Pride and Hate with Benefits [COMPLETED]

Chapter 43 - Hope springs once again

D

"So?" I ask and throw myself on the couch while Julian wipes the coffee table and scrubs at a water stain.

"She's coming over."

I nod. "Good. Look, I'm really sorry I messed you guys up."

"I should punch you in the dick. But I'm too happy that she agreed to see me."

"So," I clear my throat, "she spoke to Ellie?"

"Yeah, Ellie told her everything." He tosses the rag aside and grabs a broom. "Lift your feet."

I hold them above the ground as he sweeps away the three specks of dust on the floor.

"And did she say anything about how Ellie is dealing with everything?"

"Sorry, dude. We didn't really talk much about your love life. Do you think I should vacuum the couch?"

"I don't think Jenna is coming over for the couch."

He looks down at himself. "I should shower. Is it too late to get a haircut? It probably is. Maybe I should shave again?"

"So, does this mean she forgives you?"

"I think so. I mean, I was an ass to her. Breaking up shouldn't have been my first instinct. WE could have talked it all out and none of this would have happened. But I'll make it up to her. I'll do whatever I have to do to make this right."

"Yeah, if I had known who her dad was, I never would have worried. I should have looked her up."

"True. But I could have looked her up as well."

"You wouldn't do that." I lean my head on the back of the couch. "You're too much of a good guy. Too respectful."

"You don't-"

We're interrupted by a loud bang as the front door flies open. Half a second later, Mia is fuming in front of us.

"Mia," Julian is by her side. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. She's a bitch. She's a fucking bitch and I hate her."

"Who?"

I sit up, not too concerned. Mia has a short fuse and I've heard her rant over someone who bought a similar top once.

"This is your fault." She points a finger at me.

My eyes go wide. "Mine? What did I do?"

"You keep fooling around with all these women and some of them are bound to fall for you. I mean, they would be crazy not to."

"What are you talking about?"

"Mia, sit down." Julian leads her to a chair, and she removes her jacket with jerky movements as she obeys. "Now, tell us what happened."

"I saw her on campus."

"Who?" Julian is sitting on the coffee table in front of her.

"Ellie, of course."

I jerk upright at her name. Fear trickles through my body.

"She was on her way to the Endman building for class or something, I don't know. Anyway, I figured I should talk to her." She stares at me. "About us."

"Us?" My mouth is dry.

"Yeah, so I asked her straight out if there was something going on between the two of you."

"What did she say?" I can barely breathe.

"She acted like a bitch. At first she was all: why do you care? And I had to explain it to her. Then she finally admitted there was nothing between you."

My heart sinks and I can't move.

"Why would you do that?" Julian asks.

"Because I'm getting sick and tired of his behavior." She gestures to me and I blink. "You know how humiliating it is to hear about his exploits when everyone knows we're going to get engaged? If I thought things would get this bad, I would have come to UNI. Maybe I can still transfer?"

She looks thoughtful for a while as I stare at her. Is she out of her mind? Surely, she must be drunk or high?

"What do you mean you're going to get engaged?" Julian is as stunned as I feel.

"Well, it's been settled for years." Mia tries to wave him off.

I get up. "Settled? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't act like this is a surprise. You were there, remember? I know you want to fool around and whatnot before we settle down, and I've been very respectful about that. But you can't keep doing this."

"Nothing has been settled. This makes no sense." I know I'm loud, but there's no stopping the rage that's growing inside.

"Of course it's settled. We agreed and our parents agreed that our marriage would be beneficial to both families, remember?"

I stare at her with my mouth hanging open. Is she living in some alternate world where we're actually engaged?

"Wait?" Julian stands up as well. "Are you talking about that time when we were like eleven and he gave you some flowers and you pretended they were a wedding bouquet?"

She rolls her eyes as if we're the incredulous ones.

"Yes. And our parents said we should get married and D agreed."

I'm in awe of her fantasy. "That was a joke." I say as calmly as I can.

"No, it wasn't. We agreed we'd get married. You just wanted to graduate college first."

"Mia, I was eleven years old." I can barely remember the event she's talking about. I probably forgot all about it within ten minutes. But for some reason, it hit home with her.

Her face drops a little. "But we've been engaged to be engaged all this time."

"No, we haven't."

She stares at the coffee table and blinks a few times, then she shakes her head. "Well, it doesn't matter. We can still get married."

"No, Mia, we can't. I don't want to marry you." I take a few steps away and run my hand over my face, trying to wipe away all the madness.

"So you confronted Ellie with this?" Julian asks. "What did she say?"

"She was so rude. I really hope I never have to see her again. When she finally admitted there was nothing going on and I told her we were engaged, I just asked her to promise she'd stay away from D. She is so argumentative."

I spin around to face her. "You did what?" The fear is now fluttering through my stomach, threatening to empty it.

She's got her arms crossed and one leg over the other.

"I just wanted a simple promise she wouldn't ruin this for us. But she was high and mighty, acting as if she was better than me."

"You asked her to stay away from me?"

"Well, I saw the way you two looked at each other when you danced. I don't mind the casual hookups, but this is going too far."

I grit my teeth. "We're not together."

She shrugs and turns away.

"What... What did she say?" My heart is beating a mile a minute and I just want to know. I need to know what Ellie is thinking about all of this.

"She laughed at me and then she refused to promise."

"She refused?" A warm feeling is trying to break through the fear.

"Yes, can you believe that? All she had to do was tell me nothing would ever happen between the two of you, and she couldn't even do that."

She's shouting my name, but I don't pay her any more attention. I'm running out the door. If she was over me, if this was all nothing to her, wouldn't she have made the promise?

But she didn't. She didn't promise. Does that mean she's holding out hope? The cold air is pinching my ears and burning my lungs as I run towards the Endman building. I have to know. Because maybe, just maybe, there's a chance.