Take Me for Granted

Chapter 48: Aribel

I already had organic chemistry homework.

It was a bit of relief to be back on a normal schedule again. The break had seemed like some kind of strange dream, something someone else had gone through and not me. I’d lost my virginity, lost my boyfriend, been kissed by a rock star, and been propositioned by someone whose relationship with me bordered on an arranged marriage.

At least some things always stayed the same—like homework. I had a tough class schedule this semester, and I needed to make sure that I stayed on top of everything. There was an introductory study session later tonight. I couldn’t decide if it was better to get involved from the get-go or try to do everything myself…like normal.

A knock at the door kept me from deciding. My heart rate shot through the roof as I wondered if today would be the day that I’d have to face Grant. I’d decided that I would do it this weekend. I’d let him break my heart this weekend.

Cheyenne came out of her room and jumped when she saw me. “I thought you were going to a study session!”

I narrowed my eyes. “I decided not to.”

Shelby and Gabi appeared a minute later. They were equally surprised to find me sitting in the dining room. They shot questioning looks at Cheyenne.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re having some people over to watch a movie,” Shelby said.

“Some people…as in?”

Gabi sighed. “I invited McAvoy over. We saw a lot of each other over break, and well, I guess we’re kind of together.”

I just stared at my friends. McAvoy…and that probably meant Vin and Miller and…

I shot out of my seat. “Are you saying Grant is going to be in our house?”

“No!” Shelby and Cheyenne said at once.

Gabi was shaking her head. “We told them not to bring him, but we thought you’d be gone.”

“You can’t just hide this stuff from me! I don’t want to be blindsided that his friends are going to be here in our house!” I started packing up all of my papers and throwing the stuff into my backpack.

The guys started knocking again, and Shelby rushed over to answer it.

Cheyenne gave me a pleading look. “Please don’t freak out about this.”

“Freak out? Why would I freak out? It’s every day that my roommates invite over my…whatever. This is stupid,” I grumbled. “Fuck Grant McDermott.”

Cheyenne giggled, and I glared at her.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have made that dirty,” she said.

“I swear, you just can’t help yourself.”

Our conversation cut off as Miller, McAvoy, and Vin walked into our apartment. They looked pretty shocked to see me there as well, so the girls must have said I’d be gone. Well, lucky for them, I was leaving.

“Hey, Ari,” Miller said cordially.

I nodded my head at him and then continued to pack up.

The group moved to the living room, and I stomped into my room to find my boots. It was still cold out there. When I returned, they were all cuddled up together. Cheyenne was sitting on Vin’s lap on the couch. Gabi had her head on McAvoy’s shoulder. Shelby and Miller were sitting side-by-side. I wondered how much Shelby knew about Miller and Sydney, but I didn’t care to bring that up right now.

After grabbing my peacoat off the back of the chair, I put it on and threw my backpack over it.

“Hey, Ari?” McAvoy said.

Our eyes met across the room.

“Yeah?”

Miller sat up straight. “McAvoy, no.”

“Shut up, Miller. No one else is going to talk about it. We need our brother back, so seriously, just shut up.”

I resolutely stood there, wondering what the hell they were talking about.

“So, are you going to talk to Grant?”

“It’s not like he wants to talk to me.”

“Really?” McAvoy asked incredulously. “That’s the line of reasoning you’re going to go with?”

“What else am I supposed to think?” I asked, feeling my frustration turning to anger. “If Grant wants to talk to me, he knows where to find me.”

“Maybe you should remind him. He’s been acting like a fucking idiot since you left, and he might have forgotten.” McAvoy sighed and shook his head. “We’ve been trying to get signed for years, and now that we’re this close, Grant is talking about quitting because he’s so fucked-up about your relationship. Maybe think that over, and stop being so selfish.”

My mouth dropped open. “Selfish? He cheated on me!”

“Not the way we’ve heard the story,” Miller piped up. “I think you have a lot of things to talk about.”

“Whatever,” I ended lamely. I didn’t know what else to say. There was too much of what they’d said that didn’t make sense, and I needed to process.

Everything that the guys had said was swirling around in my mind. Grant was thinking about quitting ContraBand? Why the hell would he do that? He loved the band and his brothers and everything about music. It simply couldn’t be about me. That made no sense.

And the guys had said that he hadn’t cheated? I’d been there on New Year’s. Donovan and Hollis had told me that he’d gone off with someone else, and he’d never messaged me. I’d never messaged him…but still. It seemed likely with Grant’s track record. Did the guys just not know he’d slept with someone on New Year’s? And if he hadn’t slept with someone…did that mean I’d cheated with Henry?

No. I hadn’t wanted that kiss. Well, a part of me had, a drunk part of me, but I’d stopped it.

God, there are too many things to think about. I didn’t want to go rushing over to Grant’s house like a dog with my tail between my legs. We had a lot to talk about. The few weeks of us being apart had felt like an eternity, and at this point, there was so much that needed to be said. It felt like we’d built a wall between us, and I wasn’t sure how ready I was to climb that. It might be easier to try to tear it down with my bare hands.

Deciding that O-chem took precedence over my floundering love life, I drove to the library in a hurry. I found the study group with ease, but I stopped myself from joining them at the last minute. Not only did I not want to have to deal with teaching the group instead of actually learning anything myself…Kristin was with them.

Her mousy brown hair was in a braid over her shoulder, and she was tugging on it as she flirted with some guy from our class. Disgust washed over me. Did the girl never stop?

I hated that I kept seeing her…that I would continue to see her. We had organic chemistry together as well as molecular biology and calc IV. I seriously couldn’t escape the conniving bitch.

Backpedaling, I found a secluded spot on the same level and pulled out my assignment. I quickly got lost in the equations before me. I was finishing up the assignment, my head buried in my book, when I heard someone clear her throat next to me.

I glanced up and groaned. “What do you want?”

“Hey, Aribel,” Kristin said, rocking back and forth on her toes. “I thought you might have been at the study session.”

“Well, I wasn’t. And you’re free to go now.”

“Mind if I take a seat?” She gestured to the chair in front of me.

“Yes, I do mind,” I snapped.

“Is someone else meeting you?”

“If this is you trying to get to Grant, then you can turn around right now and leave. I don’t want to talk to you. I don’t want to see you. Just leave me alone.”

“This isn’t…I mean, that’s not why I’m here,” she said hastily.

“Then, why are you here? Simply to annoy me?”

“No!” she cried. She quickly glanced around and lowered her voice as she said, “I came to apologize.”

“What for? Being a slutbag whore? Or did you do something else to me that I don’t know about?”

Kristin pulled out the chair and sat down, ignoring the fact that I hadn’t given her permission to do so. “I know I deserve that.”

“You think?”

“Yes,” she said flatly. “I just…I acted like a crazy person. I don’t even know what was wrong with me. I was just so set on hooking up with Grant, and I felt so slighted that he didn’t want me…that he wanted you.”

“Oh, yes, that’s a great way to apologize—dismiss the fact that Grant could want me! I’m just the girl who thinks she’s better than everyone else, right?”

“I’m sorry,” Kristin said earnestly. “And I know that you have no reason to forgive me. I don’t expect you to, but I am sorry.”

I shrugged. I wanted out of this conversation. I wanted her to leave me alone. “You’re right. You have no reason to be forgiven. You accomplished your mission anyway. Grant and I aren’t together.”

“What? Why?”

“Why do you think?” I asked. I started putting my papers back together. The assignment was basically completed. I just needed to get out of here.

“Because of what I did? But nothing happened. He didn’t even touch me.”

“Whatever, Kristin. I don’t know what made you have a change of heart in the last couple of weeks, but I don’t want to hear it. Just leave me alone.”

“All right. I just saw what happened at the New Year’s Eve show.”

My mood darkened. I didn’t want to talk about that either. “About what?”

“Him saying that he loves you. I thought it was really romantic. It’s what made me see how wrong I’ve been,” she whispered.

I sighed and closed my eyes, remembering how I’d felt when Grant had dedicated “Life Raft”— shocked, excited, hopeful. Then, I’d gone backstage to find out Grant had left with someone else. But the guys had said that wasn’t the case. They’d said he hadn’t cheated on me. And I just didn’t know what to believe.

My head hurt, and my heart hurt. My whole world felt like it was crashing down around me. There was only one person who could pick up the pieces, only one person with the answers I needed. I was tired of hiding. I needed to go find Grant.

“Thanks, Kristin,” I said, shooting out of my seat.

“Wh-what?” she asked, surprised.

“I have to go talk to Grant. I mean…he loves me. He basically said he loves me, right?”

“I mean, yeah…I assumed that’s what he meant when he dedicated the song. He’s definitely never said anything like that onstage before.”

Yeah, and she would know since she was a groupie. The anger flared up in me again, but I pushed it back down. There was nothing I could do about that right now. I just needed to find Grant.

“I don’t forgive you for what you did,” I told her bluntly. “But thank you for apologizing and for reminding me.”

“Um…you’re welcome.”

Then, I was dashing out of the building and through the parking lot to my car. I drove recklessly to Grant’s apartment. I knew he’d be alone since all the guys were at my place, but that nagging suspicion crept up in me, wondering if maybe he wouldn’t be alone. I tried to squash that. I could only deal with that when the time came. There was no use in worrying about it now.

The lights were out, and Grant’s truck was missing when I arrived, but I decided to try knocking anyway. When he didn’t answer, I slumped back against the door in defeat. I didn’t know where else he could be. He could be anywhere really. It would probably be best just to call him and find a place for us to meet up. But I wasn’t going to do that tonight.

I had a hunch about his whereabouts, and even though it felt totally insane because he really could be anywhere, I still started up my car and followed my gut instincts.