My boyfriend and I go to the same college, and one of the things I enjoy most is sharing a room with him. Sharing a bed. I hoped living together would improve our relationship, which has grown rocky as of late. But he's the jealous type, and I always seem to say or do the wrong thing at the wrong time. I don't mean to provoke him; sometimes I just don't think how my actions might hurt him. Unfortunately, our roommate only sees us when we're at our worst, so she thinks things are bad between us. When he's angry enough at me to kick me out of bed and I have to sleep on the couch. When he snaps at me for flirting with her, even though he knows I don't mean anything by it. She never sees how wonderful he is to me sometimes, or how perfect we can be together when we're alone. I hope her misplaced concern won't come between us. Or maybe it'll be my own stupidity that tears us apart.

I'll Take the Rain

Finally he presses his cheek against my shoulder and says, “She thinks we should spend some time apart.”


The words, so soft, cut into me like razors, and I bite back a sob. The pain behind my eyes flares to life again. Fearfully, I ask, “Is that what you think?”


Please don’t leave me,I add silently.


“I think she should mind her own goddamn business,” he replies, a little harsh. Then, as if the thought just occurs to him, he asks, “Did you tell her to talk to me? Is that why you didn’t want to tell me what she said?”


I turn in his arms. His face is unreadable, even this close, but I press my forehead against his and stare into the depths of his dark eyes, trying to see into them, through them, into his mind. “I wouldn’t…you can’t think that.” My words are breathless with worry. “No, no. Why would I do that? Did she say I told her?”


He studies me a moment longer, not quite frowning, then shakes his head as if to dispel the notion. “You know I love you—”


Chapter 9