Sinful Purity (Sinful Series) (14 page)

“Hello, Sister. I was just leaving church with my family when I saw Mary Elizabeth over here,” Caleb responded nonchalantly, not at all nervous in Sister Christine’s presence. I wished I could be that cool under pressure. What a gift he had—or maybe he just didn’t care. Either way, he was extremely at ease.

“You know Mary Elizabeth?” inquired Sister Christine.

“Yes, Mother,” I responded quickly, trying to edit the conversation. “We have two classes together.”

“Oh, really?” Sister Christine was now more than a little curious.

“Yes, Sister,” Caleb said. “Liz has been a great help. I might even pass this term thanks to her.”

I couldn’t believe he’d just admitted to Sister Christine that he was failing his courses, or at least that he had failed previous ones. She was not going to take this news well. It was like a train wreck waiting to happen, and I had the perverse privilege of a front row seat. All I had to do was sit and wait, hoping that I wouldn’t be an accidental casualty. But nothing happened.

“Good afternoon, then, Caleb. Do tell your grandfather hello for me,” Sister Christine said as she and the sisters departed.

I was shocked and amazed. Sister Christine had never even flushed. I knew she was controlled, but I had never seen anything to that extent. I had a whole new respect for Caleb. He had tamed the savage beast.

“I’d better get inside. I’ll see you tomorrow in class, Caleb.” I was nervous about the time I had spent out here while the sisters were inside waiting. I imagined Sister Christine fuming at her defeat and setting a trap for me in retaliation.

“No problem, I’ll let myself out.” Caleb left, shutting the gates behind him.

When I entered MIQ’s dining hall, the sisters were already serving the children lunch. I immediately threw myself into the task at hand,
successfully avoiding Sister Christine’s wrath. To my relief, she went about her duties without even a second glance in my direction.

On the walk home, my mind began to wander like it had a tendency to do. I kept thinking back to how unbelievable it was to see Caleb at St. Matthew’s, on a Sunday no less. Sister Christine’s reaction was priceless. I had never see her so powerless. Caleb was totally comfortable, like the whole situation was no big deal. Maybe it was just me. Maybe it wasn’t a big deal at all. It was possible I’d overreacted. I’d tried to conceal my connection to MIQ and St. Matthew’s so completely that I must have let the anxiety get the best of me. No matter how I tried, though, I couldn’t shake the image of Mother Superior. She was so careful with her words and actions, almost as if she feared Caleb. What a ludicrous thought. Caleb was nothing to fear. Then there was that whole “tell your grandfather I said hello” thing. I couldn’t deny that was odd.

By the time I got back to my room, it was nearly two in the afternoon. I was exhausted. I wasn’t sure if it was the long walk home or the overana-lyzing that had taxed me so much. I sat down at my desk and entrenched myself in my schoolwork. I decided it would probably take all night, but I was going to get caught up. I’d never imagined how demanding college life would be.

The school week had progressed nicely. I felt like I had found my groove. My schedule was becoming easier to maintain. On Wednesday Caleb wasn’t in class. I hadn’t seen him in Catholic traditions that morning, nor was he there at lunch. Lucy and I sat at our corner table in the cafeteria as usual. Like me, Lucy enjoyed people-watching. She said you could learn everything you wanted to know about a person by watching how they interacted. Our people-watching was in full swing today. Lucy and I were observing the cutest couple. You could tell they were newly in love. They sat close, their bodies turned inward toward each other until their knees were touching. When they talked, they leaned closer, completely captivated by what the other had to say.

Our envy was cut short by the track team’s thunderous entrance. They were all loud, dumb-jock types who were way too obnoxious and conceited to be taken seriously. Leading the rowdy lot of miscreants was none other than Bartlett, the king of jackasses and bane of my existence. If Lucy was correct and you could tell everything about a person by the way they behaved, then I knew without a doubt that I would never want to know
another thing about Bartlett. His very presence made me ill. I couldn’t leave the cafeteria and get away from him fast enough. Even Lucy noticed I was in a rush.

We walked into anatomy and waited at our station for the class to begin. I kept looking at the door and then at the clock, wondering if Caleb would be making it to his afternoon class.

“Hey, Lucy, do you know where Caleb is? I haven’t seen him all day.” I worried that maybe he was ill.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I’m sooo sorry. He gave me this to give ya.” Lucy pulled a small piece of paper from her bag. It looked like it had been torn from a notebook, its confetti-like edge still clinging on. “I’m so glad you reminded me. He would have killed me if I forgot. Something about a big test tomorrow and you being the only one who could save ’im.”

“Oh, yeah. There’s an exam in our Catholic traditions class.” I opened the note which had been haphazardly folded in half.

Hey Liz
,


I couldn’t be at school today. I had something to do. Would you bring your religion notes by my room tonight? I really need to study
.


Fischer Hall


Room 420


Thanks a lot. I’ll owe you one
.


-
Caleb


“Hey, Lucy. Do you know where Fischer Hall is?” I was still not all that familiar with the campus.

“Oh, yeah. It’s the brand-new dorm on the edge of campus. Actually, it’s only like four buildings over from here. It’s also the only co-ed dorm on campus.” Lucy was way more informative than I had expected. But that was Lucy, talkative and informative. If she knew, she’d tell you.

“Thanks. I didn’t realize there were more buildings on this side of campus. I thought that this science building was the last.”

“Oh, no, honey. There are several more buildings. There’s the new library, that’s right next to us. Then there is the political science building.
If you take the path down the hill it’ll drop you into a li’l valley. That’s where the sports fields are. Right beside those are the three new dorms, Bradford Hall, Keller Hall, and Fischer Hall. It’s the last one. The new dorms are really nice. They’re like a hotel—all dorm rooms, no classrooms or admin offices, just floor after floor of new larger, cleaner rooms. Caleb really lucked out.”

“Wow, Lucy, you should be a tour guide.”

“I know, right?” Lucy beamed, pleased with the compliment.

“After class I’m going to run over there and drop off my notes for him. I just have to pick them up from my dorm room first. Do you want to come?”

“Oh, I can’t,” Lucy said. “I have a meeting with the parking office. I’m trying to get a permit so I can park my car on campus.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

When class was over, I said goodbye to Lucy and hurried back to my room. I had Mass and confession tonight over at St. Matthew’s, so I didn’t have much time. It would take at least thirty-five minutes to walk from the school to St. Matthew’s, leaving twenty minutes to find Caleb’s dorm and go over the notes quickly. I figured if I hurried, I’d just make it in time.

Lucy’s directions were perfect, but Caleb’s dorm was farther than I expected. I hoped he wouldn’t mind if I didn’t stay to look through the notes with him. I didn’t want to be late for church.

When I got to Caleb’s room, I could hear music blaring from inside—heavy drums, electric guitars, and screaming. It sounded exactly like Caleb looked. At least I knew he was home. I knocked on the door but there was no answer. I knocked again, louder this time. I was running out of time and I knew he was never going to hear me over the noise. Out of time and out of patience, I lost it and kicked the door with my foot, making a large thud. Caleb must have heard me because he turned the music down. Regaining my composure, I knocked again.

“Caleb?” I called.

“Just a sec.”

The door finally opened. I was ready to hand Caleb the notes and run. The only problem was it wasn’t Caleb. Standing before me taking up nearly the entire doorway was my arch nemesis, Bartlett.

“Oh, I must have the wrong room,” I said, dismayed and more than a little aggravated by his presence.

“Oooh, Queen Elizabeth. I’m so honored,” he mocked, falling into his tired routine.

“Look, I don’t have time for this. And get some new jokes. They stink,” I retorted. Livid that I’d been forced to speak to him, I stormed off down the hallway.

“Hey, wait. You’ve got the right room,” he called after me. I walked hastily, never slowing down to acknowledge him.

“Hey, wait. This is stupid. I’m on the track team,” he yelled, running up behind me.

“What, you’re going to run me down again?” I shouted, enraged by his insufferable attitude.

“Hey, stop.” He grabbed my arm and yanked me around.

“Get your hands off me!” I shrieked, anger rising up inside of me in a way I hadn’t felt since my early playground brawling days at the orphanage. I knew I was going to completely lose my temper at any moment.

“Okay, okay. Easy. Look, Caleb told me you were coming. I just didn’t hear you over the music.” He spoke slowly and purposefully, trying to calm me. But I was too irate to be calmed.

“Well, Caleb didn’t tell me about you!”

“Come on, don’t be that way.”

“Don’t you tell me how to be! Just give these to Caleb.” I remained rigid in my hatred as I tossed the notes at him.

Papers were still fluttering to the floor as I shoved open the stairway door. Bartlett just stood in the hall, dumbfounded, as I stomped off.

I won that one
.

I was certain it’d be a long time before he forgot that altercation. Maybe now he’d leave me alone and stop mocking me in class. I was still angry but it felt good. I felt empowered.

On the long walk over to St. Matthew’s, I lost some of my fury. Concern and embarrassment replaced it. I had to go to confession tonight. Ugh, the thought that I was going to have to sit there and tell Father Brennigan about my childish outburst was unbearable. Anger was one of the seven deadly sins, sometimes referred to as mortal sins. I knew I would have to confess. I just didn’t want to. I blamed Bartlett.

The next day was Thursday. Caleb was back in class. The religion test took the whole ninety minutes of class time, so I didn’t have a chance to ask him if his ass of a roommate had given him the notes. I finished a few
minutes earlier than he did, so I waited. Every passing minute only enforced the idea that Bartlett had never given Caleb the notes. He’d probably sat there with his buddies cackling as he burned the papers. After about ten minutes, Caleb finally exited the class.

“Hey, did you get my notes last night?” I asked, waiting for my worst fears to be affirmed.

“Yeah, and I hear you had a run-in with my roommate.” Caleb laughed like it was the funniest thing ever.

“Well, it’s your fault. You didn’t tell me you had a roommate or that you weren’t going to be there. You definitely didn’t tell me
he
was your roommate.” I felt the anger take hold of me again.

“I know, I know. I should have warned you. I thought I would be back in time. And really there was no way for me to know how much you disliked him.”

“I told you! I told you I hated him when we were sitting in the cafeteria. And you laughed at me.”

“Okay, but I didn’t think you were serious. No girl hates Zack Bartlett. He’s kind of a big deal around here.” Caleb was smug, smirking at me and acting almost impressed at the thought of Bartlett’s reputation.

“I’m a girl, aren’t I? And I’m telling you I hate him. He’s the biggest jerk in the world. Him and his muscle-bound followers.”

“All right, I’m sorry. This is just a first, that’s all. No more Zack. I promise.” Caleb made a little cross-his-heart motion that was completely incongruent with his punked-out, lost-cause look.

“Good. Let’s go get Lucy for lunch,” I said, changing the subject to something more pleasant.

After lunch and anatomy, I went to western civilizations. I was actually looking forward to the class for a change. I was dying to know if Bartlett would have the nerve to make fun of me again after the lashing I’d given him last night. Mr. Jacarse called roll as usual, but this time there was no comment. Nothing could be heard but the sound of my voice acknowledging my attendance. Yes, I had won. I sat blissfully through the rest of the class, basking in my victory.

When it was time to leave, I stood up and gathered my things. As I started to step into the aisle, Bartlett and his friends walked past me. I kept my gaze firmly fixed on my purpose. I wasn’t going to let my face give him anything. Once they had passed, I looked up, only to see Bartlett looking
back at me with an understated smile. Why was he smiling at me? What gave him the right to do that? I was the one who’d won. He wasn’t allowed to smile at me. I could feel the loathing bubble up to the surface. I was so glad my day was over.

Friday morning came and went. Lunchtime rolled around and Lucy, Caleb, and I were back at our usual table, enjoying our usual small talk. Suddenly Caleb straightened up and an excited look crossed his face.

“What are you girls doing tonight?” he asked with anticipation.

“I don’t have anythin’ on my calendar, darlin’. How ’bout you, Liz?” Lucy asked politely.

“I was just going to study.”

“You can’t study, it’s Friday night. There’s this pub I was thinking about going to tonight. Would you ladies like to join me?” Caleb offered with perfect manners. I was sure he was trying to impress Lucy.

“Absolutely, darlin’. Well, Liz, it looks like we have our first evenin’ out.” Excitement filled Lucy’s voice.

“I don’t know if I should go to a pub.”

“Of course you should. Don’t worry, no one from St. Matthew’s will catch you,” Caleb assured as if he was giving me permission. “It’s not their type of place.”