salad? I don’t want anything too
heavy.”
“Yeah, me too,” we decide on an apple and chicken salad but before we can
order, I hear my name. I turn around and see Kyle’s mom heading our way. I look
at
Erin
and she is just as nervous as I am. Mrs.
Harrington makes her way over to our table. She is a beautiful and tall woman
in her forties. Each time Kyle and I would meet with his parents, she was
always dressed nicely.

I don’t know why
she wants to talk to me, but I smile and get up to give her a hug. “Oh, Sophia
how nice to see you,” she kisses both of my cheeks. “How are you darling?”

I motion for her
to sit down and introduce her to
Erin
.
“I’m good and yourself?”

She sets her bag
down and sits with us. “Um I’m ok. Sophia, have you talked to Kyle at all?”

My body tenses.
Just hearing his name makes me nervous. “No Mrs. Harrington, I haven’t. Why do
you ask?”

She covers her
mouth and shakes her head. “Oh darling, I don’t know where my son is. He has
not called my husband or me; we don’t know what to do.”

Erin
looks at her with frustration. “Mrs.
Harrington, please don’t’ take this the wrong way, but your son was beating my
best friend and put her in the hospital.”

I quickly look
at
Erin
and give her a death glare. I do not
want her to yell at the poor woman and I am scared to hear her response. I look
at her and see the worry and sadness in her eyes. She takes my hands and cries.
“I am so sorry Sophia. I am glad you’re ok and I can’t speak for Kyle, but we
are so sorry about what happened.”

I start crying
too and feel bad for what she is going through. “It is ok. I’m better now.”

Erin
takes my other hand and we sit in
silence for a moment. “Mrs. Harrington, if we see Kyle, I’ll call you.”
Erin
says reassuringly.

“Oh girls, thank
you so much.” She gets up and gives each of us a hug. “Sophia, please be
careful.” She gives me one final hug before leaving.

After Kyle’s mom
leaves, Erin and I look at each other confused. “What the hell do you think she
means?”

A worried
expression comes on my face and I shudder. “I don’t know.”

We’ve lost our
appetites and head back to the hotel.
Erin
heads back to her room to get some rest before her early flight. We give one
another a hug and say bye. When I get into the hotel room, there is an eerie
silence. I look around but there is no one here. I check my phone and see that
Adam hasn’t called or texted. I get on the bed and lay down, thinking about
what she meant by saying to be careful. I look at the time and its past
five o’clock
.
I text Adam asking
where he is and what time he will be back home.
When I close my phone, I
end up falling right to sleep.

I wake up and
look around the room. It is still dark, but I see someone sitting in a chair at
the foot of the bed. I look closer and notice Adam.

“Honey, why are
you just sitting there?”

He slowly gets
up and makes his way over to the bed. He smiles at me with that loving
expression in his eyes. As he cradles my face, I pull myself closer to him. Out
of nowhere, Adam punches me in the face, repeatedly. I feel each punch and his
hits are getting harder. I can’t scream or move. There is nothing for me to do
but take it. Why is this happening again?

“
ADAM
!!!!!!!!!!!”

I’m shaking and
can’t catch my breath. Everything around me is spinning and the blankets and
pillows are wet. Adam comes running in the room toward me. “Stay away from me.”
I scream.

“Baby, baby what
is wrong?” He puts his hands on my face and I begin to shake.

“You...
you
were just hitting me.” I sob.

“Wait what?
Baby, I’ve been in the other room reading my emails. I didn’t want to come in
and wake you up. Sorry I came back so late, but the meeting ran long.” He looks
at me and tilts my face up to him. “Baby, you were dreaming of me hitting you?
I’d never do that.”

I shake my head
and cry. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me. I know you wouldn’t hurt
me, but Kyle’s mom saw us and she came to talk to me and Erin today at lunch.”

“Kyle’s mom, are
you ok?” I can tell he is mad.

“I don’t know,
she said sorry and for me to be careful.” My voice is shaky. I wrap my arms
around Adam and hold him as if he is going to leave. He strokes my back and
whispers in my ear telling me everything will be ok.

“I will keep you
safe baby. I promise.”

I lean back on
the bed and look at him. “Adam we need to talk.” I want him to know how
uncomfortable Olivia makes me feel. “Listen, there is something else,” I start
to say, “I don’t like Olivia and I want her out.”
Adam starts to laugh and gets up from the bed. He unbuttons his shirt and
starts to take off his pants. “What are you talking about Sophia? Olivia’s
harmless.”

I get up from
the bed and get in his face. “Babe, I don’t like her. You saw what she did
before and Connor said he saw her in
your
office looking at
my
picture!
She is fucking crazy! When I went to go see you at the office, I saw her all
over you.” My arms are flying in the air and I look like a maniac.

Adam shakes his
head and puts his arms around me. “Connor told me about that. Listen baby, I
told her I’m with you and she understands.” He kisses my forehead and breathes
out. “I’m not interested in her. I’m with
you
.”

I hug him back
and feel better but I still don’t like her. My lips find his and I kiss him
with urgency and passion. I feel him on me and the night is perfect again. We
make love the rest of the night.

Since Adam was
able to figure out everything the day before, we are able to fly back to
North Carolina
. The flight is fast and steady, with no
issues. I think about what Mrs. Harrington said to me and I cannot shake her
off. Adam holds me throughout the entire flight, telling me that everything is
going to be ok. I have an unnerving feeling that will not go away.

When we land in
North Carolina
, there is a problem and we can’t get off
the plane right away. Adam talks to the pilot to see what is going on. He left
his phone on the seat. I grab it and look through the messages. There is
nothing interesting but then a new message pops up. It is from Olivia. I open
the message and a picture of her out with her friends comes up. She is wearing
a tight purple dress with her boobs out. I am pissed.
I text
her back pretending to be Adam.
I tell her it isn’t appropriate to send
these things. I throw the phone back on his seat and lean my head against the
window. I close my eyes and think about bitch slapping the whore.

Finally, after
an hour we are able to board off.
 
We
meet our car and get in the backseat. Adam pulls me closer to him, but I pull
away from him. I turn my body to face him. “Adam, did you check your phone?

He looks at me
confused. “No,” he slowly says, “Why?”

I put on my
seatbelt and stare straight out the window. “Well you should.” I’m still mad
about what she sent him. I look over and see Adam’s face tighten. I’m glad that
picture doesn’t do anything to him. He puts his phone up to his ear and I
wonder who he is calling.

“Connor, fire
Olivia.” Whoa! I did not think that picture would send him over the edge. I
lean in closer to try to hear what Connor is saying.

“I’ll send you
the message. Alright, thanks.” When Adam hangs up the phone, he looks back at
me, “Happy?”

He had better
not be mad at me. “What? She sent you a picture with her fucking boobs out
Adam!”

He puts his arms
around me again and kisses me. “Baby, I’m asking if you’re happy in a serious
way. I’m not trying to be sarcastic.”

I blush and feel
like an idiot. “Oh. Well yes I am. The only boobs you’ll be seeing are mine.”

“Oh I can’t
wait.” We start laughing as we head back home.

* * * * *

The next few
weeks go by without any problems. Classes are over and everyone has taken their
finals. We prepare for one of the biggest days of our lives-graduation. Adam
was selected as one of the speakers, along with Connor, as they celebrate their
triumphs with
Optimax
.

We all do final
touchups, and head out to the common area. My dad,
Sarah
,
Lydia
, and Frank are talking as we come out.
Sarah runs up to me and gives me a hug. “Congratulations, baby sister.” I hear
her softly cry.

I hug her back.
“Thank you.” My dad comes over and hugs us both.

Everyone is
hugging one another and saying their congratulations. I find my way back to
Adam and take in how lucky we all are to have one another.

As we make it to
the college, we take our respective seats. The president of the college, Dr.
Jay Henderson, talks about achieving our dreams and that this is the start of
the rest of our lives. Everyone claps as he introduces Adam and Connor to the
podium. I smile to myself as I look at them and feel nothing but happiness for
my two best friends. We have all achieved and overcome so much in our lives and
here we are about to embark on a whole new adventure. Adam begins his speech:

“Thank you
everyone. My brother, Connor and I, are honored to stand before each of you and
leave you with some wise words. Today is the start of our lives as Dr.
Henderson was just saying. Live your life to the fullest. Be a friend. Change
the world. There is nothing stopping you. Do not let anything hold you back.
You have everything to gain by embracing your talents and worth. Take each day
as if it were your last, congratulations everyone, and good luck.”

The entire class
and families give Adam a standing ovation as he finishes his speech. Connor
takes the stand and simply says, “Yeah, what my brother said.” Everyone erupts
with laughter as Dr. Henderson takes back the podium and starts to announce
each student one by one. There are cheers for each student as we go up to the
stage and collect our hard-earned degree.

“Alright class
of 2013, please move your tassels to the left. Remember, this is your moment to
shine for the rest of your lives, congratulations once again and good luck!”
Dr. Henderson finally says. Everyone stands up and throws their hat in the air.
At last, we are finished with college!