Family (Men of Steel #5.5) (13 page)

Chapter 5

Tori

I
didn’t know Haylie liked to drink, we never drank before or at least I never had.  Clearly Haylie did more than I knew of. I found out she had actually had sex before we met. I was shocked, very shocked because we met when we were fourteen. It didn’t matter. I just wished she had told me before and I had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t have ever had it not been for Marley going on and on about not wanting names, she just wanted to pretend they were guys she got Hot for in movies. (Her words, not mine)

The girls thought it was funny that I started talking more and giggling a lot.  I mean I could tell I was feeling different after just the first couple sips, but after I saw how much I had drank I knew it was time to stop.  My head was spinning just a little and I had to hold on to things just to go to the bathroom.  Marley and Haylie downed the rest of the second bottle then went right on to the third. They were pretty funny, the music was going, we were dancing and stories were flowing out of Marley, all about her sexual experiences.

  Meeting Marley was a treat.  I kept thinking she is nothing like us. She was wild and way more carefree than we were.  She definitely spoke her mind and wasn’t afraid to say whatever she wanted.  The way she spoke of sex like it was no big deal.  Didn’t she understand it was supposed to be between two people that loved each other?  I guess that’s not the way for everyone.

I sat up and had a slight headache and looked to my left, Haylie was still sleeping.  I looked to my right and Marley was laying in the lounge looking intently at her phone. When I stood up she looked over and smiled.

“Morning how are you feeling?” She asked.

“A little head ache. What are you doing?”

“Travis Maddox. Love his fine ass. I want more description in the sex scenes but—.”

I covered my ears, “Don’t spoil it. You can’t talk books unless we are all on the same page.”

Haylie, sat up and giggled and I uncovered my ears.

“You like it huh?”

“Shh,” Marley said. “You may have created a monster. You can damn sure bet next guy whose under me is gonna have to agree he’s Travis.”

“Welcome to our world.” I said as I walked into the bathroom.

When I came out Haylie, was verbally giving her a list of books to read and she was making notes on her phone.

My headache was worsening the louder they got.

Haylie seemed fine, how could that be she had more than me last night?

“Haylie, remind me again why I let you two convince me to drink not just one, but two glasses of wine?” I said as I groaned.  

Marley smiled, “Practice makes perfect you know. Now tell me is it your stomach?”

“I have a slight headache.  How do you this all the time?”

Marley stood, stretched, and laughed “You should have taken two aspirin and drank a bottle of water before heading to bed.”

“Now you tell me,” I groaned again.

The girls headed out as I had plans with the Sorority that I was pledging. Marley, said that she and Haylie, had some stops to make so they could join one as well. Later that night I called them and it went to voicemail.

I tried not to be jealous of their friendship but I didn’t want to lose Haylie, because I wasn’t as fun as Marley.

I dove into my book that night to escape how silly I was feeling. Haylie, and I were soul sisters.

As the weeks and months wore on we got into a groove, all three of us. Many times Marley, overstepped and many times I told her she was doing just that. But we were friends.

I won’t say I didn’t look forward to going home for winter break. I was so excited that Haylie, agreed to stay with my family after the holidays. Her mother worked all the time so Haylie, said she would understand, that she would probably insist being that she wouldn’t want her to be alone. So Haylie, and I would have time to hang out and read and be, well normal again.

Normal. Something she needed more than me, and it all became clear just how much she needed that. I went to meet the girls for breakfast and they were late and not answering their phones. Their new sorority, one which I would have never considered had a huge end of semester party. I knew they must have partied harder than I ever would so I dropped by their dorm to wake them up. 

Nothing prepared me for what I walked in on that morning. The door wasn’t locked so I opened it and yelled, “Rise and shine party girls.”

I grabbed the blanket and gave it a tug, uncovering a naked man with a girl’s head between his legs, doing, well that thing with her mouth.

“Oh dear lord, Marley, I am so sorry,” I turned around.

“Marley?” the man who I recognized from somewhere laughed. “You change your name and not tell me?”

I took a couple steps toward the door and it opened shielding me from seeing who was coming in and thankfully to the atrocity that I had walked in on.

“Haylie, we got company coming. You better get your ass dressed and out of here with Rex, before Tori, walks in and freaks the --.”

“Marley,” Haylie whispered.

“Oh shit,” Marley whispered back.

That moment I realized they had been hiding things from me. I won’t say I wasn’t crushed because I was. I thought being accepting of her lewd behavior would make my relationship with Haylie stronger and accepting Marley wasn’t hard but now I wanted to run.

The door slowly closed and both Haylie and Marley stood looking at me. Both looked like petulant children who had gotten caught by their parents smoking cigarettes.

I plastered a smile on my face and walked quickly by them, “Call me when you’re free.”

Haylie, was at my door half an hour later telling me she was sorry. That she didn’t want to disappoint me. She cried and I acted like it was no big deal.

Our winter break was great it was just like old times and when we returned to school things quickly fell back into place. Like that incident had never happened.

When I agreed to attend a party with Haylie and Marley at the end of the spring semester something equally as awful happened. I walked into the bathroom with Haylie and Rex, the man whose penis was in Haylie’s mouth at the end of last semester, was in the bathroom with one of the Haylie sorority sisters on her knees doing the same thing to him.

Having had two glasses of wine, I myself was a little lose lipped.

“Isn’t that your boyfriend?”

Haylie quickly turned away and walked out of the room.

“You are a horrible man! I hope that thing falls off you- you- son of a --.”

Marley, walked in and grabbed my arm, “Let’s go there Betty-bad-ass.”

I didn’t understand why she wasn’t freaking out on him. But when we had gotten outside and I saw Haylie, wiping away tears I knew immediately that she needed me.

“How could your boyfriend do that to you?” I hugged her.

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just a friend.”

“Nonsense. Now he’s neither. He’s a piece if garbage. So unworthy of you.”

“Haylie!” I looked up and Rex, was walking out the door still buttoning his pants.

“Fuck off Rex!” Marley, snapped at him.

“No you fuck off bitch!”

“All of you stop.” Haylie said looking at us.

“We need to talk,” Rex walked quickly towards her.

“No we don’t. Its fine Rex, go back.”

“Baby--.”

“Don’t,” Haylie started walking away, “Just don’t.”

“We were never exclusive. If that’s what you wanted you should have said something.”

“Rex, have you lost your fucking mind. Look here Romeo, you don’t ask a girl out when you get busted getting your dick smoked in a bathroom you fucking-tard,” Marley laughed in his face. “Haylie, you and Tori, go ahead I’ll make sure dumb fuck stays put.”

“You look here bitch.” I heard as Haylie and I walked down the sidewalk followed by and whelp and a thud. “Fucking cunt.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve been called worse by better men.” Marley said sarcastically.

In two seconds she was on Haylie’s other side.

“I kicked him in the nuts,” she smiled. “We’ll find you a new toy soon. Bigger and better model.”

“Are you serious? She just had her heart broken.”

“No it was a wake-up call, right girl?”

Haylie looked up, “I’m fine. Just have to be stronger.”

The next two years blew by. Things changed around us but the three of us stayed strong. Our friendship wasn’t one that was bound by childhood memories or the closeness of our families. It was formed by the need to broaden our horizons, to grow and change with peers, people who had similar interests. What kept us coming together every week, regardless of our obvious differences was books. We read and we laughed. We even held each other up when we were down. I don’t think there could ever be a stronger friendship than ours.

Marley and Haylie, had an apartment together. They decided against moving into their sorority house. It just so happened that the girl in the bathroom on her knees was very influential in their sorority.

Marley, got an apartment after her family came into some money and asked Haylie, to live with her. Haylie, wouldn’t until she could contribute. Luckily my father was close with a man who ran a country club close by. She worked a lot but loved it. She always talked about all the seemingly happy couples that came there every week. I loved that regardless of what happened with Rex, she still dreamed of, and admired the happily ever after’s in life.