The snow doesn’t let up all day. My afternoon classes are cancelled and instead of trudging home for lunch, I grab a salad and find a table in the student center to study while I eat.
I pull out my laptop and glance around. I’m not the only one who decided to hunker down on campus. There’s something serene about sitting inside and watching the snow fall with the buzz of happy conversation and laughter all around.
Groups of friends and couples make up the majority of the tables. Not for the first time since my breakup with Gabe, I wonder how my life would be different if I’d never met him. Would I be here with my friends instead of sitting alone?
I don’t even remember the last time I talked to any of the girls I used to hang out with. When I started seeing Gabe, I stopped going out with them. It wasn’t intentional at first. I was excited about my new relationship and caught up in the excitement of it. Going to parties and bars didn’t have the same appeal.
I guess we weren’t as close as I thought because it didn’t take much time for us to drift apart. By the time I realized what a mess my relationship was, I didn’t feel like we were close enough that I could confide in them. And now? Well, I feel like a different person and not one that they’d understand.
My phone vibrates on the table in front of me, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Speak of the devil,” I mutter quietly as Gabe’s name stares back at me from the screen. Why the hell is he calling me? I’m not curious enough to answer. I send him to voicemail and focus back on my homework.
I’m fully engrossed in biopsychosocial dynamics when I feel his presence. I glance up as Gabe slides into the seat across from me. My pulse speeds up and my stomach clenches.
“What are you doing here?”
Relaxed and cool, Gabe drops one hand on the table. He’s wearing a long dress coat over his suit. His hair is wet from the snow and his cheeks are ruddy. “You’re still sharing your location with me.”
A shot of panic races through me. Since we broke up, he’s known how to find me at any moment. I swallow around the lump forming in my throat.
As if reading my thoughts, he says, “What? It’s not a big deal. I tried to call, but clearly you’re ignoring me.” Anger flashes in his eyes but disappears quickly. “Anyway, I stopped by because I have news and I knew you’d want to hear it.”
He’s wrong. So wrong. I don’t want to hear anything he has to say. “We broke up, Gabe. Go tell someone else. I’m studying.”
“Don’t be like that. I got a new job. It’s big. Really big.”
“I don’t care.” I close my laptop and shove my stuff into my backpack quickly. If he’s not going to leave, I am.
“God, you can really be a bitch sometimes, Bridget. Things are happening for me and I want you by my side.”
“Not happening.”
“Are you really going to throw away the time we spent together over some stupid arguments? We had a good thing.”
I wonder if he really believes the words he says. Does he really think that he wants to be with me? You don’t treat someone like he treated me if you truly care about them. “You and I have a very different accounting of our relationship. It’s not happening. Not now, not ever again.”
“You don’t mean that. You want to make me out as some kind of monster, but you know that’s not me. We were great together. I messed up, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you.”
I stand, uneasy on my feet, and glance at the exit. I need to get away from him. I can’t believe he’s had access to my location all this time. “I mean it, Gabe. Don’t contact me again.”
“Are you fucking someone else? Is that what this is about?” He gets to his feet quickly and walks with me toward the exit. It amazes me how fast he can go from sweet and apologetic to bitter and angry.
“No. And if I was, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”
“You’re wrong, Bridget,” he says, holding the door open for me. “You’ll always be my business.”
I wake up from my late afternoon nap to a voicemail from work that says I’m not needed and should stay home. Whittaker closed campus tomorrow, too, so I have nothing to do for the next twenty-four hours.
Earlier I overheard Everly and Grace talking about watching movies tonight, so I throw on some sweats and a big T-shirt and head out to the living room. After seeing Gabe today, I don’t feel like being alone with my thoughts.
“Hey,” Everly says. She sits in the middle of the couch with a big bowl of popcorn next to her. “I thought you had work?”
“They called me off.”
“You don’t have to go in at all?” Grace asks.
“Nope.” I shake my head and absently tug on the hem of my T-shirt.
“You have to join us for a movie marathon,” Everly says, putting the bowl on her lap and scooting over.
“We just started Dirty Dancing,” Grace adds. “I’ve never seen it and Everly thinks that’s a travesty.”
“Me neither,” I admit. “Well, I’ve seen clips.”
“It is a travesty!” Everly exclaims and pats the couch. “Both of you need to watch it. Classes are canceled tomorrow because of the snow, so it’s the perfect night to stay up late and binge-watch old movies.”
“I love a snow day,” Grace says with a smile. “My psychology test was pushed back to next week.”
“Lucky.” Everly groans. “My philosophy professor sent extra homework by email. I swear the man is evil.”
“Do you want the chair?” Grace asks, looking at me.
I still haven’t moved from where I stand in the space between the hallway and living room. Are they asking me to join them because they feel obligated or do they really want me to join? I decide not to overthink it. They asked. If it sucks or I feel like a third wheel, I’ll duck out after the first movie.
“No, the couch is good.” I take a seat on the opposite side of the blue sectional from Everly. She offers me the popcorn bowl and I take a handful.
“All you’ve missed is Baby’s family driving to the resort for vacation,” Grace says, filling me in as she goes to the kitchen. “Soda, wine, water, or coffee?”
“Coffee with a splash of Bailey’s,” Everly yells, then they both look to me.
“Same.”
“Oh, and grab the leftover muffins.”
A few minutes later, the three of us have mugs of spiked coffee, popcorn, and muffins, and are fully engrossed in the movie.
I forget to feel uncomfortable with these two girls I don’t really know that well. Grace likes to provide commentary on scenes, and Ev shushes her or tosses a pillow when she doesn’t agree. And I smile as I truly relax for the first time with them.