The Kissing Booth A New Chapter

DESPERATION

NPOV

I sat up suddenly with  Lee what am I going to do I feel so lost without her and seeing her like this I hate myself this is my fault this is all my fault...echoing in my mind.  I looked at my surroundings and realized I was in my dorm room.  I took a deep breath and glanced at my phone and see a message from my mom

Hey, sweety, the apartment has been paid for, but you father wants to get it redecorated and install security cameras to record all entrances and exits to the apartment plus a camera to record the interior when you kids are not home.  The interior will be both audio and visually recorded.  He mentioned installing a panic button in case of emergencies.  Please let Lee and Elle know the whole apartment should be ready in a week, and the sooner you kids get out of there, the better.  Max is driving him crazy after Brad found that article listing the percentage of on-campus rapes in dorm rooms.  Love you give both Elle and Lee my love also sweetheart keep your head up and tell her the truth she deserves to know.

Damn what is wrong with me ever since I told Lee the truth all I can think about is the fact I do not have the right to be there for her to protect her.  Maybe that is why I dreamed that it was my minds subconscious way of allowing me to feel like I still had the right to defend her and that she even would come to me if she needed protecting. All I know is that  I would never want Elle rapped but then again why in the world did Brad have to send me that damn article.  Now that I think about it the dream was similar to what happened to Sara Lewis's sister I thought about that because of the article.  Could that be why I had that dream?  I fell asleep remembering all the times I would hold my Shelly when she needed to be protected that combined with that article Brad sent it could have caused my dream.   Ahh, I need to stop mom is right I need to tell Elle no matter what.  I understand that she is with Lewis but at least she will know and maybe she won't hate me anymore.  I need my little pain in the but in my life even if all I can ever be is her brother.

I grab my phone and click on her contact  My good girl

Me

Hey, Shelly when you get the chance I would like to talk to you about the real reason I broke up with you.  I know you may not want to hear it, but please give me a chance.

My good girl

OK, oh, by the way, did you get the questions I e-mailed you.

Me

What questions and why?

My god girl

LOL, you didn't check your e-mail the lit professor is pairing us up.  He is choosing a freshman and a sophomore from his classes and pairing them up since we are in the same dorm and are listed to move out at the same time he thought it would be easier for us to work together.  I mailed you my half of the questions.  We were supposed to choose a book and read it together, but since you are reading Anne of Green Gables, I figured one less thing for me to do.

Me

Ah OK I will check it out and no fair unless you want me to rat you out you have to help me with mine, and I am so lucky we don't use slates or else you might break one over my head.

My good girl

Hilarious Noah at least I know you made it to when she got to school.  So how do you like it so far?

Me

The funny thing is Anne reminds me of you.  Smart Sassy hell I can see you break a slate over a guys heads if we still used them.

My good girl

So, when are we doing this we can talk, and I will help you with your questions.

Me

How about after practice.

My good girl

Sure sounds like a plan.

Me

Good 

My good girl

Wait I have my strength training today that is at least another hour

Me

I can wait

My good girl

Ok then I will meet you in the common room after I am done

Me

Ok, let book a private room because some of what I need to say is personal.

My good girl

Ok FYI I am doing this for the Family

Me

Fine by me

EPOV

That was weird Noah is usually on top of things I can not believe he didn't realize that we had been paired.  I guess while I am waiting to head to practice I will read Brad's e-mail that has my dad all freaked out.  You have got to be kidding me 27 rapes in one year.  No wonder dad is flipping out.  Of course, Brad has to research my school and then show dad.  Well, at least we will have our apartment and no curfew.  The downside is Lewis is not going to be happy.  I don't know why I haven't told him.  I guess it is because if he turned around and told me he was moving in with two girls and one of them was his ex even if it was the same or similar situation I know I wouldn't like it.  I glance at the clock take a deep breath and pull on my practice uniform.  Throwing my bikini and towel into my bag and throwing it over my shoulder I start to head out just as Noah is coming out and from what he is wearing he is heading in the same direction.

Me:  So, you all have practice this afternoon.

Noah:  Yeah, they needed the practice field this morning, so coach switched it to this afternoon.  

Me:  Ah, ok well I am off.

Noah:  Elle we can walk there together.

I drop my bag outside the dorm and start to stretch

Me:  Noah I am running there that way I am already warmed up 

Noah:  Fine I will run with you.

The two of us finish up our stretches, and I see Lewis walk up just as I am about to run off.

Lewis:  Hey little lady I thought I would walk you to practice.

Me:  Sorry babe today is my long work out day I run to the field house.

Lewis:  Ah Ok well then I guess I will see you after practice

Me:  Well after practice I have my strength training then I am meeting up with Noah my lit prof assigned us as partners, and we have to get started on our assignment.

Lewis:  Oh, how about I come to and just study with you guys

Me:  Babe no I don't want to disturb you we are going to need to discuss the book, and I have a funny feeling it is going to get heated if I know Noah here.  There are some things that I love in the book that he will hate and others that will have us both laughing.

Lewis:  Fine Elle but we need to talk Lee mentioned something he thought I knew.

Me:  Oh, well I need to get to practice 

Lewis: tell me if it's true you three are moving into an apartment together.

Me:  Yes, my dad is freaking out because for a health assessment Brad had to look up statistics on Rape cases in a university of his choosing.  Seeing as I am here, he picked Harvard and then showed my dad his research who showed the Flynns and they decided it would be safer if we were in an apartment.

Lewis:  Look I am not happy about this we need to talk about it

Me: okay but not now I have to go, and then I have homework I will call you when I am done.  I look at Noah Race you.

I grabbed my bag and took off running.  I hit the field house door before Noah, and he glared at me.

Noah:  So, not fair Shelly you cheated.

Me:  Why because instead of running around the benches I hurdled them.

Noah:  Yeah I didn't know you could do that

Me:  There is a lot I can do you don't know about Noah.  Gotta go I have five minutes to get on the field, or I am late, and that means an additional ten laps.

I walk out onto the field and start my team through there warm-up exercises.  I couldn't help but grin that I had beat Noah, but I have a funny feeling he let me win.

LPOV

Man, my twin is so going to kill me.  Hell, it has been almost two weeks since m&d told us that they were all getting us an apartment after that article Brad found.  I can not believe that none of us thought to look that information up.  Although I know that the little man did it on purpose ever since he found about Lewis and the fact that Lewis sometimes has a hard time with Elle choosing Brad over him the little man has been planning to get rid of him.  I have to hand it to Brad he is resourceful and lucky.  I still can't believe he made sure to show Max his homework assignment when he usually hides them.  I thought she would have told him by now so when I mentioned that my mom had called me figuring that I would ignore Noah and told me the apartment would be ready in a week I brought it up with him.  The look on his face though was priceless.  He needs to chill because yes part of the problem is that Noah is living there, but he told me his girl would not be living with any guy period.  When I said to him how many rooms we had he mentioned maybe he could move in and when I told him nope one room is to stay as a guest room for our parents when they visit and the other room was going to be Brads if he decides to come to school in Boston.  Lewis hit the roof and yelled he didn't care if Brad was her brother or not.  First, he tells her how to run her team and now this about where she can and can't live.  He had even mentioned that he was going to talk to her about switching to an all-girls dorm since he didn't like her living in a co-ed dorm.  

I start to head over to the field house so I can warn my twin what I did when I see Lewis and Sara

Sara:  Bro you need to stop I told you that one of the things the kids at school said was that Elle does not like being told what to do.

Lewis:  Well, she will have to learn if she is going to be my girl.

Sara:  Really because she was dating Noah and he tried, and all she did was laugh at him and would do it anyway

Lewis:  Well, she is older now she might understand better

Sara:  Look one thing everyone said about her besides not liking her boyfriends telling her what to do is that you will never win against her family.  You feel the same way.  You are only having a hard time with this because of what happened to me.

Lewis:  If mom hadn't let him move in.

Sara:  Everyone is not like him believe me and the stories I heard when I was around them and the pictures they showed me if Lee or Noah were going to hurt her they have had plenty of chances.

Lewis:  What do you mean?

Sara:  Growing up whenever their parents went out of town Elle would spend the night at the Flynn's while her brother spent the night at his best friends house.  Elle and Lee have been sharing the same bed since they were born and it went on until they turned 15 when their parents felt it was inappropriate.  So, you see if they were going to hurt her it would have been when they were back home.

Lewis:  Fine but I still don't like it, and I am telling her.