Before the Car | Escapes #0.5

Chapter 1

"Are you seriously giving the chain to him?"

That's what I've heard my whole life. No matter what I've done, that's all I've ever heard. If I got straight A's, or if I aced every test, or turned down nights out partying with my friends to study - none of it mattered. 

Aunt Darlene, my grandmother's sister, was the most adamant that I not be the one to get everything. When I was little, I couldn't understand it. As a grown man in my 20s, I still don't. 

"Are you still studying that stuff?" my roommate asked, startling me from my thoughts.

I closed my textbook. "Why? You got plans for me?" I gave him an exasperated look.

He sighed. "Come on, man. You don't do anything but study anymore. What happened to the fun Brayden? I want him back. He was the life of the party!"

"That guy also nearly flunked out of school. I can't be the life of the party if I'm not in school." I turned back to the text book at opened it. As I found my spot and began reading, my roommate flipped the book closed. "What gives, man?" I turned to him, arms held out.

"You need to take your nose out of the books and get back in the game."

"What game?"

"Dude, come on. The ladies? You know they only come to these parties because you're there and they all think they have a shot with you. None of them come to see me or the guys."

I rubbed my face before standing and picking up my textbooks. After shoving it in my backpack with a few others, I shoved in my notebook and slung it over my shoulder. "I'm going to the library," I told my roommate as he protested. 

The campus library was big and old. There wasn't much at all in there by way of good books, but it had every textbook for every class offered on the campus, including some old ones from courses that were no longer offered. 

Despite spending the last two years as the campus' most notorious party boy, I loved the library. It was quiet, homey, comfortable, and lacked annoying people who thought the only way to live was to drink all the time. Well, drink and do other stuff I never was really interested in. I like girls, but I couldn't find any that wanted to do more than use me - for pleasure, for money, for gifts.

The two girls I'd dated in high school were the same. After a couple of weeks, they expected me to start buying them things. The same story every time. I was tired of it, and stopped dating. In college, I'd never dated any of those girls. It was bad enough the ones I was friends with expected something. 

I plopped down at a desk and forced myself to concentrate. My school work had suffered during my first couple of years, and it was all my fault. I forced myself to be the life of the party. That wasn't me, but it was the person everyone loved. I preferred to do what I was doing right then: studying. 

It made time pass, and I loved learning. My first two years were pretty much a blur, and I couldn't remember what I was trying to learn those two years for the most part. That was the downside to trying to be someone I wasn't.

I began reading ahead for the next day's lesson, taking notes on things I was sure would be on the test. As time passed, I found myself lost in it. That's why I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

"Oh, I'm so sorry," a girl said softly. "I wasn't trying to scare you."

I looked over my shoulder and saw a girl with mousey brown hair and a nose ring. She had pink highlights in her hair, but her face was kind. I recognized her as the girl who worked there. She was soft-spoken and very conscientious of those around her. I'd never seen her at a party, and I liked that. I liked her. Ever since I met her a freshman, I'd had a crush. "It's okay," I replied in a hushed tone. 

She smiled and tucked some hair behind her ear. "I was just letting you know we're closing soon. Do you need help putting anything up?"

Did I mention she was part of the reason I loved coming to the library? I gave her a smile and shook my head. "No, it's all my stuff. Thank you for offering, though." 

She gave me a nod in return. "You're welcome. If you need something, I'll be at the front desk for now."

I took a deep breath, steeling myself for my next words. "Would you like to walk around campus with me after close?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I have a boyfriend. He's not on campus anymore, but we're still together."

I felt my face redden. We were due to graduate in a couple of months, so it wasn't surprising. The people who were worth chasing were taken. She was more than worth it. "Right," I said. "Of course you do. Well, I'll just walk around by myself, then. You have a good night."

A smirk from her was the last blow. "Right. You too." She walked away and I couldn't help myself for following her with my eyes for a moment. 

I was stupid. She was someone I should have asked out right away when I found her. Instead, I waited until I was out of time and tried to make a move. One day I would learn to do something about how I felt, but that wasn't the day. 

On the way back to my dorm room that night, I promised myself that I would give up on her and that next time, I would make a move before I ran out of time. Whenever that would be. 

My phone rang as I reached the door to my room. I fished it out of my backpack and saw it was my dad. "Hello," I said, not wanting to have this conversation. I already knew what he was probably calling about, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

"Hello, Brayden. How are you?"

"I'm good. What's up?"

"It's about time for you to come home for our family reunion, and I need to know when you're planning to come back."

I sighed and sagged against the wall. "Do I have to come this year? I'm already 22. My cousins don't have to come now. There's not going to be anyone there my age."

"Brayden, you know Charlie is always there. You'll have someone your age. Don't give me that. Now, the reunion is in three weeks. You'd better be there. You know how Darlene gets when you don't show up. She loves you and misses you when you're not there."

I fought the sigh. "I remember. I'll be there. Just let me know when and where."

"It's going to be the week after your final exams. We're spending the weekend up at the lake with the rest of the family. You know how to get to the lake house?"

I didn't. "Yeah, sure. Send me the address."

"Okay. I'm counting on you being there."

"I know." I hung up and let the sigh out. Of course she wanted me to be there. She just wanted to compare me to her son. He was the golden boy of the family. Charlie got everything he wanted, and I was the one that no one liked. Even now, years after realizing, I couldn't figure out why that was. We were both straight-A students. He partied even more than I did my first two years here at college.

The biggest difference between us was swagger. He had it; I didn't. I was content to calmly look after people and try to do the best for them like I knew my father did, but I did it in a way that was kind of quiet and easily overlooked. Charlie was dominant. He did things his way. Sure, he got results, but no one really liked him. Not most of the family, nor most of his employees at the store he was helping to run. 

I'd never truly understood why he was the one the family loved, but it was what it was. I'd learned to mostly accept it over the years. No matter how hard I tried to be like him, there was always something he did that won over everyone and my accomplishments amounted to not much more than garbage. 

I walked into my room and put my bag by my desk. There wasn't really a point to dwelling on him or what Charlie did. I tried to avoid doing pointless things as much as possible. Just like I tried to avoid thinking about the library girl as I got ready for bed. 

Just like I tried to not think about what would happen at the family reunion as I listened to my roommate stumble into the room at one in the morning.