Undone: A New Adult College Bad Boy Romance (Mature Young Adult Fun Contemporary Romance) Read online

  “Spit it out, Aubrey.”

  “I know him. He used to go to this school about two years ago when my sister was attending, but he dropped out. From what I’ve heard, he’s got a really bad temper too.”

  Fiona didn’t respond. It was hard to tell what was truth and what was just the usual campus bullshit. Besides, Aubrey believed it was true. If she didn’t, she never would have let the words fall from her lips. It only worried Fiona for a moment, she knew there was more to him than that.

  Saturday evening, Fiona stood at her dresser. There were clothes covering her bed, the drawers of the dresser and her desk even. A finger tapping against her cheek, she glanced at everything that she’d laid out. They were supposed to go to a movie then out to eat. It was simple, but she was excited.

  Fiona threw another outfit back into the drawer. She was already behind. Aubrey stepped into the room, took one look around and sighed. Fiona ignored her as she held up a pair of jeans and a dark blue shirt up to her body.

  “I can’t believe you’re still going to go out with him after what I said,” Aubrey said as she plopped down on her bed.

  “Well, you don’t actually know him,” Fiona mumbled as she examined her image with a cream colored sweater held up to herself, “so I think I’m going to give him a chance.”

  Aubrey shrugged. “Suit yourself. James and I are going to Infinity tonight if you want to meet us there afterwards. New DJ hopefully means decent music to dance to again,” she said with a laugh.

  Fiona grinned at her. “I’ll try my hardest to meet you guys.”

  Aubrey walked over to her. Without a word, she picked up a pair of jeans, a long sleeved purple top and pulled out a pair of dark brown leather boots. Fiona looked at the outfit as she nodded slowly.

  “You never steer me wrong,” she said as she picked up her jeans.

  Aubrey left her alone to get dressed. When she came back with James, Fiona was carefully filling in her lipstick as she leaned in close to the mirror. Both of them nodded their heads at her in approval. Fiona thanked them before she settled in on her bed to zip up the tall boots.

  “What time is he supposed to be here?” Aubrey asked.

  Fiona checked her phone. “Five minutes ago. I better text him again,” she said as her fingers slid over the screen quickly.

  Fiona finished up her makeup. She put her hair up into a bun, took it back down. Her fingers drummed against the dresser, her toes working impatiently as they tapped against the floor. She checked her phone again.

  “Did he text back?” Aubrey asked. “It’s been thirty minutes already.”

  Fiona checked her phone. The screen was empty. No text, no calls. She pressed his name, put the phone against her ear. The more it rang, the more her stomach twisted into a tight knot. She called him again. The nervousness began to turn to anger. When an hour passed, Fiona sat on her bed, James and Aubrey comforting her.

  “I don’t get it. We’ve had such a good time this week. He was the one who insisted on a date this weekend. Why do they all act this way?” Fiona asked as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

  “Maybe something came up. He could have gotten sick or something,” Aubrey said.

  Fiona waved her away. “Screw that. I’m done with men,” she said as she stood up. “I’m going out with you guys and I’m going to get over this.”

  “You sure you’re up to going out hon?” James asked.

  “Oh, I’m going.”

  Fiona shed the makeup stained purple shirt. In its place, she slipped into a navy blue shirt that tied around her neck and showed off a peek of her cleavage. Carefully, she reapplied her makeup. When she looked in the mirror, she was impressed with her own image.

  Shrugging into her coat, she made her way down the hall. James’ powder blue Mustang was parked in the lot. They all slipped in, Fiona taking the back seat without a fight for once. As they drove, James kept glancing up in the rearview mirror at her.

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked for the hundredth time.

  “I’m fine. I just want to get drunk,” Fiona replied, scrolling through her phone.

  The heat in the car warmed her up as she began to delete name after name from her phone. Once the contacts were gone, she started in on the texts. Then the phone logs. Last were the pictures. By the time they reached Infinity, Fiona had wiped her entire phone clear of any man that she had dated or wanted to date. She slipped her phone back into her bag.

  The lights outside of Infinity were a dark green that glowed whenever the door was open. They walked up to the man at the door, showing him their IDs before they entered. Inside, the music pounded away. It rattled Fiona’s chest. Their first stop was to the bar.

  Shots in hand, they threw them back in unison. Fiona twisted her lips up as the sourness hit her tongue. They ordered another round before Aubrey was dragging them further into the club. They shed their coats at one of the tables that lined the dance floor, but they didn’t sit down. Fiona was much too angry for that. She wanted to dance until the forgot all about Nick.

  For a moment, Fiona forgot her usual shyness. She pushed aside all of that and did what she wanted to do. Fiona danced with who she wanted, then walked away when she was bored. For once, she was completely in control and she wasn’t going to give that feeling up anytime soon.

  Fiona made more trips to the bar than she could remember. Whenever she went back, another guy would buy her a drink. Aubrey looked at her, concern in her eyes as Fiona washed her hands in the bathroom sink.

  “You have to slow down.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re going to get sick, Fi. There’s also the fact that you’re just lashing out right now. How long do you think you can do this?”

  “All night if I have to,” Fiona said before she marched out of the door.

  She tried to hold her emotions in check, but the alcohol wasn’t helping in that regard. Still, she wouldn’t let herself cry. Definitely not over Nick. Not over anyone anymore. Holding her head up, she walked back to the dance floor, the only thought in her mind how much fun she could have at that moment.

  Fiona backed into someone as she headed back to her table. When she turned around, her mouth fell open before she smiled wide. Henry stood in front of her in dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt. His black hair was pushed back, his blue eyes enough to make her melt. He smirked.

  “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t do clubs,” he said as he sat beside her at her table.

  “That was the old me. The new me likes to have fun” she said with a laugh.

  Henry ordered them a round of drinks. “Still no boyfriend?”

  Fiona winced. “I didn’t know I was required to have one.”

  “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, Fi. I don’t have a girlfriend either. I was just curious.”

  She smiled at him. They took their time chatting, drinking and even dancing. Fiona had never really liked dancing before, not in front of people, but with the alcohol flowing through her veins she was confidant. She moved her body up against Henry’s, his hands traveling down to her hips as he moved against her.

  They stumbled outside, their laughter filling up the night air as Henry took out a smoke. Walking to the side of the building, he lit up before gazing over at Fiona. She pushed her hair back behind her ear, a grin on her face.

  “What?” She asked when he wouldn’t stop staring.

  “You never used to be this fun,” he said as he took a drag.

  “Thanks, jerk.”

  He laughed. “No, I mean it. I like you this way.”

  Henry walked up to her. Fiona expected to feel the hammering of her heart against her chest, but nothing happened. He leaned towards her, his lips about to graze hers. She turned her head.

  “Henry, this was fun. Really fun. I can’t though.”

  “Why not?” He whispered. “You said you were single.”

  “I am, but I care about someone. Maybe he’ll get it together, maybe he won’t, but I
’m not just ready to move on to,” she gestured between them, “this.”

  Henry scoffed. “I should have known,” he said as he pushed away from her.

  “Known what?”

  “You’ve always been a prude, don’t know why I thought you’d changed,” he said as he ground the cigarette out under his shoe. “Still, I sat there buying your drinks all night, the least you can do is pay me back.”

  As he spoke, Henry started walking closer to her. At that moment, she remembered why they had broken up. His pushy ways coupled with his verbal abuse had been the thing that drove her over the edge. She had left him, never looked back. It was amazing how something two years ago could slip away, then be back by one simple action. She balled her fists up by her side as she backed away from him.

  “Get away from me,” she said as her back bumped against the wall, “or-”

  “Or what? You can’t do anything.”

  As he leaned against her once more, she shut her eyes tightly. She could feel his breath on her neck. A finger trailed her cheek. She shivered. As she opened her mouth to scream, she heard a hard grunt.

  Fiona’s eyes flew open in time to see a blur of bodies on the ground. At first she thought it was James. She looked closer. Nick was on top of Henry, his fist going into his nose as Henry tried to roll away on the ground. Nick wasn’t letting up though and Fiona was afraid that he would kill Henry.

  She grabbed his shoulders, pulling him back. “Get off of him! Come on, let go!”

  Fiona finally managed to pry him away from Henry who lay moaning on the ground. She pushed Nick before she turned back to her ex-boyfriend’s writhing body. Leaning forward, she bent over him with a frown on her lips.

  “Now, did we learn a lesson?” She asked. “I remember why we broke up in the first place, you’re a jerk. Stay away from me.”

  Henry tried to talk, but Fiona was done listening. She caught up with Nick who was stalking away down the street. Wrapping her coat around her more tightly she stepped in front of him.

  “Get out of the way. This isn’t the time,” he growled.

  “Excuse me? This isn’t the time? I don’t know if you remember this or not, but you stood me up tonight. Then, you come out of nowhere, fists flying. Now, I’m supposed to just go back to the the club and pretend I didn’t see you or something?”

  “I don’t care what you do,” Nick said as he walked away.

  Fiona’s mouth fell open. Usually, she would have just turned and left. With the alcohol still inside of her, she wasn’t about to do that. She walked around him, pushing her hands into his chest.

  “What the hell is your problem? How are you mad at me?” She asked.

  Nick stopped. “I’m mad at you because the minute I couldn’t get to the phone, you decided to get friendly with your ex.”

  “You have no idea what was going on there,” Fiona said as her brave resolve began to crack. She wiped her eyes quickly. “I wasn’t getting friendly with him, I told him I liked someone, that I couldn’t be with him like that. You’re a jerk Nick, just like the rest of them.”

  Fiona began to walk back towards Infinity. The place would be shutting down in half an hour anyway. Then she could catch a ride with James back to the dorms. She felt a hand grip her wrist. Nick’s fingers curled around her arm, but she wouldn’t look back at him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know what was going on. I just saw you and I…” He took a sighing breath. “I really like you too, Fiona. I guess I got a little jealous when I saw you there with him.”

  Fiona turned around slowly. “You got jealous? If you were so jealous, why didn’t you show up tonight?”

  “I had something personal to do that came up. I wasn’t expecting it. I would never stand you up,” Nick said as he moved closer to her, his fingers caressing her cheeks.

  “What was so important?” Fiona whispered.

  “I’ll tell you at another time, not tonight.”

  Fiona nodded her head slowly. “Then take your hands off of me. I don’t want to see you again.

  Nick stood in shock as she stormed away from him. She slipped back into the club. When she found Aubrey, her friend immediately knew that something was wrong. They found James before they exited the building. Fiona didn’t care if she ever saw the inside of Infinity again.

  Stumbling into the dorm, Aubrey and James had to help Fiona into her bed. Fiona lay there, the room spinning as she tried to keep herself from losing her dinner. Once James said good night, Aubrey perched herself on Fiona’s bed. Her long, brown legs dangled over the side as she rubbed Fiona’s back.

  “Why do i keep running into assholes?” Fiona mumbled. “I try so hard to find a nice guy. They’re all the same.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t try,” Aubrey said softly.

  “I wasn’t trying when I met Nick. I told him no when he asked me out. I don’t think it matters, the universe hates me.”

  “Don’t cry, it’ll be okay.You’ll find someone soon.”

  Fiona shook her head. “I won’t, but that’s okay. I’m going to focus on my studies from now on. I’ll leave the dating to you and James.”

  “Shhh, you’re very drunk and very tired. Go to sleep and we’ll figure it all out in the morning. Okay?”

  “ ‘Kay,” Fiona mumbled into her pillow already drifting off.

  Fiona’s phone exploded over the next twenty-four hours until she was forced to shut it off. She didn’t want to hear Nick’s apologies, didn’t need his excuses. He showed up to the dorms twice, flowers in his arms. Fiona had sent Aubrey out to deal with him, she was too busy trying to study.

  After she’d nursed her hangover the next day, the only thought in Fiona’s mind was passing her exams. She laid her books out around her desk, her notebooks filled with writing were propped in front of her as well. She had big dreams. Her biggest was to be a prosecutor, but she didn’t want to stop there. Eventually, she wanted to be a judge. She couldn’t do that with subpar grades.

  “You know, eventually you’re going to have to tell Nick that you don’t want to see him,” Aubrey said as she pulled over the chair from her desk.

  “I’ve told him, he doesn’t listen. I really have to study,” she mumbled as her eyes ran over the questions on the page.

  Aubrey sighed. “I’ll help you.”

  After they’d studied for a while, Fiona’s eyes began to hurt. She rubbed them before she found a bottle of pain pills. When she sat down again, Aubrey cleared her throat.

  “Maybe you should talk to him,” she said looking down at her notebook.

  Fiona looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. “What could you possibly be thinking? Besides, you’re the one who said he had a temper and he dropped out and all kinds of things!”

  “I know I did, but you clearly like him. You can’t stop thinking about him.”

  Fiona scoffed. “How do you figure that?”

  Aubrey pointed a finger at the page that Fiona had been taking notes on. When she was thinking on a question, she had written Nick in the margin of her notebook. Fiona picked up a pen, scribbled out his name.

  “No idea what you’re talking about. Let’s get back to work.”

  Monday afternoon, Fionna walked out of her classroom. She wandered over to a table where she buried her head in her arms. She had felt so confident before she’d gotten the packet of papers, but the moment it was opened, her heart had sank. The questions looked like the were written in a foreign language. She heard someone sit across from her. Taking a in a deep breath, she was prepared to ask them to leave her alone. She didn’t want to sit with anyone at that moment.

  When she lifted her head, Nick sat across from her. He pushed a cup of coffee over to her along with a chocolate bar. Fiona wanted to still be mad at him, some parts of her were, but she was too tired. Her fingers gripped the coffee cup and the chocolate.

  “What’s this for?” She asked as she opened the candy.

  “I remembered you had you
r exams today, figured you could use this stuff,” he sipped his coffee, “that and I wanted to apologize for being a huge jerk.”

  Fiona bit into the bitter dark chocolate and smiled. He even remembered the kind that she liked. She let the candy melt on her tongue as she considered his words.

  “You still haven’t told me why you didn’t show up that night.”

  “I can show you. What time are you done with your exams for sure?”

  Fiona glanced at her phone. “I should be done around five.”

  “I can pick you up at six?”

  “This isn’t a date,” she said slowly.