Read Online Time Skip by Craig L. Seymour - Free Book Online Page A

a feeling of self-loathing. He was the architect of his own trouble and he knew it. And that was how he lived the remainder of that semester. He was a miserable wreck. Life now droned on miserably, punctuated by occasional phone calls from his beloved, where he held onto a glimmer of hope that Dave would still have his head turned by some vamp. But, each call only confirmed the solidity of their relationship.
    Christmas break came, and Lovelle went home. He arranged to see Katie for lunch on the day after New Years. He had wanted to see her sooner so that he might spend more time with her, but, any other time would have meant being with Dave as well. As it was, he arranged to meet her at a restaurant so he wouldn’t risk running in to him. Lovelle arrived early to get the table and sat waiting for what seemed like forever. Finally he saw her walk in with the biggest grin on her face. For a moment he thought that maybe she was really excited to see him. Then she held up her hand and waved her glittering new engagement ring at him. Through sheer force of will he kept the smile on his face. As she sat down he congratulated her, and without hesitation she launched into the tale of her romantic New Years Eve, and Dave’s proposal at the stroke of twelve.
    As she spoke, Lovelle’s mouth began to dry and his palms began to sweat. He had to pull his hands off of the table when they started shaking. He was having a small panic attack. When she had finished her story, and took what seemed to be her first breath in five minutes, she looked at him, puzzled. “Are you all right Curtis? You look a little out of it.”
    “I’m okay,” he lied, trying to seem like he was.
    She wasn’t buying it, “Come on. Something’s bothering you.”
    “Girl trouble.” he confessed.
    “Aww… you still haven’t hooked up with your dream girl?”
    “No. She’s taken. I got shot out of the water.” he selectively told her the truth.
    “Oh sweetie,” she said sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”
    He nodded and shrugged. “What are ya gonna do?” He said, and then thought, Other than stick your head in an oven .
    “I guess it’s a good time for you to move on. You deserve to be happy. You’re such a loyal guy. You’re gonna be an awesome husband for whoever is lucky enough to get you.”
    Katie was just so nice to him, which only made him hurt more.
    “I don’t know if I can move on. I’ve been living my life around the idea of being with her for so long now.”
    “How long have you known her?”
    “More years than I can remember.”
     
    *****
    Lovelle cried himself to sleep that night, and a lot of nights after that. Back at school, Trina noticed that he had taken a turn for the worse and immediately lifted her embargo on affection towards him. But, she was only minimally helpful. He spilled his guts and told her that he was in love with an unavailable woman. She never said as much to Lovelle, but she assumed that he was in love with the idea of Katie. What else could someone be in love with in a person they had never dated? Had never shared their intimate thoughts with. Had never been intimate with. What else could Trina have thought? He could never tell her that their love was tested and true and precious and all that he wanted in life, and that he wanted to curse whoever or whatever it was that had taken her from him.
    Katie tried to be supportive from afar. In any other circumstance she would have been the ideal person to help him. She had been his rock of support so many times before. But now, she was simply salt in his wounds. He loved her for caring for him. But, if he couldn’t have her, then he couldn’t tolerate talking to her. Yet he couldn’t cut off contact with her because she had done nothing wrong. In fact, she was doing everything a good friend should do. All he could do was selectively screen his calls to keep the torture to a minimum.
    Trina was fully aware of what he was going through. She told him time and