Picturing Perfect by Melissa Brown, Lori Sabin Read Free Book Online Page A

knew he didn't deserve me?
    Pain pounded in my forehead as I stumbled to the bathroom. A white terrycloth robe hung from the door. I put it on my body and felt slightly better, but still shivered from the cold. I was chilled to the bone, but mad as hell. I wanted to wake Tucker and demand answers. Demand to know why I was treated this way. But, I knew where that would lead…and I didn't want to have that conversation in the middle of the night, only to wake up next to one another in the morning. It would have to wait. But, something in the pit of my stomach told me this was the beginning of the end. We weren't going to make it. I felt it in my gut.
    Climbing back into bed, I eventually stopped shivering as I listened to Tucker snoring next to me. As I lay there, though, a memory crept into my brain. I must've buried it, but all of a sudden, it felt fresh, as if it'd just happened. As if I was trapped inside of it.
     
    "Where is he?" Auden snipped. "He was supposed to be here an hour ago. Try his cell again."
    "He's not picking up," I said with a shrug.
    "Then, let's go without him."
    "No…I mean, not yet. Give him a minute."
    "He does this all the time, Had. He expects you to wait on him. Aren't you sick of it?"
    "He's not always like this. Sometimes he's sweet."
    "He was in high school, but not anymore."
    She was right. Since our first semester of college had begun, Tucker was different. He'd pledged a fraternity, one of the most elite on his campus in Champaign. Auden and I were "GDIs" (Goddamn Independents) according to him. He seemed disappointed in both of us for not going Greek. What he didn't get was that Auden and I didn't want that. We'd made several friends on campus and didn't feel the need to join. The Greek system wasn't popular at our tiny college in Peoria. We were content; we didn't need or want it. But for Tucker, it was his world. And the more he was wrapped up in that world, the more we drifted apart.
    My cell remained silent as Auden tapped her foot on the hardwood floor.
    "Shit. C'mon, Had. We only have another week left of break."
    "And?"
    "And I don't want to spend all that time waiting around for him."
    Sending a final text to Tucker, I resigned myself to not seeing him for New Year's Eve. Oh well. Two minutes went by before my phone rang. I pressed the speakerphone button. Auden would get pissed if she didn't get to say her piece.
    "Now you call me," I said, the sarcasm dripping from my words.
    "Hey, baby," he slurred into the phone.
    "We've been waiting for you for over an hour. Where are you?"
    "Dave's place."
    "Oh," I said, my heart plummeting into my belly. Dave was a friend of Tucker's who also pledged with the same fraternity. They'd become inseparable and Dave was always making sarcastic jokes around me. He thought it was ridiculous that Tucker and I stayed together long distance. But, we were less than an hour away. We saw each other a lot (at least we did before his frat had constant parties during the fall months) and Tucker had a car, so we didn't really view it as long distance.
    Dave was definitely not a fan of mine. He wanted to pick up girls with Tuck by his side. And he wasn't afraid to refer to me as "The Cock Block." Nice. Tucker acted like it was no big deal, so I tried not to make it one.
    "You knew we were waiting on you and you went to Dave's? What for?" Auden asked, her words snide.
    "Calm the fuck down, Auden. It was just a couple beers." Exasperation poured from the phone. Even through his slur, we could hear his irritation. He was never able to hide that easily.
    "Hey, don't talk to her like that," I said, feeling myself being pushed to my limit. I didn't raise my voice often. But, no one talked that way to my best friend and got away with it.
    "Fine, whatever. Sorry," he said, his voice lowered slightly. This wasn't the first time they'd been pissed at one another. We'd played this routine out many, many times before. But, I still held out hope they'd get along again