Kiss Me Like you Did -IGHS Sequel-

When I woke up again the next morning my face felt tight and crusty and I realised I had a facial frosting of dried tears. My head was pounding and my eyes felt hot and sore; I groaned as I dragged myself into a sitting position and rubbed my face gingerly, avoiding the raw area around my eyes. After waiting a few moments for the thumping in my head to subside, I slid out of bed and traipsed towards the ensuite, flicking on the light and going to stand in front of the mirror.

I looked even worse than I felt.

My eyes were red and bloodshot, the whites practically obscured by the visible red capillaries. Under these hideous orbs were two large purple bags, standing out against my unnaturally pale and drained face.

Sighing – I was used to this zombie-like doppelganger who greeted me every morning, as was Kelly, but Aunt Jessie would probably scream when she saw me – I bent over the porcelain bowl of the sink and splashed my face with cold water, patting my cheeks to try and bring some colour to them in an uncharacteristic effort at appearing, physically, normal. I looked only marginally better when I returned my gaze to the mirror, but it would have to do.

Not bothering to change – I had fallen asleep in the clothes I’d been wearing yesterday – I wandered downstairs out of a sense of propriety. I didn’t eat much anymore – I had lost an alarming amount of weight, but I simply didn’t have an appetite and most foods made me nauseous – and I didn’t want to take part in whatever Jessie and Kelly were doing, but I didn’t want to be rude; I was still a guest here. I felt a tug of longing to be moved in and settled in my dorm room so I could stay in bed all day and get my lecture notes off the internet like everyone else.

‘Morning Jake,’ Jessie said brightly when I appeared, rumpled and drawn, in the kitchen. ‘What would you like for breakfast?’

‘Um,’ I said, dropping into a chair beside Kel at the table. I was already exhausted from the day and I had just woken up. ‘I’m okay. Thanks.’

‘Nonsense,’ Jessie said abruptly. ‘You need to have a breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day. And look at you, you’re wasting away. Would you like cereal or a fry?’

I glanced at Kelly’s plate; she was working her way diligently through a Full Irish: bacon rashers, sausages, friend eggs, black and white pudding, toast, and fried tomato. Its smell was wafting past me but all I could pick out was the tangy smell of char, and I knew it would all taste like cardboard.

‘I’m really not hungry,’ I tried to convince her, knowing I’d be sick if I did try to eat anything and not wanting to insult her.

‘Jake, we are not going anywhere until you eat some breakfast,’ Jessie said firmly, and I felt like I was eight years old again being warned to finish my dinner or I wouldn’t get a treat afterwards.

‘He’ll vomit if he tries to eat,’ Kelly said quietly from beside me, and Aunt Jessie, who had been moving about preparing the food with her back to us, stopped moving suddenly but didn’t turn around.

I looked down at the table, ashamed and exhausted.

‘Okay,’ Jessie said brightly after a moment, dismissing the incident. ‘You kids go hurry and get ready then, and we’ll start moving you over to campus. It will take a few hours, seeing as you’ve both got so much stuff.’

Taylor’s POV

‘Taylor?... Tay, baby, time to wake up.’

I groaned and squeezed my eyes tight shut, then slowly opened them, the bright light hurting a little. I was aware of a sense of motion and I realised I’d fallen asleep in the car. I was curled up in the passenger seat, facing away from Ryan, and I knew I had a crusty covering of drool on the corner of my lip. I quickly wiped it away before sitting up properly and turning to face him.

‘What time is it?’ I asked dopily, blinking hard.

‘Almost half twelve.’ He turned around to look at me, then burst out laughing.

‘What?’ I asked self-consciously, raising a hand to my face.

‘You have the imprint of the seat on your cheek,’ he laughed, returning his attention to the road. I looked out the window and noticed that we were off the highway, driving though a seemingly residential area.

‘Oh,’ I said, rubbing my cheek aggressively. ‘Where are we?’

Ryan grinned again. ‘Providence,’ he said happily. ‘That’s also why it’s time to wake up, we’re here.’

I felt my eyes widen as I paid more attention my surroundings. So this was my new home, for the academic year at least. Ryan turned right and I saw a sign reading Angell Street.

‘What’s up here?’ I asked. I’d only had contact with the Office of Admission, which was on Prospect Street. My parents had taken care of everything else. I was not, after all, to be put under any undue stress.

So an Ivy was a good choice, then.

‘Our dorm building,’ Ryan answered excitedly. I tried to feel as enthusiastic, but I just felt my regular numb.

‘Half twelve?’ I asked, reaching down to my feet where I kept a small bag, the real reason Ryan had woken me.

‘Yeah,’ Ryan said, checking his watch and handing me a bottle of water. I pulled three blister packets out of the bag and popped two pills out of the first and one each out of the other two, threw them all in my mouth at once and chugged some water.

‘Thanks,’ I said, handing the bottle back to him. He waved his hand to say I could keep it as he indicated left and pulled up in front of a brown-brick building, driving slowly past the numbered white lines until he reached his appointed space.

‘Home sweet home,’ he said happily, turning off the engine and clicking open his seatbelt.

‘Yay.’

Jake’s POV

‘What’s the name of the street?’ Jessie asked as we cruised along North Main Street; Kelly gazing out the windows in a vague sense of awe while I sat in the back with my headphones in.

‘Angell Street,’ I murmured just loud enough for her to hear. I was already subconsciously mentally preparing myself, making myself as small and quiet as possible. I used to be pretty loud and while I wasn’t an attention-seeker, I did enjoy being in the limelight every now and then. Now, I can’t stand if people look at me for more than a few seconds, because I don’t want anybody so see me breaking.

‘I know that one,’ Jessie replied,’ hanging a left so suddenly that I fell to the right and Kelly’s seatbelt locked audibly as she jerked against it. ‘Here we are.’

Cherrytree Hall was a large, brown-brick building with climbing roses growing up the western wall, rounding the corner and stretching across the front face of the exterior. The windows were white-framed and large, and the main wooden door was flanked by two large columns that held up a porch roof. I took in the beauty of the building impassively as Kelly and Jessie cooed over it, clicking my seatbelt open and getting out of the car.

I had been squashed into the back seat with some of the cardboard boxes, more of which were in the boot. Jessie’s friend Leonard was following us over with the rest of the boxes, so we wouldn’t have to make two trips. It probably would have been three in Aunt Jessie’s car; Leonard was driving a truck.

I opened the boot and started unloading it, and Kelly appeared at my side trying to help. Even after losing over 45lbs of weight during the last year, I was still stronger than my sister, and she struggled lift a single box. I nudged her out of the way, smiling slightly, and grabbed the box, setting it down on the ground. Kelly shaded her eyes from the sunlight and looked up as the now familiar roar of Leonard’s truck grew closer and two minutes later he pulled into the parking spot next to ours.

Kelly and I both cringed, sensing that a lot of students would now be gawking out of their bedroom windows at us, but I carried on with the boxes regardless.

‘You need a hand there, Jake?’ Leonard asked in a big, booming voice that matched his truck.

‘I’m okay,’ I answered quietly, lifting the last box out of the boot and shutting it. ‘Thanks.’

Jessie, Leonard and I grabbed a couple boxes each and started walking towards the building; Kelly dragging our two wheeled suitcases across the gravel behind her. We walked into the cool dimness of the foyer and I let Kelly take the lead.

‘Okay, I’m on the second floor and Jake is on the first,’ she said assertively, walking over to a set of elevator doors purposefully and pressing the “up” button. ‘I think they do it by floor; boys, girls, boys, girls,’ she added conversationally. Kelly has spent more time with me than anyone over the last year and has grown accustomed to holding conversations with herself. Even when she’s in a group of people know, she can talk amicably for twenty or thirty minutes before realising nobody has can get a word in edgewise.

We made a few trips back out to the car and eventually Aunt Jessie kissed us both goodbye, Leonard shook our hands, and Kel and I were left alone in my room.

I sat on the edge of my bed, more exhausted than ever, but I knew my sister wasn’t about to let me sleep.

‘Looks like your roommate already moved in,’ she said, peering curiously at the far side of the room, where a few duffle bags were thrown on the bed, unopened. ‘Sort of.’

‘Yeah,’ I said.

Kelly opened her mouth to say something else but there was a knock on the door. I let her go to answer it, not even having enough energy to be curious as to who it was.

‘Hello?’ she asked, pulling the door fully open and blinking up at whoever was outside.

‘You’re Chambers’ roommate?’ a deep American accent asked incredulously, and a few other voices laughed, Kelly’s among them.

‘No, I’m just visiting,’ she giggled, and I groaned inwardly; flirting already. ‘He’s “Chambers’” roommate,’ she added, jerking her thumb at me and stepping aside the let four guys into the room.

‘Jake,’ I said quietly, raising a hand in a vague attempt at a wave.

‘Who’s Chambers?’ Kelly asked, for some reason seeming to think that this was a more appropriate question than “who are you?”

‘The kid who moved in here earlier. He took off pretty quickly though, I reckon he’s got a girlfriend,’ the big guy with the deep voice laughed. ‘I’m Ethan by the way.’ He put out his hand to shake with Kelly, who took it; then walked over to offer it to me as well. I put my hand in his and got it back a few seconds later, feeling like my bones had been rattled.

‘I’m Jacob,’ a guy with sandy blonde hair offered, ‘and this is my brother, Johnny.’ So Kel and I weren’t the only twins in the room.

‘And I’m Noah,’ the last guy added. He was tall and thin, with dark hair and eyes.

‘Kelly,’ Kelly said happily. She had only been in the country less than twenty four hours and already had four fresh pieces of meat to toy with.

‘Are you guys going out?’ Jacob asked a little too nonchalantly, his question directed at Kelly, who raised an eyebrow. We may not be identical like Jacob and Johnny, but we were still twins.

‘Are you joking?’ she asked, deadpan, moving to sit on the end of my bed. ‘We’re brother and sister.’

‘Twins,’ I added, not wanting to seem rude and bow out of the conversation altogether. If these guys were friends with my roommate then I wanted to be on speaking terms with them.

‘No shit?’ Jacob asked, looking between us a few times. It seemed like he was the talkative twin. It became apparent why when he turned to Johnny and signed something to him, his hands moving rapidly in front of him. Johnny shook his hair out of his eyes and signed back briefly. ‘Johnny knew you were twins,’ Jacob imparted, looking put out. ‘You could have told me,’ he muttered as he signed to his brother.

‘Anyone could have told you,’ Noah said, amused, from his position leaning against the window. ‘You just can’t see anything past that curtain of hair in your face,’ he added, but his tone was teasing and friendly.

‘Shut up,’ Jacob whined, shaking his hair out of his face. ‘Johnny’s hair is the same as mine...’

Just then, the door crashed open violently.

Taylor’s POV

I sat gingerly on the end of my bed, bit my lip, and looked around my room. My roommate hadn’t moved in yet and I’d taken the liberty of choosing the bed by the window. My bag were in a heap on the floor; I didn’t have the energy to unpack them after taking my medication.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled through my contacts and called Ryan, who was settling into his room two floors below. I could hear sounds of girls getting unpacked on the floor below mine, squealing and singing and shouting at each other. My floor was still relatively deserted.

‘Hey,’ he said happily when he picked up.

‘Hi,’ I said, and I could practically feel him becoming concerned as he heard the lethargy in my voice.

‘Who is it?’ I heard voices taunting in the background. ‘Is it your girlfriend?’

‘Who’s that?’ I asked curiously.

‘Nobody,’ Ryan answered, and I heard a door close; he must have gone into the bathroom. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing, I’m just kind of run down.’ It was the term we used for when my meds drained me. ‘Wanna go grab a coffee?’ I didn’t really like coffee, but it perked me up and I couldn’t fall asleep this early or I wouldn’t sleep tonight. And everything was worse at night.

‘Sure, I’ll meet you outside in two minutes,’ Ryan assured me, hanging up. I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked longingly at my pillows, then walked out of the room. Ryan was waiting for me outside Cherrytree Hall and took my hand in his as we walked out onto the footpath and crossed the road to a small coffee shop on the other side. He ordered for both of us without asking me what I wanted – he already knew – and we took a table by the window.

I sipped the hot liquid slowly, feeling the caffeine wake me up.

‘Better?’ Ryan asked, smiling.

‘Yeah,’ I smiled back, and played with his fingers on the table top. ‘I’m sorry I’ve been so shit lately,’ I mumbled.

‘That’s okay,’ Ryan said. ‘It’s not like I wasn’t expecting it.’

‘It’s not fair on you,’ I said, feeling waves of guilt washing over me. None of this was fair on him; it never had been.

‘We’ve been through this,’ Ryan said urgently. He gets a little panicked every time he thinks I might break up with him “for his own good”. Like I ever could. I’d die without him. ‘We’re in this together.’

‘Yeah...’ I trailed off, unconvinced. He’d given me this speech so many times that it was now compacted into that small sentiment, getting across every unspoken emotion.

‘I love you,’ he mumbled, and I looked up.

‘What?’

‘You don’t have to say it back. I know you don’t feel the same way. I just want you to know. I love you.’

My heart started beating fast and hard in my chest, sending adrenaline and caffeine spiralling through my system. It wasn’t love that I felt for Ryan; it was obsession. I was addicted to him.

Unable to speak I stood up, grabbed his hand, and dragged him out of the coffee shop with me.

‘Where are we going?’ he asked, confused, tripping along after me. I turned around abruptly and crashed my lips to his, pushing my fingers into his hair and kissing him passionately for a few seconds. When I pulled away we were both grinning, and crossed the road quickly, practically running by the time we got to the elevators in Cherrytree Hall.

We stood hand in hand, giggling, as we waited for one to arrive, and fell on top of each other as soon as the doors closed on us, hands roaming everywhere, kissing, licking, and nibbling.

‘Mine’s closer,’ Ryan said breathlessly, pulling me out of the elevator at the first floor. We walked down the hallway quickly, still giggling, and I leaned my back against the door as he fumbled to open it while his lips moved over mine.

‘Your roommate,’ I mumbled against his lips, remembering the voices from earlier.

‘Hasn’t moved in yet,’ he answered, and finally the door crashed open, banging loudly against the adjoining wall. I pulled Ryan into the room with my hands on his face, never detaching my lips from his, as we tried to manoeuvre our way across to his bed.

Then somebody coughed.

Jake’s POV

A eight-limbed creature fell into the room as we all fell into a shocked silence, I figured this must be my roommate making out with his “girlfriend”. Except it very obviously wasn’t a girl.

They were both breathing heavily, and one of them whimpered quietly as they stumbled into the room, obviously not opening their eyes as they continued to kiss.

After a few moments of bemused silence, Ethan coughed awkwardly, obviously sensing that if we let it go on for any longer there would really be no explanation for not stopping them. Chambers and his boyfriend pulled away from each other, startled, and looked around the crowded room, wide-eyed.

I was staring at the boyfriend.

So was Kelly.

And he was staring back at us.

There was a beat of silence that felt like it went on forever, and then Kelly said in stunned disbelief, ‘Taylor?!’