SUGAR - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

I woke up the next morning knowing I had to do damage control as soon as possible. There was no telling what that threat meant but I knew he didn't tell Drew because WWIII didn't kick off when he got back. I went downstairs to get my morning latte and sat by the pool with DJ to think about my next steps. I decided to play nice just to see what he meant by "big mistake".
good morning
Hm, good morning. Didn't expect to hear from you.
i wanted to apologize for throwing my drink on you last night
Worse things have happened. I would also like to apologize for my comment. It was out of line. I didn't mean to offend you.
i just really want to focus on my relationship. why cant you understand that?
Because I want you. And I'll do what it takes to have you.
why me?
Why not you? You keep asking this like you're unsure of yourself.
if i go through with this, will it stop?
Pro ly not lol
im not laughing devon
Neither am I.
i don't get it. you're very attractive and you can have any woman you want ...
Except you. You don't understand what you do to me. Something about you is just very addicting. You're a sweet drug, like .
you're scaring me.
That's not my intention and I'm sorry for that. I never want you to be afraid of me.
not afraid of you, just scared of your actions
I won't do anything to hurt you, Jordyn. You have my word. Just be mine.
I sat, rereading his last message over and over trying to figure out a response but there isn't one. There's no way out of this.
"Good morning to you too," Drew said coming towards me, kissing my forehead before sitting across from me at the table. "We need to talk."
"About?" I asked nervously.
"Last night. I wanted to apologize. I don't know quite remember what happened but I'm sorry if I made you feel like you had to leave."
"That's part of the reason."
"What's the other part?"
"I haven't been completely honest with you and I think it's best that I just tell you now."
"Oh if it's about Slim I already know you know each other," he said unbothered, putting DJ in his lap.
"He told you?"
"I asked. Why you think I'm always up on you when he around? Besides, I know you like the back of my hand, JoJo. I know when you're lying and I know when you're hiding something."
"You're very calm. Why are you calm?"
"Why shouldn't I be? Nothing happened between y'all, right?"
"Right."
"Then there's no issue. Yeah, I was pissed that you lied about not knowing him but I understand why and now we even after that Morgan shit so we can move on."
"How much did he tell you?"
"You keep asking questions like it's something I'm supposed to be mad about."
"Because I know you and you wouldn't be this calm if you knew everything."
"Jo, I know enough. We weren't even together when all that shit happened so its not worth arguing about."
"He's still making passes at me," I confessed.
"I know that too. And I trust you. Like damn, Jordyn, you want me to beat the nigga up or something?"
"Well, yeah," I replied as he busted out laughing.
"Jordyn, I love you. I'm not going nowhere, you not going nowhere. Clearly you not interested so I'm not stressing. If it gets to a point where you feel like you in danger, I'll handle that."
"Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?"
"Shut up and come here," he laughed, making space for me to lay next to him under the umbrella. "And I think you forgot we still have the same passcode."
We both laughed for different reasons: entertainment for him and relief for me. Keeping this a secret for this song was wearing me thin.
One month later ...
After an amazing and much needed summer with my favorite people, it was time to get back to Texas to readjust to life before school started again. Slim hadn't tried reaching out to me after he came back to Houston last month but a part of me just knew that wouldn't last long. I was gonna miss seeing Leah everyday but she promised to visit every other weekend unless something came up. My parents decided to get one of the staff to drive DJ to me after I got settled at home since he wasn't able to get on the plane with us. Not long after I got back, I received a call to come on campus to plead my case for getting my scholarship reinstated for my senior year.
"You look nervous, just relax," Drew said rubbing my shoulders. "They don't have a reason to not accept the appeal."
"I know, its just this is my future. Our future. I need this to work out in my favor."
"Come on, let's pray," he said, grabbing my hands. He gave me a kiss to wish me good luck, sitting to wait for me as I went in.
"Good morning, Ms. Powell," said one of the ladies. "Let's get right into it. Your transcript is very impressive. You've managed to bring your GPA back in the range needed for the scholarship to be reinstated."
"However, we do have some concerns," another one of the ladies spoke up. "We notice you haven't started interning yet. Any particular reason for that?"
"Yes. Well since losing the scholarship I've had to work to pay tuition so it takes up all of my time outside of school. I'm hoping that with my appeal being accepted, I'll be able to resign to fully dedicate my time to my studies."
"And why should we consider accepting your appeal?"
"I'm dedicated and hardworking. I managed to get my GPA back in good standing in a year all while working overnight to ensure my education would be covered. I spent the summer in North Carolina helping my father work on his campaign for DA and also hanging around the office with the other attorneys to learn more about the practice. This is something I've wanted since I was a little girl and there's nothing I want in life more than this."
"Okay. Well thanks for meeting with us today. We'll look over everything and reach out by the end of the week to let you know the status of the appeal."
"Thank you so much. Have a blessed day," I said exiting the room.
"How'd it go?" Drew asked.
"They didn't bring up the video so maybe I'm in the clear. I'm still a bit nervous but I have enough saved up to cover fall semester just in case they deny it."
"What about spring?"
"I'll worry about it once I know their decision."
"I really think you should talk to your parents about it. I don't want you going back to the club after everything that unfolded this summer. Its just not safe."
"If I absolutely have to, I will. I promise."
We walked hand in hand across campus to the student union, discussing plans for senior year and the student mixer the Alphas were planning before classes started when we walk up on Tim sitting with a group of people.
"Tim? What are you doing here?" I asked, reaching out to hug him.
"Hey, what's up y'all? Just getting familiar with some of the students so they know who to come to for a good time."
"You determined to get a bag, I see," Drew laughed, dapping him up.
"You damn right. I'm back home so it's up with me," he chuckled.
"Well hey man we having a mixer in a few days at the frat house if you wanted to stop through."
"Fasho, I'll come through. Just text me the details."
We walked over to a table to sit and talk before I headed back to Spring.
"You know he's going to tell Slim, don't you?" I asked.
"It's an open event, Jo. I can't stand guard at the door policing who comes in and out."
"I feel like you're not taking this seriously at all and its starting to piss me off."
"You're overthinking it. He may not even show up. It's been a month since he's even seen you and he hasn't bothered you. I'm sure he's over it by now," he said confidently, grabbing my hand across the table to comfort me.
Even though I hadn't heard from him, I knew deep down he would jump at any and every opportunity to see me again.