Chapter 5

I limped out of the karaoke bar and only then realized it was raining. There was hardly anyone on the street, and even fewer cars.

I had no one to turn to and not a single cent on me, so I had no choice but to walk back to campus.

It took me four hours to walk nine miles.

By the time I made it back, I was soaked to the bone. My feet were covered in blisters, the blood on my arm had mixed with the rain, and I looked like an absolute wreck.

When I reached my dorm room, I pounded on the door, but no one answered.

I shouted, "Open the door. It's Shane."

The light inside went out right away, and my heart sank to the pit of my stomach. I knew then that they had no intention of letting me in.

Shivering all over, I sat down in the hallway and waited there until dawn.

Only after Natasha had Marty return my phone did I find out that the class group chat had blown up.

The night before, our student advisor, Sandra Kowalski, had done a surprise dorm check. When she found I was not in my room, she asked my roommates where I was.

They told her I was probably staying somewhere off campus, since I often did not come back at night anyway.

Just like that, rumors that I spent my nights clubbing and hooking up with girls spread across the entire school like wildfire.

Our school had some of the strictest rules around. Until the day students graduated, they were not allowed to stay out overnight, and doing so counted as a serious violation.

I was about to explain myself when Ms. Kowalski called.

"Shane, you finally decided to turn your phone back on! You spent the whole night messing around. Do you still want your diploma or not?"

"I didn't! I came back to the dorm building. I was in the hallway the whole time. My roommates locked me out. I didn't stay out overnight!"

I was desperate to explain, but she did not seem to care. "Can anyone back you up on that?"

I thought of Natasha.

As long as she was willing to admit she had taken my phone, it would prove that I had no money and no way to contact anyone. There was no way I could have been out partying with someone.

I rushed over to the girls' dorm and called Natasha more than a dozen times before she finally strolled downstairs.

"Natasha, come with me to Ms. Kowalski and help me explain. Tell her I wasn't out at some club sleeping around. You took my phone and made me walk all the way back to campus."

The corner of Natasha's mouth curled up. "Why would I admit to doing something like that?"

I was on the verge of losing it, and I shouted at the top of my lungs, "Do you have any idea what the whole school is saying about me? They think I sleep around! If this keeps up, I won't get my diploma!"

Natasha suddenly laughed and moved closer, one slow step at a time.

"Shane, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? You know I'm staying here for grad school, so you came up with this plan to delay your graduation and stick around campus with me."

I frowned. It was utterly absurd.

Before I could explain, Natasha went on, "Okay, stop the act. I'm not explaining anything for you."

She turned and went back upstairs without a second glance. As I watched her walk away, a sudden wave of regret washed over me.

After pursuing her for three years, I finally saw it. A woman this cold and stubborn had never been worth my feelings in the first place.