Against All Odds!

College Life

"Angel, am in love with you. I know, am being straightforward forward but I can't pretend that being friends is enough anymore. I want more", Ethan said begging me to be his girlfriend.

Just when I thought college would be peaceful, I stumbled upon Ethan Mclethal. He is one of the three youngest lecturers on campus. He is good-looking and the real definition of Tall Dark and Handsome. Isabella always complained that he was too serious during his lectures. Women threw themselves at him all the time but he stood his ground. I met him for the first time when I was trying to calm down from a panic attack, which made me tell him about my past. The panic attacks have been happening for a while, to be precise, since prom and my roommate Isabella has been helping me out. She even found a therapist for me. Sometimes she escorts me to sessions.

I told her about the bullying I had in high school and prom so, she understood and she has been holding my hand ever since. My family was another case altogether. When they saw the pictures and the prom video they disowned me and told me to stay away from them because I was destroying our family image and that they didn't raise a porn star. What hurt me the most was Janeth didn't even try to defend me. She was part of the whole thing yet she just kept quiet while our parents kicked me out. I was on the verge of giving up on life when I got the scholarship so I just left. At least Dad left me some college funds. All that was left to do was not give up and hope for the best.

"Ethan, I don't want relationships right now and you know why. I just want to study and get a job and see what the future holds for me. I don't have time for this", I tried to explain but he was just too stubborn. "Give me one chance and if I suck, which I highly doubt, we both know that, then I will never bother you again", he said with pleading eyes. "You're not gonna drop this are you?", I asked with a raised bow and he smiled. "One date Ethan", i insisted. "Yes love, just one date", he said stepping out of the way.

Dinner was amazing and Ethan was incredible. I ended up giving him a chance. I told myself that not everyone is as evil as Jason Banks. Ethan is sweet and mature and he took my health very seriously. When I told him about my past he was so pissed at Jason and my family. It warmed my heart a bit to see someone else care about me.

On the other hand Isabella and I are getting closer. It doesn't feel like we are friends anymore, more like sisters. She is studying business so that she can go and work with her brother in his chain of hotels. She comes from a very rich family but that's all she told me about herself. She hates talking about them because she has a history of people being close to her because of fame and the reason why she chose a college away from home was because she wanted to study in peace. No paparazzi or behaving in public.

"So the holiday season is coming. Going anywhere?", she asked me during breakfast. "Not really, I got this job at the grocery store, I will be working there for the whole month. It pays well so it will keep me busy and make me rich", I explained. "What if you come with me? My brother won't mind", she suggested. "I can't, I already accepted the job", I insisted and watched her smile weakly. "Bella I will be fine, besides I need the money", i said and she nodded her head finally understanding. "Is Ethan going to be around?", she asked. "No, he is also going to see his family and friends. He hasn't gone home in two years", I said. "That sucks", she whined then went back to drinking her tea.

☆☆Holiday Break☆☆

"I will call whenever I can ok? We usually go on crazy family trips and do things like camping which drive me insane but I will call you every chance I get", Ethan said when I drove him to the airport. "Ok", I replied sadly and avoided his eyes. "Love, you can go to the apartment anytime you want OK? You know where the credit card is so you can do some shopping too if you want", he insisted. Ethan gave me the keys to his apartment and left me his car. He was so sweet and it made me fall deeper. "I know, you already told me this. You're stalling... go", I said with a smile. His was bigger. He kissed my forehead and then went to the onboarding line. I went back home making sure to pass by the store and collect my uniforms.

The job was not as bad as I thought it would be. Restocking the shelves was fun and I rarely interacted with people. It gave me the peace of mind that I wished for. I spent most of the time at Ethan's apartment. It had food that he shopped for before leaving telling me he didn't want me to order in too much. At first, I thought he would say he wanted me to eat healthy but he ended up saying too much fast food would make me forget how to cook, which made me smile. He liked me just the way I was, which made me feel grateful.

It's been a month and he has called twice. He said they were going camping and sent me pictures of the mountain that they were about to hike to reach the camping spot but that was it. I guess the network was an issue so I had to hope that he was ok. He was with his parents and relatives so he was ok. From the stories he told me about them, they sounded like an energetic bunch including his nieces and nephew. Yes, he has three of them. I couldn't wait to meet them. The thought of meeting his parents and siblings gave me goosebumps.