Leona

Soft rays of light bounced on my eyes, stirring me up gradually until I was wide awake. I took a cursory glance around the room and then on my nude body which was covered by the tussled sheets.

A blush crept to my cheeks upon remembering the wild night we had.

The other side of the bed was empty which meant that I was alone, but the memories from last night were enough to keep me company until I returned home to prepare for class.

I’d never forget his tenderness while making love to me, how paranoid he was when he thrusted into me and discovered that I was still a virgin. He nearly pulled away, but I was far too gone and aroused to let him send me away like that.

When he saw that I wouldn’t give in, he continued on the condition that he’d stop if he ever sensed that I was in pain. Oh the chivalry of that man.

My thighs were sore, and I doubted I could walk properly, yet I couldn’t regret what happened. Wanting to get to class on time and share my excitement with Alicia, I dragged myself out of the bed.

However, I froze on my steps when I saw a folded piece of paper on top of his drawer. My lips stretched into a smile at the thoughtfulness. Spurred by enthusiasm, I unfolded it, reading the content. My excitement dimmed with each line I read.

Tears formed behind my eyelids, rolling down my cheeks as I let the paper that aided in shattering my fantasies drop to the ground.

He’d used me to get through his break up and I let him because of the stupid feelings I couldn’t control. That was the summary of the whole short story he’d written with remarkable handwriting.

According to him, we just had fun. I cherished my body so much and I was stupid enough to think that he’d take me seriously after taking my V-card? Why did I think that the way he looked at me last night would linger and he would begin to see me as someone he could date?

I should have realized that we were moving too fast, and worst of all, I couldn’t completely blame him because I urged him on.

Angrily, I brushed the tears off my face as they would do nothing for me. I’d asked the universe for a kiss last night and I was granted more than I requested: a romantic night with my crush, and a heartbreak letter the next morning.

What a great way to start the morning.

My phone rang right after I settled into the cab, Alicia being the caller.

“Good morning,” I said flatly, hoping that my aloofness would hide how shaken I was.

“Morning, hottie. Where are you? I searched for you all over the place last night and couldn’t find you. Did you hook up with any guy?” her childish excitement radiated through the phone.

Within me was an intensive struggle to lay down the whole story, but I feared bursting into fresh tears in the cab. “I’ll tell you everything when I get to school. Let’s talk later,” I replied coldly and ended the call.

Getting home and taking a shower was done in less than thirty minutes. I didn’t want to process what I’d just experience. I didn’t even want to talk about it. Now more than ever, I had a good reason not to give any man a chance in my life.

I was back to dressing in my usual nerdy style: donning a pair of glasses that made me look incredibly older than my age, and an old shabby blouse with a bold inscription ‘loneliness is akin to peace of mind’.

My pair of denim jeans was reasonably new and cute enough to salvage the thoughtless outfit I had on.

Gasps of disappointment greeted me when I stepped into the class, but I ignored them, strolling nonchalantly to my seat.

Alicia’s irritation was palpable, but I didn’t think she expected me to dress like a runway fashion model to school everyday?

“Christ! Leona, what the hell are you wearing?” she screamed so loudly, the attention of other students was drawn to us.

“Decent clothes. Do they look like leaves to you?” I replied with equal annoyance.

Her concern was valid because I was so happy with how I’d appeared yesterday and was even thinking about getting new clothes that would suit my new found style, but after reading that stupid note this morning, my energy was watered down.

“At this point, banana leaves would look better on you,” she snorted.

“This is how I want to look, Alicia. This is who I am. Last night was great, but it's gone, and so should everything that happened, including that slutty outfit,” I argued.

The slutty outfit that made Conrad kiss me and dump me within twelve hours. I wanted to add.

Her lips parted, but she held the words, staring at me keenly. “Leona, I want you to be honest with me. What happened last night?”

“Conrad happened.”

A lecturer walked in, preventing me from telling her the rest of the story.

I was sure I heard sounds coming from the lecturer’s mouth, but they didn’t make any sense to me as I kept running through the event of last night. Fortunately, the torturous class ended and I stood up immediately.

“Don’t even think of going anywhere because I’m coming with you,” she came after me.

We’d trudged down the hallway as I relayed the whole incident to her without withholding anything, the frown on her face deepening by the minute.

“How dare he do that to you?” she fumed. “I swear by my late mother’s grave, Leona, I’m going to chop his balls and feed it to him. Who does he think he is to treat you that way? He should be honored that you gave him a piece of your time,”

“Lower your voice, Alicia, people are watching us. Look, I’ve already moved on and you should do the same too. I’m at fault for thinking that someone like him would take me seriously,” I said.

“If I’d known that you would allow your feelings to lead you instead of your head, I wouldn’t have left you alone,” she lamented.

Funny how I was the one comforting her for my own problem. “It’s fine. It has happened already and I’ve moved on. Let’s go to the cafe, I’m starving,”

Reluctantly, she followed me, but I knew that she hadn’t forgotten the matter. As we veered toward the hallway, mocking glances flew in my direction with hushed conversations that had my name ringing in their lips following suit.

I stopped, and Alicia did the same. “Ummm, do I have anything on my face?”

“No. Why?” she asked, looking around, her brows furrowed. “They are staring at you. what’s…”

The question died on her lips as her phone began to beep incessantly. I drew closer, watching her click on one of the notifications.

My jaw dropped, my heart racing as a video of me and Conrad kissing in his room played. I gasped, a terrible storm of fear pooling in the pit of my stomach.

“Oh no, Alicia. Who did this?” I cried