Torn (2 page)

Katie’s favorite class was Latin,
since the medical field still used the dead language. Her teacher,
Mrs. Newell, would enter the classroom each day with a cartwheel
before clapping her hands and shouting exuberantly, “Who’s ready
for Latin?” Katie loved studying and absorbing new material. She
maintained all As and Bs, giving her the grade point average needed
to be accepted to Yale. No one, including Katie, would ever know
that the first two years of her high school manuscript were
fabricated.

***

College life was the
perfect fit for Katie. Having the independence of making her own
schedule, and furthering her career goal, brought her indescribable
joy. When it was time to dissect a cadaver that had been donated
for science, her heart raced with excitement.
I would’ve been a brilliant surgeon,
she thought,
but as a nurse, I’ll be
able to take a break and raise children one day.

She made friends easily, but didn’t
enjoy the party scene. She would often join Maggie for coffee. The
two had shared a lot since meeting in high school, and were
thrilled to be roommates through their college years. However,
Maggie was living it up on campus, while Katie was a stick in the
mud, always turning down invitations to fraternity parties or a
night of dancing in one of the local night clubs.

“
I just don’t enjoy
feeling like a piece of meat in a market,” Katie said, rolling her
eyes and exhaling a long-suffering sigh. “We need to have shirts
made up that reveal if you’re willing or not. I mean, do these guys
really expect us to be wearing shirts that say,
‘
Looking for casual sex? Pick me!’
Mine
would say,
‘
Back off, I just want to
dance!’”

“
You’re such a dork,
Katie.” Maggie teased. “You can’t blame a guy for trying. You’re
gorgeous!”

“
They need to come up with
better lines at least. Remember the guy who licked his finger and
wiped it on my shirt?”

Maggie laughed. “Yes, what was the
line?” She lowered her voice and tried to sound husky, mimicking
him, “Hey, baby, why don’t you come back to my place, so we can get
you out of those wet clothes?”

They were near hysterics by the time
they reached the lobby of their dorm. “I’d love to see a guy’s
reaction if we did that to him!” Katie laughed.

“
Can you imagine? I can
hear him now . . .”

Katie pretended to listen as Maggie
talked, but her attention fell on someone across the room. He was
the most stunning man Katie had ever seen. She studied him as he
talked to someone, animatedly using his hands to describe
something, his dimples sinking deep into his cheeks as he laughed.
She let her eyes roam over his muscular body and the way his jeans
sat perfectly on his hips. He ran his hand through his thick light
brown hair and glanced in her direction. When he caught her gaze,
she let her eyes linger on his for a daring moment, drunk from the
woozy feeling that swam through her veins. She was unable to smile
or look away, until Maggie broke the spell.

“
Katie, have you heard a
word I’ve said?”

“
Huh? Oh, sorry. Hey,
don’t look now, but the guy in the navy T-shirt by the window—have
you ever seen him before?” Maggie began to turn her head, when
Katie caught her by the arm. “I said don’t look! You’ll make it too
obvious.”

“
How am I supposed to know
who you’re talking about if I don’t look? Besides, the way you’ve
been staring, obvious is an understatement!”

“
Okay, just don’t . . . be
typical Maggie.” Katie folded her arms in front of her chest, then
quickly unfolded them and shoved her hands into her pockets. She
wanted to hide behind the large artificial Ficus tree in the
corner, but stood there nervously hoping he wasn’t looking when
Maggie checked him out.

“
Mmm, of course, I’ve seen
him. His name is Branson. He’s on the tennis team, and I believe
he’s a Sigma Alpha.”

“
I play tennis.” Katie
smiled mischievously. “Why haven’t I seen him before?”

“
Because your nose is
always in a book! You don’t have time for guys . . . or fun for
that matter, remember?” Maggie raised the pitch of her voice and
mocked her best friend, “I have to concentrate on
school.”

“
Why are we friends?”
Katie laughed and bumped Maggie with her hip. “A little flirting
never hurt anyone, and besides, it’s not like I’m going to fall in
love with the guy.”

“
Hmm, as far as I remember
flirting is not part of your life plan. What was it again . . .
graduate with honors—four years. Concentrate on nursing career—four
years. Get married on June seventh—”

Katie interrupted. “Hey, don’t make
fun of me. There’s nothing wrong with a game plan.”

“
You do know that the
seventh of June only lands on a Saturday every four years? Have you
mapped that out, or are you willing to get married on a
Thursday?”

“
Actually, it occurs every
six years, three times, then not again for another eleven years.
And six years from now is perfect.”

Maggie’s eyes widened in amazement. “I
can’t believe you know that. Actually, yes, I can believe it. And
what if you haven’t met anyone, are you just going to grab the
closest bachelor on the street, so you can check it off your
list?”

“
You’re ridiculous,
Maggie!” Katie laughed, not sure of the answer. What if she didn’t
find her soul mate? She had always gone by her lists, planning
every detail of her life. It was as predictable as the tide chart.
“I’d just like a date . . . or two. I mean, jeez, look at
him!”

Katie glanced up as he walked past her
before exiting the lobby. She could have sworn he had smiled at
her, but second guessed herself.

“
Well, good luck with
that. Maybe you can try the wet clothes line,” she giggled. “Are
you coming out with us tonight?” Maggie checked herself with a
pocket mirror and swept back a strand of curly blond
hair.

“
No, I’ve got—”

“
To study,” she sighed.
“Same old story with you. When this semester is over, I’m going to
keep you out all night. You’ve got a lot of catching up to do. It’s
our senior year—live a little.”

“
I worked hard to get into
the nursing program. If I don’t pass finals and the boards, I’ve
got nothing to fall back on.” Katie yawned. “But I was going to say
I’ve got to get some sleep. I’m exhausted.”

“
Yeah, it was a pretty bad
one last night. Same nightmare?”

“
Sort of. It was the same
scenario . . . chasing a long, black car down the street. But this
time there was more. I was being dragged by the hair by
someone.”

Maggie rested her hand on Katie’s arm.
“Sounds terrifying. Did you see something on TV?”

“
I don’t think so.” She
shrugged. “Anyway, I’d like to get an hour or two of studying in if
I can keep my eyes open.”

“
As much as you study,
you’ll ace the test. Well, I’m off then. The girls are meeting me
for drinks.” Maggie stopped and turned. “Never mind the girls. I’m
going to stay with you and hit the books, too.”

“
You’re the best friend a
girl could have, Mags, but go . . . have a good time
tonight.”

“
Nope. Staying
here.”

“
Seriously, Maggie. I
think I’ll sleep first, then study. So, unless you’ve got a thing
for watching me sleep
—
which would creep me out
—
please go. Besides, someone has to
bring me the gossip!”

Later that night, Katie fell asleep
after reading the same paragraph over and over again. All she could
think about was the guy in the lobby with the most startling blue
eyes she’d ever seen and contemplated ways of crossing his path
again.

***

“
Are you up for a game of
tennis?” Katie asked, her ponytail bouncing along with
her.

“
Sure, I could use a
break.” Maggie closed her book, and reached for her tennis shoes
and racket.

Once on the court, Katie casually
looked around for Branson.

“
I don’t think he’s here.”
Maggie said, and served the ball across the court. Katie returned
it and they volleyed back and forth for several minutes to get
warmed up. Katie started the game with her second serve and Maggie
scored the first point. “Fifteen-love.”

They played a competitive game, but
Katie ended up winning the match point in the end. The second game
ended quickly, with Maggie scoring all but one point.

“
Jeez, that was ugly. One
more?” Katie said, breathlessly.

“
Yes. My serve.” Maggie
said as she slammed the ball across the court.

They put everything they had into the
game, using backspin to make the ball stop short, hitting it in the
opposite direction, making the opponent run across the court to
return the ball.

Maggie beamed as she called out,
“forty-fifteen!”

Katie won the next two points and
shouted “Deuce!”

She readied herself while Maggie
served. Using all her strength, she returned it to the opposite
corner. Maggie lobbed it just over the net. Katie had to sprint to
get to it in time, using her backhand to send Maggie running across
the court. Each of them yelled out the score when they had the
advantage, and the game seemed to go on and on. When it was finally
over, they were dripping wet with sweat.

“
Good game, Mags. You
played hard today.” Katie used her small towel to wipe her forehead
dry.

“
You beat me twice, but I
gave you a run for your money, didn’t I?” Maggie beamed.

“
I
barely
beat you twice, and I had to
recover from the ass-kicking you gave me in the second
game.”

They took long pulls of their water
bottles, packed up their gear and walked toward the gate. Time
ticked away in slow motion as Branson and his tennis team walked
past them. Katie knew she let herself linger on his eyes a moment
too long, but she seemed to be caught in a magnetic force and
couldn’t pull away. After they passed, she quickly made her way
around the corner of the brick building where she was out of sight.
Not realizing she’d been holding her breath, she exhaled loudly and
leaned against the wall. Her legs were fatigued from the game, and
quickly turned to Jell-O as she tried to hold herself
together.

“
Oh—my—God! He was totally
checking you out!” Maggie said, animated.

“
He was probably wondering
why I was staring at him, I couldn’t look away. Good grief, I’m a
dork!” Katie slammed her hand against her forehead a little too
hard. “And look at me—I’m sweaty and my hair . . . ugh!”

“
Trust me, Katie, he
wasn’t looking at you like you were a dork. The way he was looking
at you, made
me
blush!” She giggled.

“
Jeez, I can’t breathe.”
Katie grinned as she grabbed her knees and tried to suck in deep
breaths.

“
Your cheeks are scarlet.
You
are
a dork!”
Maggie teased. “Let’s go.”

For the next few weeks, Maggie and
Katie were on the tennis court almost every day at the same time,
but she only saw Branson twice. It was the same routine, gaze—hold
breath—blush until cheeks turn crimson—and chide herself for not
having the guts to say hello.

Three

Tuesday afternoon Katie
sat down in the lobby with her Synthesis of Nursing Care book and
began reading. She and Maggie were supposed to meet for coffee in
an hour, but she knew if she read in her room she would lose track
of time. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but she was having
trouble getting into it with the rush of people coming in and out,
causing her to look up in curiosity. Once, the door opened and two
girls came through the door talking and laughing about something
that was said in class. Another time, it was two guys arguing about
a philosophy question. Katie watched as the two of them tried to
argue their point all the way through the lobby and into the
elevator.
Concentrate, Katie!
She looked at her watch.
Only thirty minutes left to get this chapter in.

Just when she found her
place in the book, the doors flew open again. She tried to force
herself to keep her head down, but it was no use. As she looked up,
her heart lurched in her chest to see Branson walk in with three of
his buddies. Katie felt the heat in her cheeks immediately and
quickly lowered her eyes to start reading, hoping he hadn’t caught
her looking at him. She glanced up, peeking through her eyelashes,
to see which way they were going, and was surprised when they
gathered across from where she was sitting.
Just keep your head in your book. Don’t look at
him!

Every time she glanced up
he was already looking at her. She overheard him tell his buddies
goodbye and bit down on her bottom lip.
Dang! He’s leaving,
she
thought.
You should have made a move.
Sure, sure. Like what? Walk up to him and introduce myself. “Hi,
I’m the girl that’s been eye-flirting with you. Are you free on
June seventh?”
Katie shook her head before
glancing back up to watch his friends walk away. He stayed and
seemed to be checking something on his phone.