Chapter 3

• I slept most of the flight; the sleeping pills I bought were incredible. I'm not one to use such things, but I have a terrible fear of airplanes, especially now that I'm traveling alone. In the past, my mother's comforting doll or my brother's hand would be there to calm me.
• Without them, I'll just say that I left a slight dent in the armrests of the seat. When I disembarked, I felt a bit lost; it had been too long since I last visited. As a child, airports didn't seem exciting enough, so I never paid much attention to them.
• Not knowing where to go, I stood near the seats facing the exit. "Samantha!" someone yelled amidst the crowd in the airport. I turned and saw Olivia waving and walking towards me. When she reached me, she gave me a hug. "Oh my God, look how big and beautiful you've become!"
• Olivia is my stepfather's sister. She was always unpleasant, so I don't hold good memories of her. I find it completely unnecessary to comment on someone's appearance when you see them after a long time. I don't consider myself beautiful, not ugly either, just average-looking. I have black hair, brown eyes, and I'm of average build, standing at 1.60 meters.
• "Thanks," I replied, forcing a smile. I wasn't particularly thrilled to see Olivia. She never had any interest in seeing us. My mother called her many times over the years, but she rarely returned the calls. After a while, she stopped calling altogether. It was as if she suddenly didn't want to see us anymore, and neither of us knew why.
• Two weeks ago, my mother called her future husband, and Olivia answered the phone. An apartment was too small, and my mother didn't trust me enough to let me live alone. So, it came down to living with my stepfather and Olivia and attending Fermont University, or going to the State University in Seattle. I didn't have to think much about it.
• In reality, it was a mind game, as everything she does. She wouldn't let me, under any circumstances, miss the opportunity to go to Fermont. It's the university we both always dreamed of. She only threatened me because it's her best way to make me obey, and she knows it. She knows it terrifies me more than the devil himself.
• This university has a feature that other institutions don't have; it's quite strict. They don't allow you to get away with anything. I know, in college, you're supposed to make your own life, do what you want, but not here. If you accepted and applied to this university, these are their orders and rules. You have to attend classes, be on time, complete every assignment they give you, and more if you have a scholarship. In short, it's like high school, but the difference is that when I finish here, I'll have a degree.
• "How was the flight?" Olivia inquired while looking at my clothes. I was wearing worn-out jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt. I glanced at her outfit, and it was very formal, with heels that would break my neck if I wore them, a pencil skirt, and a white blouse. Her physical appearance was not bad at all. Ten years had passed, and she looked just as I remembered. Her platinum blonde hair was perfectly styled, and she had dressed up for the occasion.
• I raised my head, and Olivia looked around, hoping not to encounter anyone she knew. I guess she didn't want to be seen with me.
• "You're not scoring any points, Olivia," I told myself.
• "The flight was fine," I let her know and turned to leave the place.
• "Well, let's go home, and on the way, you can tell me all the details of how your life has been these 8 years that I haven't seen you."
• Technically, we spent the entire time talking about her life, her ex-boyfriend, her work, the effort she put into raising Nick all these years, and a couple of other things I didn't listen to.
• What I did hear was her explanation of why she still doesn't have her own house and continues to live with her brother. Short answer: She doesn't want to give up control over everyone she cares about.
• We stopped at the driveway after forty-five minutes. When I got out of the car, I saw a giant two-story house. You could tell my new stepfather was doing well.
• "Let me help you with the luggage," Olivia took my luggage from my hand and headed inside the house.
• "That's not necessary," I shook my head and followed her. She didn't respond and crossed the threshold.
• When I walked past her and entered the room, I couldn't help but open my mouth in amazement. It was the most beautiful room I had ever seen in my life. Against the right window, there was a white Chaise Longue sofa with lamps on either side. A glass coffee table was in front of the sofa, and many paintings adorned this part of the room.
• The floor had a diamond-patterned rug. Everything was perfectly kept.
• To my left was the staircase, and in front of me, a hallway with several doors.
• "How many things do you have there?" she asked, almost gasping. I shrugged.
• "Just what I need to live here," I indicated while contemplating this beautiful house.
• "Well, this is your new home now. I hope you like it,"
• I laughed. "Yes, it's very nice."
• And I was understating it; "nice" was an understatement for what this place was. If this is the living room, I can imagine how all the other rooms in this house would be.
• "I'm glad you like it. Follow me; I'll take you to your room," I followed her, this time carrying my suitcases.
• We went upstairs, and there was a corridor with four doors. We stopped at the last one, and Olivia opened it. She moved slightly to let me in, and I stood there, even more amazed than when I saw the living room.
• The room was huge and painted in a delicate French blue. The bed was against the wall facing me, and its sheets matched the color of the room. Next to it was a bedside table with a lava lamp on it. Against the left wall, there was a desk with a laptop, and on the right wall, a very modern bookshelf, next to which was a white door. I approached that door, and it led to a small closet, but it was spacious enough for all my clothes. When I closed the door, I looked at Olivia with my expression of astonishment still on my face.
• "This is your room, make yourself comfortable. I have to go to work, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call me. My phone number is on the fridge in the kitchen, and I think Nick is in his room. He doesn't live here, he lives in an apartment near Bloomsbury, but he's staying here for a while because of some issues at home. If you need anything, call him."
• Olivia pointed to the room on the other side of the hallway.
• "No problem, thanks for letting me stay," I murmured, pretending to be shy. If I wanted to stay, I had to make a good impression.
• "Sweetie, there's no need to thank me; it's a pleasure to have you here," she said, then left.
• I couldn't help but glance at the front door; would Nick be there? I understood he wasn't, the idea was not to see him unless there was a family dinner or something like that. Maybe I was acting too childish by still thinking about something that happened eight years ago, but everything was too confusing.
• Should I let him know that I had arrived? Should I greet him?
• I dared to try, after all, a lot of time had passed, and he probably wouldn't even remember. Besides, if we were going to live together for a while, we should at least have some minimal interaction. I had to do it right; I couldn't risk losing my place here, my mother couldn't afford an apartment for me alone.
• I knocked on the door several times but got no response. As I expected, he wasn't there. Before closing the door to my room, I felt the door on the other side of the hallway slam open. I raised my head, and a tall, slim, black-haired, and very handsome man was standing in front of me. I couldn't help but look into his eyes; they were the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen, with various shades of green. It was hard to identify their exact color, but they were stunning.
• Startled, I slammed the door shut.
• I felt much better.
• Until I remembered that I had just slammed the door in my future roommate's face.
• That wouldn't give me a good reputation.
• Is it Nick?
• No, it couldn't be.
• I slowly poked my head out the door, hoping he had gone into his room, but he hadn't. He was still standing where I left him 30 seconds ago.
• "You... Are you Nick?" I scolded myself for stammering and gasping.
• He raised an eyebrow and looked at me as if I were a strange creature, which I was, but he could be more polite and hide it. Once he moved his head, answering my question affirmatively, I straightened up and cleared my throat.
• "What am I doing? Why am I acting like this? You're staring at him like an idiot! It's like you've seen a ghost!" I realized he was really looking at me. I'd have that expression on my face too if someone stared at me like that.
• "Hi," I managed to say, half embarrassed while looking at the ground. My voice didn't sound as shaky as I felt inside.
• "Hi," he mumbled, leaning against the doorframe. What happened to the guy I had met? I had expected a short, small guy, but here was a tall and muscular man.
• "How much time?" I pleaded, hoping the heat I felt in my cheeks had vanished. "How have you been?"
• "I can't complain," he said coldly and brusquely.
• "Oh, it's nothing, I just came to say hello and..."
• I would have said "get to know you better," but Nick had other plans. He wanted to show how rude he could be.
• "Well, you've done that already. I guess that's the end of the conversation," he said and closed the door in my face.
• I didn't understand; why was he so rude? It was worse than my mother when she had her period, and that's saying a lot. Was it because of my reaction earlier?
• I tried to ignore it; he would only be here for a few days, it wasn't permanent, and I shouldn't worry.
• That same evening, after I had unpacked most of my things, I began to look for the bathroom. I entered the fourth door without even knocking. Big mistake. Nick was there with a towel around his waist, leaving his chest exposed. My heart started beating very fast.
• I stood there, gazing at his strong and defined body for a long time. There was definitely a lot of exercise going on there. I entered the bathroom without permission, and now here I am for a minute, contemplating his half-naked body.
• This is spectacular. First, I slammed the damn door in his face, and now I entered the bathroom without permission to see him half-naked.
• I sighed, "I'm sorry."
• I turned around and began to close the door, but something stopped me. Nick had his hand on the edge of the door; we were centimeters away from each other. I could feel his breath on my face. My heart was beating so fast and hard that I feared he could hear it. What the hell was I doing?
• "Step away," I told him, elbowing him in the shoulder. I barely moved him. I was too small, and he was too big.
• For a moment, I felt a chemistry between our bodies that consumed me.
• "I'm home!" Nick's aunt shouted from the living room.
• I turned around and headed back to my room, not looking back, and disappeared into complete darkness.
• What had I just done? Well, technically, I hadn't done anything, but I had been about to kiss him, hadn't I? I don't think that was his intention, considering his reaction this morning.
• What happened eight years ago was just childish stuff; neither of us knew what we were doing. But now we're adults, and we don't even know each other. I'm clearly being paranoid.
• I lay down on the bed, resting my face on the pillow, and let out a sort of groan. Why was my heart still beating so fast? I'm still blushing, and I'm sure if I speak, I'll stutter.
• Was he about to kiss me without even knowing me? How dare he?
• Maybe he doesn't know me. Perhaps I misunderstood the situation, and he wanted to remove a giant spider from my hair to be a good person. Yes.
• I'm stressed from the trip and the change of routine; that's all. I need to rest.
• I put on my pajamas and settled into bed. When I closed my eyes, images of Nick and me in the bathroom came back. I opened my eyes again and sighed. It's going to be a long night.