She felt anger and bile rise within her, and her heart beat so fast as it dawned on her that Ivan was protecting Amy because of Steph.
Yes, it made perfect sense Ivan had never defended any other lady. He rather enjoyed it when they fought.
"Are you defending her because of Steph? Do you really love her so much?" Camila asked in hurt, and Chloe looked up with interest, her attention suddenly pricked.
"What if I am?" Ivan asked, and a few students broke into a fit of laughter.
"I'll be back to deal with you," she cursed under her breath as she stormed away. A few meters away, Dylan was starting his car.
"What's going on there?" He asked Camila, who hurriedly rushed to sit and hug him tightly.
"I wanted to know, but I decided it's not worth it. I have had harassing lectures. Can we just rush home and do something fun?" Camila asked with a smirk.
Dylan blushed in embarrassment.
Intimacy was one of the reasons he had easily fallen for Camila. After his argument with Amy before Ms. Hill and Steph, he was feeling worn out and dejected.
He had rushed to his rented hostel, where he locked himself in to try to catch some sleep and forget about his worries, but a few minutes later, his roommate Craig walked in and powered on the music system as though he was in the room alone.
"Hey, buddy. I'm trying to sleep," Dylan called out when he woke up.
"My bad, bro. I didn't intend to wake you up," Craig apologetically answered as he reduced the high volume.
"No prob," Dylan said as he got down from the bed and went to sit next to Craig.
"Why are you around here at this time?" He asked, and Craig looked at him as if he had grown another head.
"Why are you here?" Craig answered with a question.
"Aren't you going to your normal place? I would like to come along," Dylan suggested as he held his throbbing head.
He heard his phone chime, and he instantly guessed it was a text from Amy.
He felt disappointment wash over him as he had expected that she at least follows him and try to make things right.
"I'm…not going today. Finances are quite low. Maybe tomorrow," Craig answered with a lot of hope, and Dylan patted him on the shoulder and shrugged as he said, "Strange. I mean, you always have money set aside for that. You would rather drink than eat."
Craig chuckled slowly and said, "I haven't gotten some of my payments yet."
"You're sure you can do without alcohol today?" Dylan asked with a lot of curiosity, remembering too well the struggle they had at home with his alcoholic father, Johnson, who spent all his money on drinks and even got into debt.
"I'll try to. I mean, it's just a day, right?" Craig argued, and Dylan nodded in partial agreement.
He thought of how his father was an addict who couldn't sleep if he hadn't drunk alcohol and wondered if Craig really knew what he was talking about.
He knew if Craig managed to sleep without drinking, he would compensate the next day by staying in the pub the whole day.
"I'll pay the bill. Let's go and grab some drinks," Dylan said out of the blue.
"Wait, what?" Craig asked in shock, and Dylan shrugged as he answered that he just wanted to live a little and break free from all that was holding him, hostage.
After a little persuasion, the two got into Dylan's car and drove to the pub Craig had suggested.
"I don't understand this. What happened?" Craig asked as they sat and ordered their drinks. "Why are you also drinking? You have never done this, however pressured you are."
Of course, he had to be curious, given he knew how strongly Dylan condemned those who drank and smoked.
"I just want to live a little. Besides, once won't hurt, right?" Dylan said as he opened the bottle and sipped the contents. He shut his eyes and swallowed it since he found it bitter.
"Uh, this hasn't always been your idea of living a little. What happened to your beliefs and faith?" Craig pressed on as he pushed away his drink, interested in a good story instead.
He was human enough to care about what was bothering Dylan, the friend who had been by his side since their freshman year.
"Can we just drink and talk later?" Dylan asked as he sipped his drink, shutting his eyes tighter with each sip he took.
It's not that he never had drunk alcohol. He used to drink his dad's and add water to fool him.
He had only stopped and vowed never to drink again after his father was bedridden after a liver cirrhosis diagnosis.