67 - The chapter with the conversation with Harry

Christian

As soon as I reached the hallway to my room, I met Harry who returned with a downcast expression, standing in place when he saw me.

" Hey man," I greeted him after a few uncomfortable seconds.

That small gesture of goodwill caused my roommate to let his guard down a bit. I walked to our bedroom door, unlocking it, and he followed me.

" Hey…”

" How are you after all that shit yesterday? " I decided to give him a little attention.

Like I told Rose, he's my roommate and my friend, and I can't pretend he doesn't exist.

" You mean the fact that Rose almost broke my nose? Or that Van Derr Waal left me with a series of bruises? I must admit, I expected Rose's full strength, but not that reaction from Van Derr Waal," he forced a small smile.

" You messed with the wrong person. The only one who could make Liam not mind crumpling his clothes in a fight," I grabbed the laptop and charger from my desk before turning to him. “And you're lucky Rose just punched you.”

I leaned against the wall with the notebook in my hands, watching the boy.

" I threw her right at him, didn't I? I went to her room just now to try to talk, but her roommate said that Skyller was out all night... he must…”

" First of all, she was completely drunk, Liam would never do anything to her in that situation. Secondly, she spent the night in Rose's room. She couldn't even take a shower by herself, so we thought it best to leave her there.” I did not allow him to finish his sentence.

He closed his eyes, breathing deeply, my friend looked as if he had aged five decades in a single night.

" I didn't want to say an I told you so right now, but you let yourself be poisoned by one of the most Skyller hating people on this campus.” I stared at him "You told me yesterday that she was trying to help you, did she help you by giving your girl more booze and offering to introduce her to her friends?”

Harry ducked his head, not having the courage to rebut my statement. But I was far from finished.

" You said so much that Liam was doing everything to get her back, that he was crazy about her. And the last part you were right, we both had this exact conversation on our trip to Rochester. And what he told me was that yes, he was crazy about her, but that you seemed to be a better fit for her than he was. So as long as you were making her happy, he wouldn't do anything," I played the final card, watching my friend close his eyes and take a deep regretful breath. “I tried to warn you…”

He stood there for a few seconds before raising his head again to face me, and to my surprise, his eyes were watering.

" I want to talk to her. Not that I think I have any chance of repairing our relationship, but, Christian, I really like Skyller and I want at least the chance to apologize," he pleaded, making me a little uncomfortable.

" Today she wants to be alone, so you will respect that. And when the talk happens, don't think that you'll talk to her alone," I warned, "Now I have to go, Rose is waiting for me, she's sick, and I don't want to leave her alone.”

I felt Harry's eyes watching me for a second as I left the room, and just as I was about to close the door, he called out to me.

" Hey, Davis. When are you and Rose going to stop wasting your time?”

I frowned, walking back into the room, closing the door behind me.

" What are you talking about?”

" You two... you say it's no big deal, but in the months we've known each other I've never seen you care about someone sick. I mean, Beth when she had those asthma attacks practically begged you to spend the weekend with her, and you said you had other plans," he pointed out.

Beth was a girl in our class I had gone out with a couple of times, and I pulled away from her when I noticed that she was starting to confuse things.

" What's the point? She was treating me like her boyfriend, and I was not.”

" And you are Rose's boyfriend? " he returned.

" No, but that's different, she's my friend," I muttered.

" Skyller has been sick, Peterson has been sick, and even I have been sick. I don't remember hearing more than a get well man from you," he insisted.

I stared at him for what seemed like forever, not knowing what to say to him, especially since I realized that he was right. I never cared a bit about taking care of any sick friends except for Rose.

" I know you held back from hitting me yesterday when I mentioned her, I see the way you look at Ashford whenever he approaches, and I see the way she tries to mark her territory discreetly whenever you're at a party," he continued, "You'd be a fool not to act on it soon.”

I stared at him for a few seconds in silence for the simple fact that I didn't know what to say, so I did the only thing that was in my power at that moment, opened the door and left.