College after Christien
1179 Words
Christien stood still. Unwavering.
But slowly, he took a step forward.
“Let go of her,” he said, his gaze now on Stephen.
His voice was still controlled… but there was a rough edge underneath it, like he had to force the words out evenly.
Stephen blinked, like he was trying to understand what was happening.
“She said she was fine,” Stephen replied, still holding on.
Another step.
Christien’s jaw tightened slightly. “I didn’t ask what she said.”
The pool felt so silent, like his mere presence swallowed all sound.
Stephen hesitated a little before he released my hand.
The moment he did, I immediately pulled my hand back, rubbing it without thinking. I didn’t even realize I had been holding my breath until I let it out.
Christien looked at me again.
His expression was dark, like he was trying to control his anger.
“You left the house, where’s Davis?” he asked.
“I was bored,” I replied. He had been gone for a week without giving any explanation, so why was he suddenly acting like this mattered?
His gaze dropped briefly to my outfit, then returned to my face.
“You don’t come to places like this alone.”
“I wasn’t alone,” I muttered, glancing at the guys around the pool.
His eyes darkened instantly.
Stephen tried to laugh it off. “Bro, relax. We were just talking…”
Christien turned his head slightly. Just a glance, and no one spoke again.
I shifted uncomfortably. “This is getting dramatic,” I said under my breath.
Christien heard it.
He walked closer now, stopping right in front of me. Close enough that I had to tilt my head up to look at him.
“You think this is dramatic?” he asked softly.
I didn’t answer. Because I didn’t know what to say.
“Go home,” he said.
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” I replied.
But his expression didn’t loosen.
“Now, Ava,” he said, his voice deeper and more commanding than before.
I hated it when people ordered me around.
I turned around and grabbed a towel off the bench. I tied it around my waist and climbed out of the pool.
I walked toward the house, and he followed slowly behind me. I could barely hear his footsteps, but I could feel his presence behind me. That alone made my heart beat faster, and I gripped the towel tighter.
I stepped into the house, and the silence inside felt heavier than outside.
Christien walked in behind me as if nothing had happened. But I could still feel it, the way his voice had cut through everything earlier, the way everyone had gone quiet the moment he spoke.
I didn’t understand it. And I didn’t like that I didn’t understand it.
He passed me without a word and went further inside.
“Ava?”
It was Davis. He had come home alone. His eyes flicked between me and the direction Christien had gone.
“What happened?” he asked again, slower now.
Christien didn’t stop walking. He didn’t even turn.
“You left her alone,” he said flatly.
“I went out for a while, and I told her to stay inside.”
“But she didn’t… you are always out with girls, Davis,” Christien said suddenly, turning slightly.
“Christien, she’s not a kid, you said that yourself,” Davis replied.
He wasn’t wrong. That was exactly what Christien had said before.
And yet… he was acting like I was something fragile now.
Christien didn’t respond.
But I saw it, just for a second. His hand tightened slightly at his side. Then he walked away like the conversation had never happened.
“Where were you?” Davis turned to me.
“I just went out for a bit,” I replied.
“You don’t know this place well enough to be meeting people or doing things like that,” he said.
“Ugh, come on. Why are you both so overprotective? I’m not a kid, remember,” I said, and ran up the stairs.
Everyone always treated me like I was fragile. I thought Christien was different… but now he was even worse than Davis. And that was really annoying.
I didn’t want him treating me like a child. Especially him…
***
Three weeks passed, and the house changed in ways I couldn’t ignore.
Christien no longer sat in the living room at night. Meals were quieter. His room stayed dark most of the time.
Sometimes I heard his car leave late at night. Other times, I caught brief glimpses of him stepping out in a suit, always in a hurry.
He wasn’t around the way he used to be.
Not at meals. Not in passing. Not even in arguments.
The house felt emptier because of it.
Davis spoke to him more on the phone than in person, mostly about business trips and meetings.
And somehow… I noticed his absence more than I wanted to.
****
I heard a knock on my door and stood up to open it.
It was Davis, smiling…too brightly.
“Guess what!” he said.
“I’m not good at guessing,” I replied.
“Just try.”
“You got a new girl,” I said slowly.
“No. Yes, but that’s not it.”
“Then what?” I asked.
He pulled an envelope from behind his back.
“You got accepted into Pasadena College.”
My eyes widened. “Really?”
I screamed and hugged him.
“So I get to go to your school,” I smiled.
“Yeah… I might not be around much, but you can still reach Christien.”
The smile on my face faded slightly at my own words.
I didn’t even know why I said his name, like I expected him to be there.
Davis leaned against my doorframe. “He’s always busy… but he shows up sometimes.”
“Sometimes?” I repeated.
“That’s generous,” I muttered.
Davis laughed. “You act like you don’t like him.”
“I don’t,” I said quickly.
Too quickly.
That only made him laugh more.
I rolled my eyes and turned away, but my chest felt tight.
Three weeks. And he still hadn’t come upstairs once. Not even a word. Just silence.
And somehow… that silence felt louder than anything else.
****
The days after that passed quickly.
Emails. Registration. Orientation updates. College paperwork filled my phone.
Davis was often out again, either meeting lecturers or preparing for his possible trip abroad.
And Christien… still wasn’t around in the way I expected.
Sometimes I heard a car at night. Sometimes I saw light briefly spill from his room before it went dark again.
But I never really saw him.
I told myself it didn’t matter.
It was probably better that way.
Still… I found myself noticing.
And I was starting to hate how easily I noticed when he wasn’t there.
- Writer
