Hi y'all! Part 5 here. I think this is where the plot really starts to thicken; hope you like it!
PART 5
Chapter 13
The first few weeks of school continued on as any regular semester would. Isaiah and Mia were back together (for now) and agreed that they should just put the Matty incident behind them. I, however, was not so sure.
Not only was Ruth still hung up on Matty, she was beginning to get suspicious about why I wasn't supportive of her pursuing him. January 19
th
was Perry's birthday, so they decided to throw a party to celebrate. Of course, a party at Perry's meant that the entire Grounds staff was invited, which meant Ruth was invited. It also meant that Mia was invited, which meant that Isaiah was invited, which meant that Rian and Matty were invited. Ruth was aware of this and had planned to shoot her shot at the party.
"Come on Dot, I don't understand what you have against Matty." Ruth asked as we got ready to go out.
"I just... I don't know, Ruth. I know some things about him that make me uncomfortable."
"Like what?"
"Like... okay, well remember how Mia and Isaiah had that huge blowup after Isaiah's Ugly Sweater party?" She nodded, and I continued. "It was because Isaiah found Mia passed out in Matty's bed without her shirt on. Matty said that he left her in his room to find a trashcan for herβin case she got sickβand that her shirt was just gone when he got back. But Mia says that Matty tried to kiss her and take her shirt off when she was super drunk and Isaiah was busy judging the sweaters."
Ruth narrowed her eyes and set down her hair straightener before she spoke. "That's interesting, Dot, and I'm glad you told me."
I waited for her to say more, but when she didn't, I prodded for an explanation. "I feel like there is a 'but' coming."
She shrugged as she went back to doing her hair. "But I don't know how much I can trust Mia. You know how she is. She's kind of..."
"No, I don't know. Kind of what?"
"Kind of... promiscuous."
My mouth dropped open and then it was my turn to get my straightener down. "No, she's not! She really loves Isaiah; she'd never cheat on him."
"Sure, maybe she loves him now, but I know what she's like when she's drunk. She's flirty with everyone. She hugs strangers and has conversations with other guys. And not to mention, she always hooks up with random people when her and Isaiah break up."
It physically pained me to hear these things from Ruth. First of all, I do not believe that Mia or any other person would make up any form of sexual assault, especially since I knew how embarrassed Mia was about it. She hadn't even wanted me to tell Ruth; she only agreed when I told her about her crush on Matty. Second of all, Mia is touchy by nature. She hugs everyone, grabs their arm when they speak, et cetera. It had nothing to do with flirting. Third of all, Mia was not promiscuous. She had never actually had sex with anyone besides Isaiah. And lastly, if Ruth thought Mia was promiscuous, what did she think about me? I explained these things to Ruth as calmly as I could, but I really lost it when I asked her what she thought of me.
"I don't know, Mia, I think you're just going through your 'ho' phase. Maybe being a little reckless, maybe trying to repress some emotions or trauma." My only response was to gawk at her, so she continued. "I mean, you've hooked up with, what, three guys in the past week? That's a lot! And I know you're looking to add Austin to the rotation. Probably Matty, too. Honestly, I bet that's why you don't want me to ask him out. I think you're threatened by me. I actually have my shit together enough that Matty just might pick dating me over fucking you."
I blew up. I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. But I did. I turned to leave the bathroom, and instead of just going to my room like I planned, my feet led me down the stairs to my leather jacket and purse, and then right out the front door. As I walked around in the cold, I started thinking about what Ruth said. Yes, I had fucked three guys in the last week, so what? I didn't think I had any emotional baggage; my life had been pretty painless thus far. I wasn't necessarily
trying
to add Austin to my roster, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. He was hot and funny, and we'd already had all those conversations about sex. I mindlessly started walking towards Mia's place while I called her, but she didn't pick up. She was probably with Isaiah, which meant I shouldn't call him either. Maybe Rian would answer.
"Hey Dot, what's up" He asked. His voice was groggy, like he'd been napping.
"Hi Rian, I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"
"It's fine, I fell asleep watching Great British Bakeoff. Are you okay? You sound a little... different."
"Um, I think so, yeah. I got in a really big fight with Ruth."
"With Ruth? What about?"
"I don't want to talk about it. Are you at home? Would you mind if I came over?"
"Of course, do you want me to come pick you up?"
"No, I'll be there in a minute."
"I'll let you in." And he hung up.
I ran in as soon as Rian opened the door. I didn't bother taking off my boots; I just dragged him back to his room. I didn't want to risk seeing Matty.
"Okay, calm down, Dot. Want to tell me what's going on?" Rian asked, his hands holding me by my upper arms. He crouched a little so he could look directly into my eyes.
"I just... I..." I felt tears welling up in my eyes, but I pushed through. "I was trying to tell Ruth that I didn't think she should go for Matty. You know I get weird vibes from him; with all the weird comments he makes and looks he gives women." He nodded very seriously as I continued. "But she basically ended up calling me a slut for sleeping with... a few people..." Again, Rian nodded. He knew all about my sex life. "And then she said that I probably didn't want her to shoot her shot with Matty cuz I just wanted to fuck him." I felt the sadness and shock of Ruth's words turn into pure anger, and I know Rian could see it on my face, too. He pulled me to sit on his bed and held my hands in his.
"Okay, take a deep breath. That was... not a nice thing for Ruth to say." He looked up as he was searching for the words. "I know your thoughts on Matty, and even though he's my roommate, I'm inclined to agree with you, so props to you for being a good friend and warning Ruth."
"Thanks." I muttered, pulling my hand from his to wipe away any lingering tears.