In the Air (The City Book 1) - By Crystal Serowka Page 0,12

touched. Ignoring her, I glared at Natalia.

"We meet again, Dorothy."

She glared at me. "That's not my–"

"I could have sworn you said you were from Kansas." I replied as I stumbled and fell into Natalia. She put her arms out just in time to keep us both from ending up on the ground.

"Illinois, not Kansas. You are aware that those are two different states, right?" Natalia asked condescendingly.

"I may be drunk, but I've never been stupid." I started chuckling at my cleverness. I really needed to lie down before I passed out right here on this dirty sidewalk. "It was nice talking to you, Kansas. Girl-Who-Doesn't-Know-How-To-Dress, we'll meet again." I climbed the stairs slowly, hoping I would remember which room I lived in.

Stepping into my dorm room made me miss my spacious bedroom back home. The plus side to this place was that my father couldn't barge in whenever he felt the need. My roommate wasn't there, so I undressed freely and lay across the bed. I dialed Aubrey's number and with each ring, I knew she was looking at her screen, debating whether or not she wanted to answer.

"What do you want, Samson?" She sighed loudly into the phone, trying her hardest to disguise her pain. Hurting Aubrey was never my intention. My heart had been playing a game of tug of war. One minute, happiness was winning, spreading through my body, knowing I was lucky enough to have her in my life. The next minute, I was treading the mud and rocks, working hard to keep my footing and not fall off the cliff.

"Do you remember when we used to go to my tree house late at night? We would get in so much trouble being out past dark. Our parents would come running out to the yard, yelling for us. They always knew we were up there, hiding from the world." A smile crept on my lips as I stretched my legs out on the mattress.

"You wouldn't ever let me go when I needed to. You'd always convince me that we needed to spend five more minutes together, even though we had just spent the entire day with each other." Aubrey's voice lightened up and I knew she was smiling. "You always made those last five minutes worth all of the groundings."

"You definitely made it worthwhile, too," I said. For a moment, all I wanted to do was pack my bags and go home to be with her, but this side of Aubrey wouldn't last long. Silence filled the air and I knew she was waiting for me to speak again. "I wish you were here, lying next to me." My arm brushed the empty space of the bed and I longed for her warm body to fill it.

"I wish you were home," Aubrey said quietly.

I thought back to being in the tree house with Aubrey. We'd lie next to each other on our backs and discuss our future together. She'd tell me all about her dream wedding and I'd listen, noting all the things she wanted. I was determined to make her dreams come true. But then she changed. I changed. We changed. Now, the only thing I wanted was to feel whole again, with or without her.

"You're never going be okay with me living here, are you?" I asked her. I already knew the answer. If it had nothing to do with Aubrey, she'd never accept it.

"It's not that, Samson. I just wish you could have found a school closer to me." Just as I thought.

"Juilliard has always been my dream. You knew that."

"Right. Looks like all your dreams came true then." Aubrey's words cut deep, making me feel like I'd done something wrong. I needed to change the subject.

"I went to Jay's tonight and hung out with him and Wren. It was good seeing those guys."

"Good for you. You don't have to tell me that you're wasted because I'm well aware of that fact. Did any girls give you their phone numbers?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not wasted," I lied. "No girls gave me their phone numbers. I wouldn't have taken them even if they had tried." I turned over in bed, waiting for Aubrey to reply. When she didn't say anything, I continued, "Tell me about your day. How were classes?"

As I adjusted my position in bed, my thoughts drifted to Natalia. As uptight as she seemed, I couldn't help but think of her long, lean legs as she did a pirouette. I found