CHAPTER 10

Tristin was sweating profusely. His breath was shallow. All he can see is a sea of white and crimson. He cannot make out the faces but he felt helpless. Nightmares. He hated nightmares.

"Rory!" he called out. He was alone on the twin-sized bed. The sun was streaming through the window, illuminating everything in sight except for the one thing he wanted to see.

His heart was pounding hard and fast. He had to find Rory.

On cue, she walked in.

"Hey, sleepyhead. Miss me?" she asked, drying her hair with her towel.

His heart skipped a beat and slowed its pace down to normal after he convinced himself that she's all right. "Why are you up so early?"

"Early? It's ten, Tristin," she said with a smile. She was dressed in her terry robe. She walked towards him as sat next to him on the bed. She kissed him gently. "Good morning."

He could get used to this quickly. He was amazed that at how refreshed he felt waking up in her bed. He would've preferred her cuddled up next to him but having her kiss her that way was the next best thing to heaven. He was relieved that she didn't notice his state of panic.

"So, what's the agenda?" he asked, watching her French twist her hair on top of her head. She rummaged through her drawers to find something appropriate to wear.

"Maybe I should make sure you get back to Graham's," she indicated. "At this time, the dining hall will have nothing to serve that's worth paying for."

"Hmm, you think Graham will feel like eating?" Tristin asked.

"I guess we have to check up on him," she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Tristin and Rory schemed. They went out and grabbed coffee and chai. Tristin was perplexed with the selection but he shrugged it off.

They found Graham passed out on his dorm floor. The room reeked of alcohol and cigarettes. Rory's stomach churned.

"This place stinks!" Rory exclaimed.

Tristin huffed and knelt by his cousin. "Hey, hey!"

Graham's head bobbed up to the sound of Tristin's coaxing.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost eleven," Tristin informed him.

"Crap. I don't think we came home until four," Graham mumbled.

Tristin helped him to his feet. Rory rummaged through his drawers until she stumbled on a bottle of aspirin. She handed Graham the cup of coffee and the tablets from the bottle the moment Tristin got him seated on his desk chair. His blood-shot eyes looked at Rory and smiled.

"You feeling alright?" he asked.

"I think it should be me asking you that question," Rory said quietly.

"Make sure you eat something," he instructed her.

"Well, we were waiting on you to have breakfast," Rory informed him.

"God, what time's the gathering tonight?" Graham asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Six, but I have to go over some stuff with Doyle about five," Rory responded, handing him a cold bottle of water she scrounged up from the small refrigerator by his bed.

"Did you have a good night's rest?" his question was directed to Tristin.

"Yeah. Slept pretty well. I crashed at Rory's though," Tristin told Graham.

"Damn it, I knew I forgot to give you something," Graham swore. "I'm sorry, Rory. I didn't mean to have him crash your space."

"Oh, it's alright. Paris didn't mind," Rory lied.

"Well," Graham sighed. "Can you guys wait until I grab a shower? I smell like crap."

"You do that," Rory said, wrinkling her nose.

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"Rory, you're going to be late!" Paris reminded her from across the common area.

"For someone who passed the opportunity not to host this event, you sure are keeping track of my schedule," Rory pessimistically responded to her roommate.

"How come you didn't tell me about Tristin?" Paris asked as she walked toward Rory.

Rory accidentally dropped the hair ornament at the mention of Tristin's name. Rory had learned that with Paris, it is best to tell he everything at once or not tell her anything at all. But as much as she and Paris have learned to live with each other, Rory still had to learn to confide to her roommate.

"You're such a klutz," Paris mumbled, picking up the ornament she dropped. "So, are you going to tell me?"

"I... I didn't want to talk about trivial stuff when you were grieving over Asher," Rory said.

"Rory, you can't lie to me. I can take it. Remember, I have known Tristin longer than you have," Paris reminded her.

Rory turned her back on Paris to check on her outfit on the full-length mirror. The outfit she wore was a simple black dress reminiscent of Audrey Hepburn in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. It had a matching cream bolero to cover her sleeveless arms if she chose to wear it. It was also the one outfit that she could fit in without having to struggle getting in without giving Paris a clue of her current disposition.

"I didn't know that Tristin was Graham's cousin until I bumped into him in the Catskills while running an errand for my grandparents. Then, my grandfather had a heart attack and he volunteered to drive me home," she gave her a condensed version of her summer past and her Tristin, present.

Paris looked dejected that it was only now Rory confessed. "You know you could've told me sooner."

"I didn't know I was going to see him again," Rory said. "Besides, we're all grown up here. You know, if you still like him..."

"I've told you once and I'll tell you again, I am not in love with Tristin DuGrey. I had a man, a distinguished one at that, to show me what love is," Paris sneered.

"Then why ask me about him?" Rory huffed.

"Because I want you to be happy, that's why," Paris said with passion.

Rory gave her a perplexed look. "What do you mean?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you: in Chilton, out of Chilton. And then there was last night. It didn't bother me seeing him. I was shocked, yes, but I was thinking it was Graham you were messing around with. He's a nice guy but he's not Tristin. And I've seen the way you looked at Tristin. There's something there but you're so hesitant to go for it. This isn't Chilton anymore, Mary, and the fishbowl's been dumped into the lake," Paris said.

"That's unfair of you to say. You haven't given Graham a chance," Rory defended her friend. She ignored the fact that Paris used the pet name Tristin baptized her with. Rory knew that when Paris used it against her, it usually was to make a point.

"He loves you, too, Rory. Graham is obviously not an idiot. You can't keep dangling the two of them," Paris spat out.

"Who said I was dangling anything?" Rory responded in frustration. "Just because one goes to school here and the other was part of my past doesn't mean I am playing both sides of the fence. What you're suggesting is ridiculous."

Paris stopped in front of Rory and gave her the stare. Her voice was full of reverence. "If you could've seen Tristin's face when he was tickling you last night, you would know what I am talking about."

Paris paused for a second and pressed her index finger to her lips. "If you're going to break up with Tristin... Do it gently. I don't think he can take rejection from you twice."

Paris walked out of the room silently. Rory sat on her bed and was on the verge of tears. She picked up her cell phone and made it ring.

"Mom?" she responded.