Pissed at the way our relationship was heading south, I watched Debra walk out of sight before entering my dorm, ignoring those sitting in the lounge who called out to me. I was pissed that she would allow something so simple to affect us. What did it matter that our parents had been in a brief relationship? My dad was long over her mother. He never held a grudge against any of the women he was with, and her mother wasn’t hurting over the things she’d gained from him either.

They were both grown ass people who had made their own horrible mistakes. Why should it have any bearing on us?

In my suite, I stripped and went straight to the shower, turning on the cold tap instead of the warm. The water streaming over me did little to soothe my anxiety. Why couldn’t we catch a break? The first time I decided I would settle with one girl, and it was such a damn headache. No wonder breakups happened with such frequency, but that wasn’t an option between us. I loved her. I wanted her in my life, and nothing and no one was going to come between us. Not her mother. Not my dad.

Turning off the tap, I wrapped a towel around my waist, deciding to air dry. I applied my favorite Calvin Klein deodorant before walking back into the bedroom.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

A startled Rozanne dropped my phone onto the small table where I’d placed it and her cheeks flooded a bright red with guilt.

“I-I wanted to see if-if you wanted anything.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be with Kevin?” I asked her. “And how did you get into my room anyway?”

“I made a copy of your spare,” she replied a little smugly. “How else do you think I got in when you used to walk in on me naked in your bed?”

I hadn’t been thinking. I’d been simple-minded then, only wanting to slake my lust, and she was always so willing and ready.

“Give me the key,” I demanded, holding out my hand.

After much hesitation, she pulled it from the tight pocket of her short denim skirt but instead of handing it to me, she dropped it into her underwear.

“Come and get it.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll just have the locks changed. Please leave, Rozanne.”

She glared at me. “You’re not tired of that chick you’ve been hanging around? Everybody’s talking about you two, you know. She’s not right for you. She’s a nobody. Why would you want that when you can have all this?”

“Simple, I love her. I don’t love you. Aren’t you supposed to be with Kevin anyway?”

“I got bored.” She sulked at me. “You’re still the best I’ve ever had. I know I’m the best you’ve had too. Why can’t we go back to the way things were?”

“Did you hear a word I said? I love her, Rozanne, and I wouldn’t cheat on her for the world.”

“Yeah, well, if she loves you back why does she want a break from you?”

“What?”

Instead of answering, she smirked and walked off, exaggerating the sway of her hips. I remembered she had been looking at my phone when I got in. Shit. I had the message feature activated where I could read and respond to a message even when the phone was locked. I’d found it convenient when having an ongoing text conversation instead of having to unlock the phone every time I received a message.

Retrieving the phone, I swiped my pattern lock and found the message folder. Message received from Debra at 3:17p.m.

Lucas, with everything that has happened, I think we should take a break from each other. I’ve too much going on right now. I’m behind in my classwork and there’s the relationship with my parents to work on. I’m not saying we have to make us final, but I need a break to sort my head out.

Below her was a response Rozanne had taken it upon herself to send.

Okay.

I didn’t make any effort to halt the expletives that came from my mouth. Better to get them all out of my system now anyway, rather than later when I confronted Debra. I snagged the towel from my waist and rubbed it over my body, not drying properly before I threw clothes on and locked up.

It took me less than five minutes to make it over to Debra’s. Her roommate answered when I knocked.

“Uh, can I help you?” she asked nervously.

“Is Debra in?”

“Umm,” she glanced frantically behind her as if not knowing what to do before she held the door open. “Sure, come on in. I was heading out, anyway.”

“Thanks,” I told her, watching her go although I was pretty sure she hadn’t been about to do such a thing.

When she left, I closed the door behind her and turned my attention to Debra. She sat up in the bed, her legs drawn up to her knees, looking at me warily.

“Why didn’t you tell me face to face you wanted a break instead of taking the coward’s way out and sending me a text?” I asked her heatedly.

“Because I thought about it and it makes sense.”

“Bullshit. She got to you, didn’t she? Did she call you or did you call her?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t lie to me, Debra! I’m talking about your mother! Why did you think I insisted we go instead of letting her talk to you at her house? I could tell she was waiting to spin you a fine tale about my dad and how I’m supposedly like him. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“What are you mad about?” she shouted at me. “And what are you doing here anyway? Your text said you were okay with us taking a break.”

“That wasn’t me and I definitely am not okay with us taking a break.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t you?”

I paused, not sure how to explain. This was a precarious position I’d put myself in.

“Someone saw the message and replied without my permission.”

“Who?” Trust her not to leave it at that explanation.

“It doesn’t matter who. I didn’t send it. I don’t want a break.”

“There’s only one reason you can’t answer my question,” she mused aloud. “Some girl sent it. You decided to find someone so quickly to replace me because I wouldn’t go back to your dorm?”

I scowled blackly at her. “Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t invite anybody over. She-she had a key but she and I were over before you came into the picture.”

“How very convenient for you,” Debra drawled. “From one woman to the next. Might you alert me when you’ve found my replacement?”

Striding over to her bed, I sat and took her by the shoulders, shaking her a little. “That’s not you talking, Debra. That’s your mother. You know I’m not into anybody else but you.”

“For now.”

I let her go before I gave into temptation to shake her hard enough to make her teeth rattle. We were going around in circles and this wasn’t helping us in the least.

“The bottom line, Debra, is that I don’t want a break from you. You’re the best thing in my life. Nothing holds as much significance as you and I am not going to give that up. Not now, not ever.”

“Except it’s not your choice,” she responded stiffly. “I need some time away from you to think. I’ll be going home for Spring Break.”

“Then I’ll go with you.”

She shook her head, turning down my suggestion. “No. I intend to go alone. You’re not getting the whole idea of this taking a break, are you?”

“That’s you being there over a week by yourself, Deb!”

“I know, exactly what we need. I’m sure if you need anything, the girl in your room can help you out.”

“I told you, she meant nothing to me.”

“I believe you, probably the same way I’ll mean nothing to you when you break up with me.”

I rolled my head heavenward and threw my hands up in frustration. “I give up! I’m not having this back and forth argument with you. I told you she showed up uninvited. I’m having the locks changed.”

She stared blankly at the wall, not responding. I dropped back down to the bed beside her, causing her to bounce a little on the mattress. I took her by the chin and brought her face around until she looked at me. It was time to bring out the big guns. It made me start sweating, but she didn’t have to know how hard this was for me.

“Debra, I love you,” I admitted and her eyes widened, her face going pale. “It shouldn’t surprise you. Everything I’ve done, the way I’ve treated you, were expressions of my love for you. I don’t care if our parents were married. They could still be married and I wouldn’t give a damn because all that matters is us. Just the two of us. There’s so much I want to show you, places I want to take you, to have you with me at all times. I don’t want us to take a break.”

A pregnant silence filled the air after my confession. I hadn’t thought much about what her reaction would be when I told her, but the silence wasn’t something that had crossed my mind. I longed to know what was going on in her head. Why wasn’t she saying anything, and why did she look so pale? Had I gotten it wrong? Didn’t she love me back?

The startling discovery that she didn’t love me back prompted me to my feet and I backed away from her.

“I see,” I muttered. “I was probably the fool, after all, in thinking you felt the same.”

“Lucas, wait!”

I was turning the doorknob when she called out to me. I turned back to her in expectation.

“Please be patient with me,” she said instead of the words of love I wanted to hear. “Just give me some time. I really do have a lot going on right now, some of which I haven’t explained to you. Please try to understand.”

I nodded to her and slipped out of her room, walking blindly along the corridor and back to my own dorm. She hadn’t given me a committal response to my words of love. She hadn’t denied it as much as she hadn’t said it. Which was it? It didn’t matter.

Even if she loved me, it hurt just as badly that she hadn’t been able to admit it.