Chapter 8
Patience never knew how long it was to the
house Michael had bought in Ann Arbor. She had been there a couple times for a
swim team party but never expected to be running there.
But then, she never expected to have an epiphany about an
Olympic swimmer. She always dreamed of meeting one, not thinking about how one
of them made her feel.
But, wasn't that what college was about, your whole life
changing? Hers certainly had since she went to college. Her time in community
college the year before had not been like this. Something about moving away from
home instantly made your whole life turn upside down, and the things you seemed
to have come to expect seem to change.
She raced up to his front door, seeing Michael's Escalade in
the driveway out of the corner of her eye. She stopped at the door and started
pounding on it.
The front door slowly opened, as Michael stood there, looking
sleepy. "Patience?" He asked.
"I know this is very last minute, but I was wondering if we
could talk." Patience said.
"Sure, come on in." Michael said, as Patience followed him
in.
They stood there for a second, both of them looking at each
other. "You wanted to talk?" He asked, breaking the silence.
"Oh, yeah." She said, as she stared at the ground and then
back up at him. "Look, Heather and I got into this fight about how I was
treating you. And, she said about how I've always been mean to you, and I
realized that she was right. And then she said something about me liking you,
and it took me going for a walk to realize…" Patience said, as a brunette joined
them.
She was wrapped just in a towel, causing Patience's sentence
to slowly stop. "I realized that I was right all along." Patience said, looking
from the brunette to Michael.
"Mike?" The brunette said.
"Oh, she even calls you Mike. Has her toothbrush moved in yet
or is that next weekend?" Patience said, as she started for the door.
"Patience! Wait!" Michael called after her.
"I can see my sorry ass out. But you better watch yours
before I end up kicking it." Patience said, turning to face him.
Michael stopped, watching her walk out the door.
Patience jogged back to the tree she had leaned up against
earlier. She looked at it for a second and then started crying.
****************************************
They staid away from each other until November. Bob Bowman
has asked Patience and Heather to come with the swim team when they went to
Maryland for a swim meet, to play team managers. Heather went along from the
get-go. Patience had to be coaxed into it.
That was when Greg knew something was up. Patience wasn't the
same Patience he had met that night before school started. Ever since karaoke,
she had changed a little too. She had become more worrisome about Michael.
That's why it always bothered her about his random hook-ups.
But, ever since that day in October when she had returned to
the dorms crying after running to Michael's house and back, she had seemed to
have been a shell of herself. She didn't go to as many parties; she avoided
hanging out with the swim team. It wasn't his same Patience.
She would hang out with them ever so often. But, the exact
moment Michael came anywhere near them, she left. She made some lame excuse and
walked off. Even if he ended up walking past them to some other building or to
some other group of people wanting to say hi, she'd still leave.
The trip to Maryland was quiet. Patience wasn't talking to
anyone, just burying herself in a new Nicholas Sparks book. Heather was trying
to talk to her, while Paul was trying to Michael, who kept ignoring everyone
while he listened to music. Bob kept telling himself that Michael was just
trying to hype himself up for the meet. But, he honestly knew that something was
up with Michael. Bob just hoped that the guy he had coached since he was a child
wouldn't let that influence his swimming.
****************************************
The meet went rather well. Michael had held true to Bob's
hope, not letting whatever was going on bother him. And, that seemed to have
pepped up the rest of the team.
They all returned to the hotel rooms they were staying in
after the meet. Bob made sure they knew what time they planned to leave the next
day, and then he left for his room. Some of the older team members made a run to
the convenience store and picked up some beer, which ended up passed around the
hotel rooms.
Somehow, the team ended up in at a bar nearby to hang out at.
And, they were having fun. It was the first time since the fight that Michael
and Patience had been in the same room with each other and made any signs of
having fun or smiling. So, everyone was enjoying the time out.
Greg kept a close eye on Patience and Michael, who still were
trying to avoid each other. He liked it that way. Sure, he and Patience never
fully said they were dating, but they had been hanging out a lot more since that
first party.
She watched as Michael came and sat down by where Patience
was sitting. She turned quickly away from him, but then he forced her to turn
around. She looked like she really didn't want to talk, but as a slow song
started playing; she got up with Michael and started dancing.
Patience wasn't sure what was making her dance with Michael.
Maybe it was the musky smell of his cologne… was he even wearing cologne? She
wasn't sure if he had put cologne on after the meet. But, he smelt nice.
Maybe it was the beers they had drunk. She knew they had some
at the hotel, and the pitchers seemed to keep coming while they were here. And,
somehow, the beers in her and the smell of his cologne seemed like a very good
excuse to dancing with a man she swore she'd never talk to again.
She listened softly as a corny romance song played on the stereo system, and
then thought of how interesting that she was dancing here with Michael.
Or, at least she was. She was now standing apart from him,
with Greg in between them. "She's mine Phelps! You have the attention of every
other girl at school, why do you need hers?" Greg asked, trying to keep his
anger in check.
"Greg, we never said we were dating." Patience said.
"So what? You're keeping me around for random events when you
needed to show up Michael?" Greg asked, as Michael's face fell.
Patience watched Michael walk back to the table and pick up
keys. She didn't even want to think of what was going on. "Michael!" She called,
racing after him.
"I don't want to hear about this Patience." Michael said, as
he started for the door.
"You go out there and you could kill somebody. You're close
to wasted." Patience said.
"She was my sister. That brunette at my house? That was my
sister. That was my fucking sister!" Michael said. "But you don't care do you?
You have Greg to run to whenever you get tired of playing with me, don't you?"
He said.
"It's never been like that." Patience said.
"Why should I believe you? I'm just some egotistical nineteen
year old to you? I'm a form of a college pimp." Michael said.
Patience felt tears welling up in her eyes. "I hope you get
arrested for being a son of a bitch." She said, fighting tears.
"I'll see you later." He said, walking out the front door of
the bar.
Patience watched him walk out, feeling the presence of
someone else next to her. She turned, seeing Heather and Paul standing there
with her. She turned and cried on her friend's shoulder.