Stubborn

The sound of gunfire awoke me the next morning. I snapped my eyes open, remembering that I wasn’t in my dorm, with my bed, and my posters. I was in Jordan’s apartment; his guest room more specifically. After sending Emma a message that I would just spend the night at Jordan’s to make sure he didn’t – you know – die or anything, I retired into the spare room and awkwardly crawled under the foreign covers. I knew I’d get an enormous amount of pestering from Emma once I went back to our dorms, asking me why I had stayed the night and what Jordan and I did, but I agreed that I’d deal with that in the morning. What I needed then was sleep.

I flipped the covers off of me and sat up; looking around at how different the room looked in the sunlight. Yesterday was almost a blur in my mind, distorted with the grain or fuzz common on old television shows. A yawn escaped my lips as I stood up and did a small stretch. The entire night I’d slept on my back, not comfortable enough to sleep like how I would in my own bed. The only good thing, however, that had come out of that was that my hair and make-up were practically intact.

I gave myself a quick look in the full-length mirror hanging on the back of the door and cringed at how red and drained my eyes seemed, along with the wrinkles enveloping my skirt and shirt. Though, right now, that was the last thing on my mind. The sound of cocking guns and walkie-talkies blared through the walls and I opened the bedroom door, cautiously. Walking out into the living room, I noticed Jordan sitting on the couch with one leg propped up with his arm slung over it. In his hands was an x-box controller. He stared at the screen severely as his thumb continuously clicked the buttons. All he wore were a pair of striped pyjama pants, leaving his upper body bare. Was this just another means of seducing me or had he forgotten about last night?

Jordan must have heard me suck in a breath as my eyes scanned him because he diverted his gaze from the TV to look at me. His lips went up in a half-smile and I waved.

“I didn’t think you’d be up this early,” I said, taking a few steps towards the couch. Looking at the TV, I realized he was playing Call of Duty. “...and completely okay.”

He chuckled lightly and looked down at the carpet before trailing his eyes back up to me. “Thanks for bringing me home in one piece,” he said solemnly; his voice husky and cracking.

I nodded once. “No problem.” What was wrong with me? I spent most of the last few weeks complaining and hating Jordan’s guts and now I was picking up the pieces as he went down the self-destructive road. I guess I had a bit of a soft spot for the pathetic.

“I made breakfast.” He cocked his head in the direction of the table where a few plates of food sat idly.

I stared at it for a moment. “Thanks,” I said, “but I have to finish my paper for Monday.”

“The Flannery O’Connor one?” he asked.

I smiled slightly; surprised that he had remembered something so arbitrary. “Yeah.” He nodded then I moved to the front door and slipped on my shoes. The campus was a few blocks away, close enough walking distance. I made a potion to grab the door handle.

“I meant what I said last night,” Jordan’s voice crept over my shoulder and I stopped. Dropping my hand, I turned to look at him; perplexed. “About the bet.” I stared at him for a moment, noting the seriousness on his features, and then nodded before walking out of the apartment.

~

I opened the door of the bookstore, letting in a cold draft after me. It was half-way into the first week of October and already the weather was beginning to shift. To say I would miss the warmth of summer would have been a lie. I was a winter girl; something about defying the temperature with bundling up made me feel secure and warm in a different way. Taking off my purple mittens, that were a necessity when the days began cooling, I smiled at Casey who had already spotted me from behind his seat at the front counter.

It had been two days since the incident at Tyler’s house and I had been spending most of the time trying to come up with the best apology. I wasn’t stressing too much, however. Casey was a nice person – nicer than I thought possible in today’s society. He stood up as I neared him and leaned forward on the counter with a genuine smile encompassing his face.

“Hey,” I breathed, my throat chilled, “I wasn’t sure if you were working here today.”

“Yup,” he replied with a sigh, “I don’t take that many days off.”

I nodded, slipping the mittens into my bag. “Listen,” I began, letting my head fall slightly. He waited patiently for what I had to say. “I just wanted to apologize for what happened at the party...with Jordan.”

Casey licked his lips, but there was no hint of anger in his face like I had expected. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah,” I replied flatly. “As okay as Jordan can be.”

Casey’s eyebrows knit together. “You sound like you don’t like him.”

Running a hand through my cold hair I said, “I don’t.” Around us, various people sat with books propped open in their laps, coffees in their hands, and content expressions on their faces. That was what I loved about bookstores; how you could feel content doing nothing but sitting amidst the thoughts of authors from hundreds of years ago.

“But you helped him,” he pointed out, as though trying to win a case in court.

I sighed. “It’s a complicated situation and Jordan is a stupid and confusing guy. If I hadn’t taken him home he would have gotten himself in some sort of trouble.” Listening to myself, I’d realized exactly what Casey had been trying to tell me. Jordan frustrated me and made me question my sanity, and yet I still found it compulsory to help him when he’d acted stupid. What was it with me and this superhero complex towards him?

“Well,” Casey said, another smile forming, “it was really good of you to do that.” I nodded in thanks. “Jordan’s lucky to have you looking out for him.”