Untamed

Secrets

Travis was kind enough to offer Janelle and me a ride to class while Ruby stayed behind. Her classes only start later on and Zack offered to drop her off.

“I was surprised when I heard you are back and living with Ruby,” Travis said to Janelle.

Janelle released a deep breath. She is currently seated in the back while I was sitting beside Travis in front. “How does everyone know?” She asked him.

“Everyone?” He questioned curiously.

“Yeah. Damian showed up at my door a few days later. Muttering something about some rumour being true.” She answered.

“He did? That’s a surprise.” Travis said sarcastically.

“Haven’t you talked to him since school?” She asked.

“No. Your pretty boy still has his head stuck in his ass.” Travis replied. He then pulled into a sparking space and shut off the engine.

“He's not my pretty boy.” Janelle protested but Travis only pulled up his shoulders.

“He's not my friend either,” Travis remarked.

 I climbed out of his truck and grabbed my bag. “No one knew that I was coming back except for the University,” Janelle noted. Getting out as well. 

“Damian has a lot of friends and fans all over. I won’t be surprised if he found out through them.” Travis said. Walking with us. 

“How did you find out?” Janelle questioned.

He smiled at her. “Ruby.”

Janelle rolled her eyes. “Still close with her?”

Travis nodded. “She’s the only girl who doesn’t want to rip off my shirt and lick my chest. I can actually start an intelligent conversation with her without feeling that I am only boosting her popularity. Not many people understand her because she’s a girl with a brain and talks a lot when she gets excited.” I stifled a smile because it sounds exactly like Ruby.

“You’ve always taken her side.” I saw the raw emotion in Travis’ eyes.

I waited for him to raise his voice at her but surprisingly, he didn’t. “I’ve taken your side many times before Janelle. You had friends while Ruby had none. She only had people who picked on her and made fun of her.”

“My friends also stabbed me in the back.” Her words were sharp as a knife’s blade when she spoke.

Travis’ chuckle was not friendly at all. “I didn’t stab you in the back. You walked out after your best friend screwed my best friend. I also got hurt. Got blamed for stuff that wasn’t my fault.”

“Do you see me holding onto that s**t? Damian made up his mind. I moved on and so, should you.”

He winked at me. “See you later, sugar.” He said before walking away.

“It’s safe to say that you used to be friends with Travis.” Janelle nodded.

“Damian and Travis used to be best friends. Travis punched some guy who bullied Damian in school and they have been inseparable since then but Isabella took advantage of that.” I followed Janelle.

“Meaning?” I asked.

“As you can see for yourself. Travis is a good guy. Has always been. Damian is the ignorant and egotistical brat because of his good looks and being a jock.” She explained. “Isabelle made her rounds with the guys on Damian’s team while they were dating and everyone knew it. The cheerleaders. His teammates. Friends. She tried it once with Travis but he rejected her.” I don’t know why I smiled when I heard that Travis rejected Isabella.

“Isabella doesn’t take rejection well. So, she started to threaten to tell Damian that he tried to get in her pants while she was drunk.” My eyes widened. “But Travis had a weapon on his own. He threatened her that he was going to tell Damian about her being promiscuous but then the thing with Ruby happened and I got the blame. It was the first nail in Travis’ coffin because Damian lost his mind. Called me names and denied being my friend.” I saw the despair in her eyes.

“Isabella took Damian’s vulnerability by lying to him and telling him that Travis slept with me and her.” My heart stopped for a split of a second. “Which never happened by the way. Travis is like my brother.” I didn’t care if they did have s*x but to lie about it. That’s sickening.

“Didn’t Travis say anything?” Janelle shook her head.

“By then it was too late. Damian didn’t want to listen. He called Travis a womanizer and a disloyal friend.”

“As you can see, Travis moved on. I’ve always known him to be the better person but Isabella ruined his good name and ego. All the girls you find drooling over him is because of the works of Isabella.” Janelle excused herself and made her way to class.

I also started to make my way and entered the lecture hall where I found Travis already seated. When our eyes met, I found them empty and almost cold but it wasn’t aimed at me.

I sat down next to him and gazed over my shoulder at all the girls staring at him. I turned in my seat and wondered how a person can be so selfish and mean. “You let me think that you are a player,” I said, acknowledging his plan.

He shook his head. “You made that assumption all on your own, sugar.” I felt ridiculous because it was true.

I looked at my hands resting on the table in front of me and tried to find the right words. Anything I can say that will sound like an apology without actually sounding like an apology. “I have the inability to trust people,” I said instead.

When I turned my head looking at him. I found him frowning. “Is this your apology?” He didn’t sound arrogant.

I shook my head when truthfully it was a way for me to say that I am sorry. “I’ve been hurt emotionally by someone who played an important role in my life and when they abandoned me. I became an angry person who wants to lit the world on fire with her rage. I just don’t know how to take other people’s feelings into consideration. Yeah, it almost looked as if you can be a player with your good looks and how girls drool at the sight of you but you can admit that you were playing a game with me.”

He chuckled. “You think I am good-looking?” I arched an eyebrow which caused him to burst out laughing while the professor was in the middle of a lecture. He just gave Travis a narrowed look before he continued.

“I accept your apology, sugar.” He said smiling. “I am not a player. I might have had a few one-night stands at a younger age but I don’t play games with a woman. Especially her heart. Believe it or not but I am actually looking for a steady relationship. I don’t want to move from one girl to the other and play with them as if they mean nothing.”

“We can only be friends, Travis,” I informed him to which his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I wasn’t lying when I told you that I am like poison.” I know there is some sort of chemistry between us. I am no scientist but I have sensed it the minute we met. I want it to end because I am not good for him.

“No matter what you tell me. It won’t make me change my mind.” He pushed a strand of my hair out of my face with a quick brush of his knuckle. “I won’t ever believe that you are a bad person. No matter what you did. I like you and there isn’t a thing you can tell me that will change how I feel.”

“We just met.”

He smiled and leaned forward onto his forearm which has been resting on the table. “I would really like to get to know you.” He said softly in my ear. “As I told you last night. I will make it the best ride of your life.” He eased back. Winking at me before standing up after the professor called it a day.

“I hope you will give me a chance, sugar.” He said gathering his stuff.

“Sugar makes me sound like an escort who goes for old, rich men,” I noted. Also standing up and followed him out of the room.

He smiled when he turned to me when we stood in the hallway. His friends called him which he gestured for them that he will be right over. “If you ever decide on giving me a chance. I would really like to show you something.”

I shook my head at him in disbelief. “Never going to happen.”

“Don’t make promises that you can’t keep, sugar.” He moved closer and I almost thought he was going to kiss me when he bent his head down. Our cheeks brushed when whispered something into my ear. 

“Don’t get frisky with the professors now, sugar.”