5

As the clock neared 3 AM, I summoned an Uber to transport me back to the dorm. Walking alone through the deserted off-campus streets was not wise. 

The car arrived swiftly, and I was quickly back at the dormitory.

They had boarded the front door up with plywood. Even touching the outside keypad would set off the campus-wide alarms, so the first-floor RA was camped out by the door, opening and closing it for everyone from the inside. She looked up at me as I waved at her through the remaining window. 

With a sigh, she let me in. 

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, girl. He's actually far calmer these days, believe it or not. Happy birthday. I'm sorry he decided to act like that on tonight of all nights," Marley remarked. 

She was one of the few people who seemed okay with Kha. She was the sole reason I could get him up to my dorm as often as I did. I figured she was sweet on him or something. 

I commented that to Kha one night after she let us pass, ignoring a 6'9 tall individual walking through the halls of the female dorm. He just smiled. "Or you never know. Maybe she has a crush on you." 

I found Rissa amid her nightly ritual, methodically removing her makeup. Without looking up she asked, "So, did he finally calm down? I'm guessing he was the one who shattered the door downstairs?"

"Of course, it was him. Who else could it be?" I responded.

Rissa paused with the makeup wipe in mid-air. "I can't believe he manages to stay in school with everything he's done in the last five months."

Exhaling deeply, I tried to push the feelings out of my mind. "Well, when you have that much money, make the grades he can still manage to achieve, and are that exemplary at football, you tend to get what you want," I muttered, stripping off my jeans and Kha's fraternity t-shirt.

Rissa shook her head. "I hate that the jocks get special treatment," she muttered.

"There's more," I whispered, almost involuntarily.

"Do tell," Rissa urged, her posture shifting as she sensed the tea I was about to spill. 

I confessed, "I caught Kha sleeping with a girl with black hair in his truck earlier when I went out for some air," the words left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Rissa shot up straight, her previously casual demeanor instantly replaced by shock and anger. "You saw him doing WHAT?" she exploded, starting to pace the small space. "And what was his excuse? There's no way he mistook her for you. Your blonde hair is the complete opposite of black. Even in the dark, you can tell the difference."

"We haven't even talked about any of that yet," I admitted, "I broke up with him the first time I saw him after... then the second time, I watched him break that window. Then I bailed him out, and before he could say anything, Franklin barged in and dragged him out. So, I don't know, Ris. I think he is having a mental breakdown or something. He was saying and doing some really strange things."

The intensity of everything that had transpired started to take its toll, and I struggled to process the complexities of what I had witnessed and felt.

Seeing my evident distress, Rissa stopped pacing and wrapped her arms around me. 

I took a deep breath and felt the pressing need to confess my sins. Someone had to know what happened after, besides me. "And there's something else, Ris..." 

"What is it?" she asked, tightening her grip on me.

I hesitated, and then the words just tumbled out. "After I broke up with Kha, I slept with Drake Stclaire."

Rissa staggered back in total shock. "Oh my God, Eve, how did that happen?" she gasped.

I shot her a look. Rissa just laughed. "Wow... you are vicious. I didn't know you had it in you," she remarked, still in disbelief.

Feeling somewhat exposed, I tried to explain. "I know they hate each other, but that had nothing to do with why I did it..." I trailed off, searching for the right words. "I... I... felt like... Maybe a connection with him? I don't know, it was so strange. He'd never even glanced at me prior, yet he showed up at my birthday party tonight? Kha tried to fight him the second he got there. It was all so odd... The entire night has been odd. You know Drake is only the second I've..." I trailed off, unable to say it out loud. 

"Honestly, I don't even have the mental energy to process it all right now. Can we call a raincheck on this conversation?" I asked.

Rissa nodded with a knowing wink. "Yeah, I'm quite tired, too," she said, hinting at something.

"Do I even want to know?" I joked, dreading her likely colorful recounting.

"You know the Anderson twins?" she began, and I nodded. "Yeah, which one?"

"Both," Rissa replied with a triumphant grin.

I turned off the bedside lamp and settled into the darkness. As we lay there, Rissa whispered, "Well, tomorrow will be interesting. The game starts at 6."

The impending football game. 

It was a mere 15 hours away, where Kha and Drake would both be playing. The thought started to make me panic all over again. I pulled the blanket over my eyes with a heavy sigh.

Tonight's revelations had been enough, but tomorrow's potential confrontations would likely be epic.

I just hoped Kha could stay out of jail long enough to actually tell me what was happening here.