Seven Years of Us, One Year of Me Chapter 02

Seven Years of Us, One Year of Me Chapter 02

The change began in sophomore year of college.

He joined the student council’s outreach department and met Madeline Hayes.

Madeline Hayes was a campus ambassador, one year above him.

She was pretty, charming, able to drink, and very good at getting sponsors.

The first time Adrian mentioned her was one night during the fall semester of sophomore year.

“We landed a sponsor today, so the department chair treated us to dinner. Madeline Hayes drank eight bottles of beer and got the sponsor drunk first.”

He said it with a smile.

There was a kind of admiration in his voice I had never heard before.

“That’s impressive.”

I was doing homework at the time, so I responded without thinking much of it.

After that, he mentioned Madeline more and more.

“Madeline said this barbecue place is good.”

“Madeline got into an argument with a sponsor today and won.”

“Madeline broke up with her boyfriend. We had a department dinner and drank with her for a bit.”

Madeline Hayes became Madeline.

I didn’t know when it started.

By the time I noticed, it was already too late.

One day, I went to the student council office to find him.

The door to his office wasn’t fully closed, and I heard laughter inside.

Madeline’s voice.

“Adrian West, you idiot. You don’t even know how to make a PowerPoint?”

“You never taught me.”

“I did. You’re the one who’s dumb.”

I pushed the door open.

The two of them were sitting in front of the computer, very close together.

Madeline’s finger tapped around on the screen while he tilted his head up to look at her, smiling.

I knew that smile.

That was the way he had smiled on the basketball court freshman year.

When he saw me, he stood up.

“Why are you here?”

“Just passing by.”

Madeline turned back and looked at me, then smiled.

“Your girlfriend? She’s pretty.”

Her tone was polite.

But that kind of politeness made people uncomfortable.

It was like she was complimenting an object.

Later, I asked him, “Are you and Madeline Hayes close?”

“Just friends.”

He looked down at his phone and didn’t lift his head.

I didn’t ask again.

In the spring semester of sophomore year, he started replying to my messages late.

Before, he replied instantly.

He even replied secretly during class.

Once, a professor caught him, and he had to write an apology note. The next day, he still replied during class.

Later, he replied after ten minutes.

Then half an hour.

Then several hours.

When I asked what he was busy with, he said student council work.

I said okay.

One night, I waited for him to have dinner.

I waited until seven.

I messaged him. No reply.

I called. No answer.

At eight, he sent one message.

In a meeting.

I typed three words.

Have you eaten?

Then I deleted them.

I typed two more words.

Okay, I’ll eat first.

That day, I went to the dining hall alone.

It was almost closed.

All the food was cold.

In the fall of junior year, I saw a photo on his phone.

He had gone to shower, and his phone was on the desk.

The screen lit up.

Madeline Hayes had sent him a message.

Thanks for today.

I stared at that message for a few seconds.

Then I scrolled up.

I found a photo of them together.

At karaoke, Madeline was leaning on his shoulder, asleep.

He was looking at her.

The smile at the corner of his mouth was exactly the same as the one from the basketball court freshman year.

The photo was taken at two in the morning.

That night, he had told me he was busy with student council work.

I put the phone back on the desk.

When he came out of the shower, he was drying his hair.

“Want to eat together tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

He lay down and fell asleep quickly.

I lay beside him with my eyes open.

The scent of his body wash was the same as before.

But suddenly, it felt unfamiliar.

Six years.

For the first time, I felt like the person lying beside him was not me.