The Rules We Defy

Chapter 7

Dominic shifts to look over at me, concern etched on his face, but I shake my head, telling him it's fine. He turns back to Sierra.

"Shouldn't you be with Luke right now?"

"Luke cheated on me with Kelsey. You didn't know that? God, I thought the whole town knew."

More people are arriving at the party. Everyone seemed to know each other and I feel completely out of place. "Dominic, I think I'm going to leave."

Sierra finally motions like she's seen me for the first time standing there. "Oh, hi. What's your name again?"

"Jessica. You came to my room earlier."

"Yeah. You're from Ohio, right?"

"No, Iowa." I really should carry around a map for these people.

"How did you end up in Moorhurst? It's such a small college and it's so far away from Ohio, or Iowa, or whatever."

"I'm here on scholarship. The Kensington Scholarship."

Sierra's bright pink lips slowly curve upward as she turns to Dominic. "Aww, that's so sweet of you."

Dominic's jaw tightens. "Shut up, Sierra. Just go."

"I didn't know you were so attentive to the scholarship winner." She looks back at me and switches to a condescending tone. "Has he given you a tour? Shown you his room?"

Dominic takes my hand. "You're right, Jessica. This party sucks. Let's go."

Sierra continues to talk, raising her voice, so she'll be heard above the music. "Where are you going, Dominic? You can just take her to one of the rooms here!."

Dominic pulls on me to leave, and we exit the front door, which now has a small cooler holding it open, probably so the drunk people don't have to work so hard to get in and out. I try to pull my hand away, but he holds on even tighter.

"What was she talking about?" I asked.

He keeps walking fast toward the car. I finally managed to yank my hand free. "Dominic, she acts like we're going to sleep together or something. Like you're using me." I stop walking but he continues. "Is that why you're being nice to me? Is this all some game you're playing? Get the naive new girl to sleep with you?"

He whips around and walks back to me. "Seriously, Jessica? Why would you listen to a b***h like Sierra? You barely know her and now you believe her over me? Sierra makes up s**t all the time. She does it to cause problems. Her parents even made her see a counselor when she was younger because she made up a story about a teacher flirting with her. She'd never even met the guy. She's a total liar."

I'm not sure if I should believe him. I want to, but I don't trust him. Then again, I don't trust anyone.

"I think I should walk back."

"Jessica, no." He takes my hand again, this time gently holding it. "It's dark, and it's not safe to walk home. Plus, there's no sidewalk. You could get hit, especially wearing black."

He leads me over to his car and opens the door. "Please. Just get in the car. It's still early. We can go somewhere else. You want some dessert?"

I thought about it for a moment. I really don't want to go back to my dorm and sit all alone. And for some crazy reason, I do want to spend more time with Dominic even though part of me is screaming to stay the hell away from him. I agree to go, and he takes me to a small diner that's a renovated old train car. There are small, high-backed wooden booths along each side of a narrow aisle and the ceiling and walls are covered in dark wood panels. The floor had black and white checkered tiles and short, red drapes hung on all the windows.

As I'm reviewing the dessert menu, the waitress arrives.

"We'll have the Boxcar Bonanza," Dominic says to her. "Two spoons." She takes off without even asking me anything.

I slammed the menu shut. "Did you just order for me?"

"No, I just ordered for us." He sits back in the booth. "I used to love this place when I was a kid. They have great burgers."

"Excuse me, but go back to what just happened. Why did you order without considering what I wanted? It's rude. What if I don't like the Boxcar, whatever it was."

"Boxcar Bonanza. And you will like it. Everyone likes it. It's their signature dessert."

"And we have to share? What if I want my own?"

Dominic chuckles. "It's huge. You have to share it." He sips his water. "So tell me about yourself, Jessica. This whole time we've been hanging out, you haven't said one word about home."

"There's nothing to say."

"Tell me about your family. That guy, Cody. What's he like?"

"I don't want to talk about Cody." Hearing his name reminds me that I haven't heard from him all day. He should've called with an update on Nate. "We have to eat fast. I have to call him as soon as we get back."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. Never mind. Talk about something else."

"Jessica, I can tell you're worried about something. Go call him right now."

"I don't have a phone. It's okay. I'll call him from my dorm later."

"You don't have a cell phone?" he asked, shock evident on his face.

"Nope. Don't need one."

"I don't think I've ever met someone who doesn't need a cell phone." He pulls out his phone and sets it on the table in front of me. "Here. Use mine."

"It can wait. Really." I paused for a second before saying, "Thank you for offering though."

Our dessert arrives; a giant orange bowl that contains eight scoops of different flavored ice cream topped with broken up chocolate chip cookies, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. It's the largest thing I've ever seen.

"What do you think?" Dominic asked, taking a bite using one of the oversized spoons that came with it.

"I guess it's alright." I tasted the cookies. They're incredible. Definitely homemade. "Okay, it's good. Really good."

It takes us half an hour to finish the whole thing. As we eat, Dominic tells me more about the area and what there is to do there. When the check arrives, he insists on paying, saying it's his punishment for ordering for me without asking first.

When we're back on campus, he walks me to my room. I get my key out and unlock the door. "Well, thanks for dessert, but I still feel like I owe you."

"You don't owe me. Can't a person be nice without expecting anything in return?

"People always expect something in return."

I'm not sure why he's waiting there at my door. It's not like I plan to invite him in. The phone rings in my room.

'That's Cody. I have to go. I'll see you later."

I shut the door and hurried inside my room to answer the phone. "Cody?"

"Hey, Jess. How's college?"

"Who cares about that? How's Nate?"

"I just spoke to him. He says he's still sore from his injuries, but that he's starting to feel better. Now tell me about your day."

"Where are you calling from?"

"I'm at a restaurant somewhere in Ohio. I needed a break from driving. So? Stop diverting. What did you do today?"

"I ran on the track, then had lunch in the park. Oh, and the dining halls don't open until Tuesday. Can you believe that?"

"See? It's a good thing I gave you money. What park did you go to? I don't remember seeing one on campus."

"It's not near campus. We had to drive there. Got sandwiches from a deli and ate at the park."

"So you have already made friends? That's great. Did you go with those girls you met last night?"

"Umm, no. I went with Dominic. The guy who helped me move in. Remember him?"

"Huh. Yeah, I remember pretty boy." Cody's protective tone rings out loud and clear.

I laughed. "You were the one all hot and sweaty for me to make friends and say hello."

"Uh-huh. Still, I want you to be careful. You just met the guy. Did you go to the party?"

"Yeah. I ended up going with Dominic. We went for dinner and then the party."

"You spent the whole day with that guy?"

"He's just a friend. That's it. And so far he's the only nice person I've met here."

"Guys that age aren't just friends with a girl." Cody says, his voice laced with concern.

"Well, that's all we are. Now tell me what the doctor said about Nate."

We talk for a few more minutes, then Cody says he has to get back on the road. I get into bed feeling much better than the night before. Nate's improving and Cody isn't so stressed out. And my first full day at Moorhurst turned out to be not so bad. I might even like it a little.

Maybe I can survive four years here.