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He fist-punched the air. “Yes!”
She laughed and wondered if he was truly excited to go with her or if he was just being nice. Either way, she loved being included.
Is this what you two were talking about? Aimee mouthed to her on the way back to the apartment when the cold had become too much.
“Yep. Sorry for not telling you.”
Aimee squealed and pushed her free arm around Holly’s side. “You’re the best. I can’t believe he asked me. Are you excited to go out with Justin? He’s really cute.”
Holly shrugged. Not as cute as Eric, but she’d never say that to Aimee. “Yeah, he’s a lot of fun. I’m sure we’ll have a good time.”
“Well, let’s go shopping tomorrow after school. We can go into town and visit the mall.”
Holly’s heart sank. She could barely afford food, much less a dress. “I was actually hoping you’d let me borrow one of your old dresses. I’m almost out of funds.”
Aimee didn’t miss a beat. “What about Diane’s parents? They’re . . . your parents too.”
Holly shoved her hands in her coat pockets as the guys gathered around them in the apartment. “Let’s talk about it later, okay?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t love Jack and Susie, Diane’s parents. It was just that she wanted a new life away from them. They had spent so much money for her surgeries over the years, all without batting an eye. For once, she wanted to be self-sufficient, and asking them to pay for a dress she’d wear one time felt like a slap in the face to their generosity.
“Fine. But if you find the perfect dress, and it’s not too expensive, I’ll get it for you. It’ll pay you back for the many times you’ve been our personal chef.”
Holly considered her offer. She probably wouldn’t find a dress that was better than Aimee’s dozens of dresses anyway. It would be fun to go with the girls and tell them which ones looked best on them. A fun outing. “Fine. Deal. I’ll go with you tomorrow.”
As the group gathered around the table to play a card game, Holly looked around at her precious friends. She was truly blessed. When her eyes fell on Eric, he was looking her way as well. He smiled brightly, and she smiled back before looking away. A pang started in her stomach and crawled into her heart. Why did he have to be so great? It made it really hard not to like him, and with him garnering Aimee’s attention, she’d never find out how he felt.
6
Eric
After checking the classroom’s clock for the third time that hour, Eric sighed. Two minutes left and he could walk Holly home. He’d taken seriously the task she had given him, and after one day of doing it, felt it was a worthy cause. Collin had followed them home three of the four days he had walked her home, which he had captured on his phone. Thankfully she hadn’t noticed, but it was only a matter of time.
Finally, the clock turned to four, and the professor released them with the warning to study hard for the final the next day. The next day would be a battle of wits. Every few hours, he had a scheduled final at the testing center, and luckily–and unluckily—his had been stacked all on the same day. He would barely have an hour in between to study for the next one. There were no classes on Thursday or Friday, thankfully, and everyone was taking every opportunity to study, even Justin, who avoided his books as much as he did his mom’s calls.
He was surprised by how much he looked forward to walking Holly home and was thrilled to see her reaction when he kept his promise. He could only imagine how many dumb boys had hurt her in the past, boys like Collin. But for now... Holly.
It was always easy to talk to her, about class, about school in general, about life. He never felt like he had to force the conversation.
After dropping Holly off, he headed to his apartment, only to have the perfect setup for a confrontation with Collin. A group of guys, with Collin as their ringleader, hung out by the stairway, glancing in his direction. They couldn’t be—
The anger forgotten from earlier revved his engine again, and he joined the group.
“I thought I told you to scram, Collin. And, you guys,” he said, seeing that most of them were freshmen, “stay away from that house. Those women are taken.”
Collin smirked. “Whatever.” He pushed past Eric, but Eric turned him and grabbed him by his collar.
“I mean it, man.” He pulled out his phone and for the moment distracted Collin from trying to blaze past him. “Caught some photos of you this week. I’m sure the Campus Police would have an opinion about your stalking issues”.
Some of the guys in the group laughed nervously, but Collin cut them off with one look. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I was just walking home from school and just happened to be going in the same direction since we live close to each other.”
“I live close by too,” Eric said, tightening his grip on Collin’s collar. “And if I catch you following Holly home one more time, I’m not going to be so nice.”
“Fine,” Collin said, lifting his hands in surrender. “She’s not pretty anyway with that big scar running down her face.”
Eric reached for him, but Collin slid out of his grasp. Probably for the best anyway. Anger burned through Eric, but instead of chasing after him and giving him his own scar, Eric inhaled deeply and calmed himself down. Collin, or any other jerk, wasn’t worth it.
Collin muttered to the group as they walked away from the stairwell.
