Page 22 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

Consulting Jillian’s map, I see that my final destination isn’t an aisle—it’s a booth. However, I’m more than book smart. The pieces have already been put together. Boyles is somewhere in this large room, making out with a girl.

Slowing my pace, I wonder if I actually want to see him cheating on me. I ponder turning around, going back to my dorm, and then calling him. If he doesn’t answer, I will leave a message saying, “Boyles, this is me, Paisley, informing you we’re officially over. I would’ve said this to you in person, but you won’t answer my calls. I guess I could’ve gone to your dorm, but I think this way is best. Have a nice life.” The longer I’ve known Boyles, the more sure I’ve been that he isn’t my forever guy. Sure, he’s charming, but his eyes wander a lot. He also cares too much about what everyone thinks about him. The one thing that always attracted me to Hercules was his confidence. Deep down, in places I'm not searching right now, maybe I hope that when I lace up my shoes tomorrow and go for my run, I'll encounter Hercules and tell him who I am. In the text message he sent me on graduation day, he said he hoped we would meet in Massachusetts. Well, we have—only he didn’t remember me. Funny, I’ve never deleted his message, but I haven’t read it in a long time. Maybe sometime tonight, I’ll reply with “We met in Manhattan. This morning, near the track, that girl you ran into was me, Paisley Grove. How are you, Hercules?” That’s good enough to break the ice.

Finally, I reach one of the two booths Jillian directed me to. The first booth is empty. Standing still, I turn my attention to the one next to it. I faintly hear groans and moans from a male and a female. After a few tiptoeing steps, I get close enough to peek through the narrow opening.

I slap my hand over my mouth as I gasp into my palm. What I’m seeing cannot be real. Boyles is sitting on the bench, and Dandi, wearing a miniskirt, straddles him. He's banging her.I can’t believe it—he’s inside her, and he's banging her.

Now, they’re watching me in horror. Cry, Paisley. Call him a cheater and her a traitor and a slut or something.

I can’t speak. All I can do is shake my head and walk away as fast as my feet will carry me.

Chapter Eleven

Serendipity Strikes Twice

Paisley Grove

Up the winding paths, I walk back to my dorm. I’m ready to cry but not in public. I don’t want anyone to see the Grove girl weeping. Everyone I pass seems to exist light-years away from me. When I make it to our dorm, finally, my tears roll. I close myself in my room, strip out of my clothes, put on my oversized T-shirt, and then hide under my sheets and comforter. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.

Dandi? My boyfriend is banging my roommate? How could I have missed that? For being so smart, how could I be so stupid?

My crying turns uncontrollable. I’m sobbing because I think my parents will be so disappointed in me for not choosing a more respectful boyfriend. They would think I’m smarter than that. And my heart—my aching heart. It feels like a strong hand has reached into my chest and is squeezing the living daylights out of my heart. I picture Treasure sitting on her beach chair and proudly introducing me to my new floozy of a roommate. My instincts warned me about Dandi. She’s always staring at me, and she tries too hard to make me like her. Plus, all the guys she brings through our suite—who can screw that many boys, anyway? I had a hard enough time banging one, and she had to do him too. I should have changed rooms a long time ago.

I sit up and reach for my cellphone. I’m so angry that I’m dizzy, but still, I call Treasure. As usual, she answers on the first ring. That's the good thing about her. If she’s able to, she'll take my calls. That's more than I can say for Boyles.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of this call, my dear sweet cousin?” she says as if she hasn’t a care in the world.

“I just caught your slutty friend, the one you made me room with, screwing my boyfriend in the library!” I shout at the top of my lungs. I pause to catch my breath.

“What?” Treasure yells in my ear. “Which one?”

“Your friend Dandi was, or still is, sitting on Boyles's cock in the library.”

“You have a boyfriend?”

That’s right—I never had the time to call her and tell her. “Yes.”

“Wait. Your first boyfriend?”

I close my eyes as my nostrils swell. “Yes,” I chirp.

“Damn it,” she says under her breath. “I’ll handle this and call you back. And get a grip, Pais. This Boyles creep obviously isn’t good enough for you since he chose itchy-vag Dandi over you.”

I roll my eyes. “I really don’t need smoke blown up my ass right now.”

“Okay, could you stop the cussing and bring back my sweet cousin who doesn’t swear like… well, me?”

Tears collect in my eyes. “I don’t know where she is anymore. I gotta go.”

“It’s my fault. I just… I’m handling this, Pais. Hang in there.”

I end our call before she can say another word. How can she handle this, anyway? Sometimes, Treasure’s arrogance is beyond baffling.

I decide to lock the door to my room and cry until I fall asleep. Throughout the night, I hear knocking and my name being called. My cellphone rings a lot too. But I can’t talk to anyone right now. I feel like a failure. And all I want to do is sleep until I don’t feel that way anymore.

Dreams wreakhavoc on my brain. Hercules is the star of each one of them. Even while I’m asleep, it’s hard to control what’s happening in my unconscious world. Maybe I kiss Hercules. Maybe not. At one point, he banishes Boyles, but to where, I don’t know.

Then, slowly, my eyelids blink open. I cringe at the daylight that’s settled in my room. I forgot to draw the curtains before I fell asleep. I also forgot to turn on my heater, so not only am I cold, but my bladder feels like it’s going to burst as well.