Rejected by One, Wanted by Another

Under the Rain

Lucy sat silently in the library. She sat at a mahogany table, her eyes kept moving from her phone to her textbook every few minutes. For the first time in months, she felt hopeful.

Adrian had texted her that morning. Four simple words: Library. 9:00 PM. Picking you up.

When she asked why, he had followed it up with something that made her heart stop: We need to discuss the wedding date.

He is coming around, Lucy thought to herself. She instantly felt relieved, her fingers tracing the concealer Zoe had applied to cover her bruised wrist. Maybe he realized he went too far, maybe he wants to make things right.

“You’re smiling at your phone again.” A deep voice said from across the table.

Lucy looked up to see Jonathan. He was leaning back in a chair opposite her, with some research papers spread out on his table. He hadn't mentioned the incident in the courtyard, but the way he watched her was different, he was more protective now.

"Adrian is coming to pick me up," she said, unable to hide the joy in her voice. "He wants to talk about the wedding."

Jonathan’s eyes got darker. He tapped his pen against the table. "And you believe him?"

"He's my fiancé, Jonathan. Of course I believe him."

"Right," Jonathan said. "Just don't forget that people usually tell you what you want to hear when they're about to do something you won't like."

"Not everyone is as cynical as you," Lucy said as she packed her books into her bag. It was 8:55 PM. She didn't want to keep Adrian waiting for even a second. "I'll see you tomorrow for the project."

Jonathan didn't answer. He just watched her walk away.

Lucy stepped out of the library. The weather had changed. The sky had turned dark. She could hear the thunder rumbling from a distance and suddenly a sharp wind blew her hair across her face.

She checked her watch. It was 9:05 PM.

He probably got stuck in traffic, she thought to herself.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty. The rain started to drizzle, heavy splashes that felt cold fell against her skin. The light drizzle quickly turned into a heavy downpour, and then, with a violent flash of lightning, the sky opened up.

Lucy tucked herself into a small corner at the library entrance, shivering. She pulled out her phone and dialed Adrian’s number. It rang and rang until it went to voicemail.

"Hey Adrian, I'm outside. It’s starting to pour... just wondering where you are. Call me back.”

She waited for five minutes, then ten. The wind started to blow the wind sideways soaking the hem of her shirt. She called again.

The number you are trying to reach is currently unavailable.

She started feeling anxious. She suddenly remembered the way Adrian had looked at her in the hallway,the coldness, the disgust. But he had offered to come. Why would he offer if he didn't mean it?

She called a third time. A fourth. By the eighth call, her fingers were shaking so hard she almost dropped the phone.

9:45 PM.

The campus was empty. Lucy tried calling Zoe, but there was no answer there either.

She was alone.

She dialed Adrian for the tenth time. As the call rang out into the void, a memory flashed in her mind, Zoe’s words from earlier: “I’ll check on Adrian and see if I can talk some sense into him.” Lucy felt guilty. Maybe they were together, arguing about her. Maybe they had been in an accident. She tried to think of every excuse possible to protect the image of the man she loved.

But as the thunder rumbled again, she realized the truth she had been running from. Adrian wasn't coming. He had promised to pick her up specifically so she would wait. He wanted her to stand here, in the dark and the cold, proving to her that her time, her safety, and her heart meant absolutely nothing to him.

It was a punishment.

She started sobbing, the expensive concealer on her wrist washing away in the rain, revealing the ugly purple marks.

Rain blurred everything around her. Then suddenly, through the storm, she heard a low, powerful engine coming closer.

A bright headlight suddenly cut through the darkness, heading straight for the library steps.

Lucy wiped her tears and tried to see through the rain. A dark figure on a power bike stopped at the bottom of the stairs. The engine kept running against the thunder. The rider came down and pulled off his helmet, rain instantly soaking his dark hair and pressing it to his forehead.

It was Jonathan

He didn't say I told you so. He didn't ask where Adrian was. He just looked up at her. "Get on the bike, Lucy," he commanded.

"We're leaving."