Page 101 of Naive in Love

“Ethan,” I say to get his attention. “I might have made a mistake earlier.” His expression morphs into one of worry mixed with horror. “I got myself all worked up and called my mom to vent, and now she is worried. She threatened to come into town tomorrow and move me back home.” The intense look softens.

“Threatened?”

“She said that’s what they were doing but, I begged to stay. She is going to talk to my dad, and they’re going to call. I expect a call in an hour or less. My dad is on his way home now. So now, I will have to beg my dad to let me stay.” My chest tightens at the thought of leaving Ethan.

He’s unnaturally calm about the possibility of me leaving. It bothers me, but I refuse to say anything about it in front of Mike and Lena. He continues studying at the table, and I stay on the couch looking at the pages of my textbook, reading the same paragraph a dozen times.

A little over half an hour later, my phone rings. I answer and immediately know I’m on speaker phone. Apprehensive, I feel the tears begin to slide down my cheeks. These silent, sad tears are the hardest to control, no indication they will appear and once they fall, so difficult to stop.

“How are you feeling, Sophia?” My father begins with the calm, controlled voice he uses when he needs to rein in the women in his life.

“About what exactly, Dad? Caleb’s jerk behavior or Mom wanting me to move home?” I say with a bite in my tone.

“Attitude check, young lady.” The simplest of statements makes me revert me back to childhood. This is my dad’s way of informing me there will be no tolerance for the dramatics.

“I’m scared, Dad.” Three words release all the emotions and secrets I have bottled for so long. “I don’t want to go home. I finally found my place here. It was so hard in the beginning. I didn’t have friends. I was lonely. I skipped class a lot. I thought I was going to fail. And now because one jerk can’t take no for an answer, I have to go home? I don’t want to.”

I am so focused on the call, I forgot everyone is around me until Mike and Lena get up and head into her room. Ethan walks over to the couch and sits down, pulling me close to him.

“Sophia, so what—,” he takes me off speaker phone, “—I’m hearing is you were not exactly honest with us. Is that correct?”

“Yes.” I admit wisely, knowing the time has come to tell the truth.

“Talk to me. Tell me what happened this year,” he probes further.

I curl myself into a ball and burrow myself into Ethan’s side. Ethan will be hearing everything along with my dad. “I had a hard time in the beginning. It was so much harder meeting people and making friends than I thought it would be. I spent all my time alone. When Caleb came along, I guess I clung on for dear life, not wanting the isolation I had put myself in. I realize now I stayed with him longer than I should have and ignored some red flags. But I know now. And I won’t do that again.” It is quiet on the other end.

I feel Ethan’s body tense a bit during my explanation, but he stays silent, continuing to stroke my side gently.

“What’s this plan your mom told me about?” he says after a few tense moments.

“Ethan or one of his roommates will walk with me to and from class. We already worked it out. I have Lena here at the apartment with me too.” I try to sound confident, even though I feel anything but.

“And this is one oftheHayes kids?”

“Yes, Preston’s cousin.” I throw in Preston’s name for good measure, knowing how much my parents like and trust him.

“Fine. For now. But you also need to look into the university’s policy on stalking. You need to speak to someone. I expect a call tomorrow on what you’ve learned. Also, we need a morning, afternoon, and evening call or text. That is for your mother. Now, is the Hayes boy there with you now?” It sounds like my dad already had this plan formulated and just let me sweat for a while.

“Yes. He and his roommate came over for dinner.”

“I would like to talk to him.” I pull myself away from Ethan’s side and mouth to himMy dad wants to talk to youas I hit the speaker button on my phone.

“He’s listening, Dad.” I hold the phone in front of us.

“Not on speaker, Sophia. Hand him the phone, please.” My eyes widen at my dad’s stern request, but Ethan gives me a reassuring smile, taking the phone out of my hand and releasing the speaker before placing it to his ear.

“Hello…yes, sir, Richard Hayes’s son…I don’t want her by herself on campus right now, sir…please believe that it is mine too… I intend to… Okay, here she is.” Ethan hands the phone back to me.

My dad gives me a quick goodbye with the directive to call in the morning. He did not even give me a chance to ask what their brief conversation had been. I hang up and look directly at Ethan for answers.

“As worried as I am about you, he’s a hundred times more concerned. I can understand that. You need to too.” His words are filled with an emotion I cannot define.

“I know… I’m just glad I’m not moving home tomorrow.” I snuggle up against him again. The feel of his physical strength, which is usually a complete turn on, provides the safety I need in this moment.

“You guys can come out of the room now,” he yells out loud for Lena and Mike to hear. “Let’s make dinner.”

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