Chapter Twenty-One

Ben I stared at my phone, feeling both annoyed and frustrated. Angela wasn’t answering my calls, and when I texted, all she said was that she was away and didn’t know when she would be coming back.

Fuck!

My restless mind thought back to that last time I saw her in her apartment. Maybe I’d gone too far, making a spare key without her permission and letting myself into her home when she wasn’t there. She had been acting strange, though. I didn’t think it was all in my head that she was ignoring me, and it was unlike her to blow up at me the way she did just because I was reading her book without permission.

I didn’t think it was enough to warrant her being so mad at me, though. Something must have happened before she came home to make her suddenly want to back away from me. She’d been so happy when she left the hotel that weekend, everything was still okay, so something else must have happened.

The most frustrating thing was there was no way for me to find out what the problem was when she wouldn’t talk to me. Fuck, she’d already left school grounds, and I had no idea where she was because she wouldn’t tell me! She had the GPS on her phone off, and while there were other ways to track her down, I was trying to hold myself back. It would be bad if I made her even more angry at me. She might not come back at all if that happened. She’d left LA because of her ex, hadn’t she? There was nothing to stop her from leaving again.

“Dude, what’s been going on with you?”

I blinked and looked up. “What?”

“Class ended already, and we’ve got swim practice after this. Are you coming or what?”

“Um, can you tell the coach I won't be able to make it? I need to do something.”

My friends looked at me oddly as I got up and headed out of the room. Spring break had ended already and we’d all gone back to classes. Angela had been out for a while, and she hadn't come back after spring break, so I was starting to grow worried. I went to her office, and found the substitute that took over her classes while she was gone.

He was seated at the desk and lifted his head when I knocked and opened the door. He was a man in his late thirties, and he must have been a new professor at the school because I wasn’t familiar with him.

“Hello,” he said, looking curious. “I have to say; I’m surprised to see you, Ben.”

I ignored that since it seemed the other professors had clued him in about me and my background. It didn’t matter, anyway.

“I was looking for Professor Kane,” I said. “Do you have any idea when she’ll be coming back?”

He frowned. “No, not really. All I heard was she was away for family reasons, but there was no news about when she’s coming back. I was put in charge of her classes for the rest of this semester. Can I help you with something?”

I flattened my lips and cursed silently. “Did she quit?”

He shook his head slowly. “I didn’t hear that, either, so I can't say for sure. I’m sorry, but I’ve given you all the information I have. If there’s something I can help you with, feel free to ask.”

“No, thank you,” I said and turned to leave without another word.

I strolled around aimlessly, musing to myself. I could always wait to see if she would come back. Maybe she’d even decide to talk to me on her own, but I was worried. What if she never did? She had shut me out of her life, and I wasn’t sure what to do to make it stop, to make her talk to me. I might have been young, but I wasn’t stupid, and I cared a lot about her. It was enough to surprise even myself.

“Where the hell did you go,” I muttered to myself, feeling agitated.

I found a bench outside and sat down. I pulled my phone out and unlocked the screen. I looked over our text messages. Every text I sent got a curt, short answer, before they trickled down to no replies at all. I thought about sending her another text, but I felt like I would go crazy if I got another one of those autoreplies, or no response at all. Instead, I opened my photo gallery.

There was one photo I had of her in my phone. I’d taken it one morning when I woke up with her in my arms. We were at her apartment, and I knew I had to leave early to get into my dorm room. There weren’t rules against sleeping elsewhere as long as we didn’t bring trouble into the school, but I used to think it would be a pain if my friends looked for me and didn’t find me.

She was lying curled up on her side; her dark hair spread over the pillow. I’d pushed some locks back from her face, and ended up waking her, so her dark brown eyes were staring drowsily up at me. Angela had insisted I delete the photo, but she was still sleepy, so I convinced her I did and she never brought it up again.

It was the only photo I had of her, and I regretted not having taken more, now.

“What are you doing?”

I locked my phone and looked up with a glare. Sandra was standing in front of me, and I hadn't noticed when she walked up to me.

“Can you please leave?” I sneered. “Whatever you want, you can get lost. I’m not in the mood.”

She snorted. “What the fuck have you been moping around for, anyway? I’ve been trying to talk to you for weeks, and you keep ignoring me!”

“You can always take the hint and make things easier on the both of us.”

“Ugh, don’t tell me you had a thing for that old woman,” she sneered. “She’s gone, so why can't you get over her and find someone closer to your own age? I thought we were fine before she seduced you out of nowhere. I bet she’s after your family’s money.”

I scowled. Before I could shout at her, though, I paused. Did she see the photo? She wasn’t acting all that surprised, though, if that was the case.

“What are you talking about?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “I overheard you talking to the substitute, and I followed you all the way here. You didn’t even notice, did you? Anyway, I know all about your dirty little secret, and I told that woman to keep away, or I would report her. At least she was smart enough to listen to me.”

I felt like I’d gotten punched in the chest and all the air flew out of my chest.

“You did what?” I asked, sounding choked.

She smirked. “You heard me. If all you wanted was a fuck, it’s not like I mind. Do you have any idea how long I waited before you asked me out, and how many different guys I turned down? I didn’t think it would take so long for you to make a move, and when I thought everything would be fine, you suddenly turned me down for her?” She sighed, shaking her head. “Anyway, I’ll forgive you and take you back if you apologize right now.”

I scowled at her, watching her tilt her chin up like she was proud of herself, and for the first time in my life, I wanted to hit a woman.

“You can forget about that happening, Sandra,” I said, my voice hard. “Also, you better stay away from me from now on. I won’t be held responsible for my actions if you come near me again.”

She frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re upset about this?”

Not just upset, I was beyond livid because suddenly a lot of things made sense. Like why Angela started ignoring me and why she was hesitating to talk to me. It was because Sandra had blackmailed her.

If this was the problem, then there was only one thing I could do. I had to see her dad and explain things to him; then maybe he could help me talk to her. I called Mom as I walked hurriedly toward the dorms.

“Hello, Mom? Where are you?”