Dear Heart, I Hate You

“No, you’re just weird.” Katherine smiled and turned to head toward her class.

“You’re the weird one. See ya later, weirdo!” Taylor shouted as she headed in the opposite direction.

• • •

Taylor walked into her sun-filled dorm room and tossed everything on the floor except her notebook. She read over her scribbles from Katherine’s dream and added new thoughts and questions. When the house phone finally rang, she jumped.

“Hello?”

“Hi. This is the front desk. Your guest has arrived.”

“Can you send her up?”

“You need to come down and sign her in first.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Taylor slammed the phone down and hopped out of her chair. Shutting the door behind her, she hurried downstairs. Once she rounded the corner, she saw her best friend leaning against the front desk, tapping her foot impatiently.

“So, this is what you’ve ditched me for, huh?” Kylie said with a disapproving frown.

Taylor signed the guest sheet and gave Kylie a tight squeeze. “Don’t be a brat. Come on. I’m so excited you’re here!”

“So, tell me about your roommate? Do we hate her?” Kylie asked with a tight smile.

Taylor laughed. “No, we don’t hate her. We love her.”

Kylie scrunched her nose with distaste and Taylor snapped, “Oh, I know that look. Don’t be a bitch, Kylie. She’s from California and she’s really great. I promise.”

“Whatever,” Kylie said with an eye roll. “I’ll try to be nice.”

“How lucky for us all.”

• • •

Katherine returned to the dorm after her Chemistry class, and as she walked through the doorway into her dorm room, the conversation abruptly stopped. Her eyes quickly met Kylie’s and she watched as the stunning blonde sized her up with a scowl. She gave her a sincere smile in return, determined that Taylor’s best friend would like her.

Taylor jumped up. “Hey, Kat! This is my best friend from home, Kylie. Kylie, this is my roommate, Katherine.” Taylor’s gaze pinged anxiously back and forth between her two friends.

Kylie stood up and reached for Katherine’s hand. “So, you’re the famous roommate my best friend loves so much.”

Katherine shot Taylor a questioning look. “Uh . . . I guess so. It’s nice to meet you, Kylie. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Unease crawled its way down Katherine’s spine as Kylie scrutinized her, the girl’s hostility generating an undeniable tension that seemed to fill the room. Something was off with her roomie’s best friend, and she wondered if Taylor noticed it as well.

“How long are you staying? Do you want to come out with us tonight?” Katherine pasted a smile on her face, uncomfortable at the thought that this girl could dislike her so intensely so quickly. What in the world did I do to her, she wondered.

“I hadn’t thought about it, but what are you guys doing? I mean, if it’s some sort of party with really ho

t guys, you’ll need me there,” Kylie said as she ran her fingers through her short blonde hair.

“Oh yes, Princess Kylie, for we humble servants cannot meet any guys without your presence. Please accompany us to the party we’re crashing later,” Taylor quipped back, rolling her eyes.

Kylie eyed Katherine before looking back at Taylor. “I’m just saying you probably need me is all. You know that no guy can resist this,” she said as she swept her hand in a Vanna White-like gesture across her body.

“Can I talk to you . . . in private?” Taylor snapped and quickly grabbed Kylie by the arm.

Katherine watched as Taylor pulled Kylie roughly into the bathroom. She cringed slightly as Taylor slammed the door shut, and tried not to eavesdrop on the conversation behind the thin bathroom door.