111. Epilogue - II

111. Epilogue - II
111. Epilogue - II
“Well, say that to her face,” she says, trying to smother her laugh.
I love it when she laughs… and I hate it when she cries. It literally broke my heart last night when Natalie couldn’t hold anymore and cried last night. I felt like a dick.
It was a minor argument.
This distance thing has turned out to be much harder. All our plans to manage and cope up with distance went down the hill barely a few months into the college. Our schedules turned out to be much busier than we expected. Flight ticket prices skyrocketed for no reason and are still high. It’s been almost ten months since college started and more than a year since I gave her the promise ring.
It’s shining on her finger. She wears it proudly. It makes my heart swell with warmth. She trusts me to make it work.
Anyway… I couldn’t visit her for the past three months for one reason or another. And she couldn't visit as she doesn’t have a car. With studies becoming harder with each passing day, we were unable to maintain our part-time jobs too, which ended up in a shortage of money.
I only had a day but I am still glad I came here today. It sucks, I will have to go back in 7 hours. A ten-hour drive within 24 hours isn’t exactly pleasant. My back is sore from driving five hours straight. But it’s worth it now that I have seen her laugh.
She pulls away to wash herself.
“We could fuck once more. We have ten minutes,“ I suggest and she laughs harder.
“I will face her wrath, Jacob. Not you.“ she says, biting her lips. I know she wants to fuck but we don’t have time for that but I pull her for a kiss again.
.
- Natalie -
.
“She will probably sprinkle holy water all over in there,” Jacob quips as we walk out of my room. It makes me giggle.
He is probably right.
I never knew she was so devoted to her religion when I came here for a runner program last year.
She is nice.. But too rigid sometimes.
I try not to judge her, but she judges me all the damn time.
“I wish I could rent an apartment,” I say ruefully. He hums and rubs my back.
Jacob has his own Two-room apartment he shares with Norris, whereas I had nobody to share the rent. Ira and Riley wanted to stay on campus as it’s much cheaper and with travel costs in picture there was no point spending money elsewhere.
We walk towards the restaurant to meet Ira and Riley for lunch. They are roommates now. I feel jealous as fuck sometimes.
”How is Riley doing?”
“She is good.. mostly good… She finally started seeing this guy who was following her around for the past two months,” I hope something works out for her. I am glad she is finally trying to come out of her comfort zone.
She has changed in minor ways, though. Things that seem normal on the surface have a deeper insecurity within. Like she doesn’t want to wear shorts anymore, especially skirts.
“No I don’t like that, “ she had told me when I offered her to wear a dress she loved before. When I checked her closet, I realized she had thrown away most of her short clothes. It was a grim realization.
That’s when I realized even her arms are covered most of the time.
Soon Ira joins us, but alone. I frown.
“Where is Riley?”
She takes a seat and says in annoyance, “That asshole boy! Fucking coward! No offense, Jacob! But what’s up with boys trying to sleep as soon as they start dating?”
My cheeks burn. I have always been that sort of person, not Jacob… but I get it. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
“What happened?” I ask anyway.
“Riley asked him to be patient. I guess he was being too handsy for her comfort… He insisted and kept asking her how long he needed to wait…” She rolls her eyes and pours herself some water to take a gulp.
“I mean, for fuck’s sake, they had only been on a few dates.. I guess he pushed her too hard to ask what was the reason…” she adds.
Dread rises in my heart… Riley has been trying to move on. But I can see how it can trigger her.
“Did she tell him?” I ask.
Ira grimaces and nods.
“She told him about her abduction and said she is still a little skittish about a few things and he needs to be patient with her…”
Jacob shakes his head and says, “and he freaked out…”
“Yeah…”
“Asshole…” I say
“I feel like killing him… She said no to him so many times before. you know that right?” Ira asks.
I nod. He was persistent, that's why Riley finally gave him a shot. Riley still hasn’t admitted her sexual assault to anyone. But considering the changes I see in her, I am sure that was the case.
Ira swallows and says, “I don’t like discussing these things behind her back, but guys, I feel heartbroken for her right now..”
This will make it harder for her to admit her true story to anyone.
I just hope she heals…
….
After lunch, we go to a park and I lay in Jacob’s arms for hours while he falls asleep. I turn and look at his face. He looks peaceful and calm. But Norris is right. He hasn't been sleeping well. Dark circles are forming under his eyes. Or maybe it’s the five-hour drive.
He senses me watching, he opens his eyes and mumbles in a drowsy voice, “That’s creepy… you know that, right?“
I chuckle and kiss him on the forehead.
He stays quiet for a moment, then says, “We will do a video date on Valentine’s day… I wouldn’t be here...”
“Yeah.. I know” I say, trying to sound okay.
“I am sorry Natalie… for being-“
“Don’t! It’s nobody’s fault. It’s just a hard phase and I am sure it will pass...“
But I don’t think I will get any chance to spend Valentine’s day with him before college is over. It sucks.
“Video date is fine,“ I say, smiling.
We do these video dates sometimes. We get ready and have dinner together or watch a movie, while keeping our camera on. It’s fun. Almost feels like having an experience together. It feels nice. Especially when he is too busy to even talk to me due to his busy schedule. I am glad he has figured out ways to make sure we stay connected and enjoy our time. He is busy, but I can see him putting in effort all the time.
Chemistry major isn’t a straightforward thing. It eats up so much of his time and energy. He fell sick last month due to lack of sleep. I am happy with whatever we have worked out so far. But three more year…
God bless us.
“I am planning to take a babysitting part-time job.” I tell him.
“Baby sitting?” he asks.
I hope I can handle kids.
“Yea… Riley has been doing this thing for some rich dude. He asked her to cover more hours, so she asked me to make up for extra hours. Pay is good. Maybe I could buy a car.”
He frowns. “Pay is that good?”
I nod. “Yes, it is.” which is odd. But I think he agreed to hire me because Riley recommended my name. She knows I am looking for a job in free time.
“Maybe you could rent a room, so we won’t have to be afraid of Ashley anymore.” His undertone suggests we could do much more than a quickie in the bathroom.
I laugh.
“After buying a car, renting an apartment would be my priority. But c’mon.. that will take me at least six to seven months.”
“Yea… but it doesn’t hurt to dream.”
We talk for hours, then finally Jacob leaves in the evening and I feel empty in my heart again.
This visit was too short.
I don’t want to spend Valentine’s Day alone. I will have to do something about it.