Ivy

As I copy the notes from Lia, I listen to my classical playlist to mute the sounds of Ally and her new guest. She keeps giggling as they talk between their make-out sessions. How is it that she has a different guy already? Doesn’t she have enough? What about her studies?

After a while, I hear Ally moaning loudly and my cheeks turn red in embarrassment. Is she going to have… sex right now? Right behind me?! How shameless does one have to be to do that?!

My phone pings with a new message, and I smile when I see it’s from Lia.

‘I’m at your door, mind opening?’

At my door? Here? I shoot up from my chair, rushing to the entrance while avoiding looking at Ally and her friend. I do not want to see that!

“Hey, girl. – Lia smiles, waving a McDonald’s bag at me – I brought dinner.”

“What are you…” I trail off unsurely.

“I thought you’d be lonely.” She smirks knowingly, nodding her head behind me. Oh god, she can see Ally from here!

“Um…”

“Come on, it’s AS MUCH YOUR ROOM AS IT’S HERS!” She exclaims angrily, glaring behind me.

I feel my cheeks tingle as they turn red again. She’s so bold!

“Shit! What are you doing here?!” Ally scrambles off the guy, hastily putting some clothes on. “The fuck you’re staring at?! Why are you here?!”

“I’m here to see Ivy, not you. – Lia chuckles humorlessly – But I have to say, you’re more of a whore than I thought. Just few days after breaking up with your boyfriend and you’re already screwing around.” She shakes her head, setting the take out bag on the dresser before leaning against the wall.

“Fuck you bitch! We broke up because of you!”

“No you didn’t. You’re a lying whore and you used Simon. But, that’s none of my business. I’m here to warn you. – Lia folds her arms over her chest threateningly – Keep your fuck buddies away from this room. You’re not alone in here. And, before you say anything - Lia points her finger at Ally - if you bother Ivy about this, remember who you’re talking to. I’m pretty sure you know what happened to Cassie after she tried to put her hands on my man. You don’t want to end up like her, do you?” I’m completely lost. Cassie? What happened to Cassie?

Ally gulps fearfully, her eyes widening comically. “T-That was you. Oh shit.” She whimpers. The guy she came here with sits quietly on the bed, just watching the events in front of him with an amused smirk.

“Who’s this hottie?” He licks his lips lewdly at Lia and I instinctively take a step back, getting closer to her.

“You, shut up. Get dressed and leave. Next time you fuck her, you do it in your room.” Lia sternly says, glaring at the half-naked guy.

“Oh, feisty. Me likey.” He runs his gaze all over Lia’s body, and I start feeling nauseous. I don’t like the way he’s looking at her.

“I suggest you keep your comments to yourself, unless you want to lose a few teeth.” I whip my head to the door when I hear Blake’s voice. He looks so menacing, dressed in black leather jacket, dark jeans and combat boots. His beard makes him look so mature and manly, nothing like most of the guys around the campus that are more like boys rather than men.

“Knight! Y-You-”

“Yeah, me. Now get out.” Blake orders, putting his arm around Lia’s shoulders.

The guy hurriedly puts on his clothes, then runs out the door. Ally just stares dumbfounded at him, as if she doesn’t understand what happened.

And then she glares at me.

“Don’t even try, bitch. – Lia notices Ally’s look – If I hear you did something to her, I’ll make you regret it.”

I feel slightly embarrassed to have my friend defend me, but I’m not a confrontational person. I’d rather stay quiet and let people do what they want than do something about it.

“Who are you to tell me what to do, huh?!”

“I’m her friend.” I feel my eyes tear up at the admission. She just openly said she’s my friend! Oh god, I’m gonna cry.

“Fuck you, bitch!” Ally yells before storming out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Let’s eat. The food’s gonna get cold.” Lia smiles at me, completely unperturbed, then takes the bag from the dresser and sits on the floor in front of my bed. I glance questioningly at Blake, but he only shrugs, used to his girlfriend’s antics.

“Thank you. For earlier. But won’t she seek retribution for being treated like that?” I put some paper plates on the small table, along with cups, utensils and napkins, before sitting on the floor across from Lia and Blake.

"She'd better not." Lia grins and I sense something dangerous in her smile. But I don't comment on that.

The three of us eat in peace, just chatting about anything and everything, gossiping about our studies, exchanging views on some lectures and discussing our homework, like true nerds. We all are good students, but we’ve never been close. I transferred here in the second semester of the first year thanks to my father pulling some strings, but when I came here, people already had their own groups of friends and knew each other. So I stayed on the sidelines, just keeping to myself.

Despite Lia and Blake being a couple, they don’t make me feel left out, which is often the case when someone hangs out with two people in a relationship.

“Have you thought about moving out of here? I mean, the dorm?”

“I have, but where would I go? Finding a nice room to rent or a small apartment is not that easy here. And I don’t have a job, so I’m not deemed credible. How would I pay for it?” I admit, a bit shamefully. I know most students in their second year are working, at least part-time, but my father completely forbade it. He said that if it got out to the media that I’m working some minimal wage job, his reputation could be affected. But where am I supposed to work without education or experience? I can’t rely on my father’s connections my whole life.

Lia glances at Blake with a strange smile, getting exact same one from him. “There’s an apartment in our block that’s about to be free. It’s a small studio, with one bedroom, living room with adjoined kitchenette, and one bathroom. Perfect for one person.”

“You wouldn't have to pay for it. Apparently the owner has to leave for a year for work and he doesn’t want to sell it. He doesn’t care about the money, as long as the tenant doesn’t destroy the place. He said he doesn’t want to let it go to waste.” Blake adds.

“And that’s why we’re here. After you told us about your… adventures with Ally, we thought we’d tell you about this.” My gaze flickers from Lia to Blake a few times, before it settles on Lia. I barely talked to her about Ally and she immediately understood that I’m not comfortable here, and already decided to help me! How is she real?!

“And you thought of me? Really?”

“Why are you so surprised? You’re nice, calm, peaceful… - Lia glances around the room – clean and organized. You’d be the perfect tenant.”

“And it’s in your block?”

“Yep. We’d be neighbors.” Lia grins cheekily.

“Can I meet the owner maybe? I’d like to take a look at the place, if you don’t mind.” I hesitantly request, but the warm smiles I get from the couple make me feel more at ease.

“Sure, whenever you want. But it’d have to be this week, cause it’s quite urgent. The guy wants to leave as soon as he finds someone suitable to live in the apartment.” Blake leans against my bed, putting his arm around Lia.

“Thanks guys. – I grin widely – I’d love to get away from here.”

It takes me three days to get an okay from my dad to move out of the dorm. He was all for it when I told him about my roommate, saying I can’t live with such a shameless girl and it can damage his image if someone finds out about what happens in our room and connects me to him. I was surprised, but grateful. I thought my parents would be against it.

When I told my dad that my friend is going to live in the same block, he freaked out, thinking it was my roommate. When I explained to him that the friend I’m talking about is actually the best student in our year and her boyfriend is our team’s quarterback, dad immediately agreed, saying he’s actually proud that I’ve made friends that can be beneficial in the future.

But that’s not why I like them. It didn’t even cross my mind to use them for my benefit or my dad's public image. But leave it to my dad to think of everyone as potential collaborators. As long as they have money or connections, he sees them as useful. He’s been telling me my whole life that I should surround myself with people that can be of use to me. Anyone I met was immediately assessed by my dad, even in kindergarten. He’d do some background check, and then if he found out that their family or someone close could be useful for his career, he told me to play with them no matter if I like them or not. If he deemed them useless, he’d forbid me from seeing them.

That’s why he wants to meet Lia and Blake. He wants to assess them.

I just wish he trusted me when it came to my friends. For the first time I’m hanging out with people I chose, and he’s already threatening that. I don’t know what I’ll do if dad says I can’t meet with Lia and Blake from now on. I genuinely like them. Besides, I’m already twenty years old, technically an adult, yet my dad still treats me like a child, as if I don’t have a mind on my own.

Today I’m going to see the apartment that Lia told me about and talk to the owner about the details. I’m slightly nervous, but I know neither Lia nor Blake would tell me about this offer if it was something bad. They’re not mean like that. At least I think so. I just hope my dad doesn’t make a scene when he comes here.

Yes, he’s coming here. He said he wants to use this chance to meet my friends and see the place I’m supposed to live in, to check if it's appropriate for me.

With a heavy sigh, I take my bag and walk out of the room without as much as a glance at my roommate. She’s been going out all the time during those last three days, seemingly taking Lia’s threats seriously. And not even once did she bring a guy to the room!

But I’m still moving out. I don’t want to stay with someone who hates me.

My dad is already waiting for me when I walk out of the dorm, quickly checking my attire. He nods in approval when he sees my grey coat and high heels. I’m wearing a white dress and a black jacket underneath, but my dad can’t see it.

I get in the car, greeting my dad quietly, then we’re on our way. As usual, we don’t talk much apart from the studies and how I’m doing. I don’t think my dad’s actually interested in my well-being, he’s just asking out of habit now.

All the way to my friends’ neighborhood, I hope my dad likes Lia and Blake. If he doesn’t, he won’t let me live near them and I’d have to stay at the dorm for longer.

And I don’t want that. I already got used to the idea of living on my own.

After my dad parks the car in the lot by the block, we get out and ride the elevator to the right floor, still not exchanging any words.

When we reach the apartment, I notice it’s right next to the one Lia and Blake live in. So she really meant we’d be neighbors!

My dad rings the doorbell and not even a minute later we’re greeted by a smiling man in a suit. He introduces himself as Jordan Mitchell then lets us in. Dad quickly looks around the place, nodding slowly. He seems to like the place. It’s clean, not overly cluttered and a part of the living room seems to be remodeled into a study, with a big wooden desk, leather spinning chair and a bunch of cabinets.

“So, Mr. Mitchell, why don’t you want any rent for this?” Dad questions after our quick tour around the place.

"I don’t need it. I earn enough through my work, but I don’t want this place to turn into some pigsty while I'm gone, so I’m looking for someone quiet and peaceful to live here. After my year-long tour to Europe I’m thinking about coming back and concentrating on my career here."

“And what is it that you do?” I’m getting increasingly embarrassed at my dad’s inquisitive nature. He’s about to interrogate the poor man!

“I’m a financial consultant.”

“Very well then. Do you have the contract ready? We can sign it later if that’s fine with you. I’d like to talk to someone first.”

“Of course.” Mr. Mitchell gets two copies of the contract and my dad reads them carefully, before agreeing to its terms. I thought I would be the one to do that.

Once we’re done, my dad announces that he wants to meet my friends. His tone leaves no room for discussion and I know better than to argue with him, so I lead him to Lia’s place and ring the doorbell.

“Ivy! Hi!” Lia opens the door with a grin then looks at my dad, who’s standing next to me with a stern look. “Good afternoon, Mr. Collins.”

“Good afternoon, miss…”

“Clarke. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lia outstretches her hand to my dad, surprising us both. Dad shakes her hand firmly before Lia invites us inside.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Collins. Hi Ivy.” Blake greets us as we walk in, also shaking my dad’s hand.

“Good afternoon. And what’s your name?”

“Blake Knight, sir.”

Dad and I sit on one of the couches in the living room, while Blake sits on the other. Lia brings us coffee and cake then takes a seat next to her boyfriend.

“So, you two live together? Alone?” Dad inquires suspiciously, sounding highly unimpressed. Uh-oh.

“Yes. We’ve been living here since we came to Berkeley.”

“And your parents weren’t against it?”

“Dad, please!”

“No, sir, they weren’t.”

“Are you in a relationship?”

“We’re engaged.” Blake takes Lia’s hand, showing my dad their rings.

“Quite early, wouldn’t you say?” Dad narrows his eyes at them and I catch his pointed glance at Lia’s stomach.

“Maybe, but we know what we want.” Lia sternly says, putting an end to this interrogation.

“Yvette told me a few things about you. But I’m still not sure about letting her live so close to you. So, what do you plan on doing in the future?” I gape at my dad before ducking my face in shame. How can he?!

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business, sir. – Lia challenges – But fine, I can tell you if you’re that curious. We’re studying business administration to take over our fathers’ companies.”

Dad nods, impressed, though I don’t know what he’s actually impressed about – Lia’s words or her tone. She’s not at all intimidated by my dad, but I'm guessing she’s not scared of anyone.

“So you have a sure career in front of you. Impressive. But I’m guessing you don’t work at the moment? Are your parents paying for this place?” I whip my head at dad, taken aback by his bluntness. How can he ask them that?!

“Dad!”

“Don't whine, Yvette. I need to know what kinds of people you’re surrounding yourself with if I’m supposed to let you associate yourself with them and live next to them.” Dad doesn’t even look at me, just staring sternly at the couple in front of us.

I take my coffee, deliberately hiding my frown from my friends with it. Lia saw me order coffee once and she made an exact same one. The amount of cream and sugar is just the way I like it. Amazing.

“It’s not a problem, Ivy. Your dad is just looking out for you.” I snap my gaze to Lia when I catch the harsh tone of her voice. “No, Mr. Collins. Our parents aren’t funding this place and they don’t pay our bills. We earn our money ourselves.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. But I don’t see how it concerns you.” Oh god, Lia! Please, stop talking or my dad will forbid me from living here!

“You’re quite straightforward, miss Clarke. And you’re not afraid of speaking your mind. – I stop breathing as I wait for dad’s verdict – I like you. You can be a good friend to my daughter.” I exhale in relief, making Lia chuckle quietly.

“Yvette, I think it’s time for us.” Dad gets up from the couch, shaking Lia and Blake’s hands before we leave their place, with me grinning like an idiot. He approved! He really approved!

Dad goes to Mr. Mitchell to sign the contract for the apartment, while I wait anxiously for him.

I’m gonna live on my own!

My first step to independence!