A Tangled Web

Bam! A loud sound woke George up from his dream. Lex and Alex had arrived back from the police station in a sorry state. When they saw George lying on his bed, sleeping soundly, they couldn't contain their anger any longer.

Alex violently kicked the table in the corner of the room. "You have some nerve to just be here, getting some sleep." Alex said.

George dropped his eyes and sat up. "Why shouldn't I sleep?"

"You bastard! You've caused us so much trouble. Terry didn't have the money to pay the bills, so we ended up at the police station. We almost didn't get out of spending a night in jail," Alex yelled.

"Oh, and what does that have to do with me?" George sneered. "What? Terry was the one who couldn't afford to settle up the bill. And you're trying to blame me?"

"If it wasn't for you, would we have owed that much money in the first place. We're your roommates. You should help look out for us." Alex growled in response.

"Alex, chill, stop talking, sit down and calm down," Lex advised.

"Ha!" George sneered. They wanted him to treat them well, these guys who had never had his back when he needed them.

Seeing that George was not feeling guilty at all, Lex rounded on him. "We misjudged you. We thought of you like a brother and you treated us like we're nothing. I guess people really do change."

Matt had witnessed the entire development of the situation and how Lex and Alex were treating George. He could not help but speak up for his friend. "George didn't do anything wrong. He invited everyone to dinner out of Goodwill and you guys messed up."

"Piss off. What's this even got to do with you, Matt?" Lex scolded.

Matt's face turned ugly as he pursed his lips. "It's your fault you got in trouble. George treated us to a meal and you two are acting like jerks."

"Matt, do you want your ass kicked?" Alex asked angrily, raising a fist menacingly.

"Terry must have asked for money from all of you," George pointed out. "And you guys don't have any money, so you set your sights on me."

Lex and Alex froze as they started George waiting to see if he would help them out. But he just sneered. "You made your own mistake. I don't have any money on me right now. And even if I did, I wouldn't give you 1 cent."

"What? You don't have anything to help us out with? How can that be?" Alex said in the panic.

Before he could continue, Lex quickly used his hand to cover his friend's mouth. "Shut up, stop talking. He's lying. Don't be fooled." Alex shut his mouth obediently.

"George, we really need you to help us out here."

Lex was about to plead their case again when he was interrupted by a ring tone. George's phone was ringing. It was Alice. A look of disgusted appeared in George's eyes as he hung up without any hesitation.

"George, we..." Lex still wanted to explain, but he was interrupted by the phone going off again.

George hung up without answering a second time. And the third and more. By the sixth consecutive call though, he realized he had no choice, but to pick up the call.

"Who is it?" He snapped planning to pretend he didn't know who she was. But that all changed when he heard her panicked plea for help.

"George, save me. There's these guys. They tried to jump me, but I got away. I'm hiding out near the main campus gates."

George frowned and said, "Wait, what happened? Hey! Hey!" But the line went dead. George quickly got ready to head out. Even though he and Alice were broken up, it didn't mean that he wanted anything to happen to her.

"George, what happened?" Matt asked in concerned.

"Alice is in trouble. I'm going to make sure she's okay." George replied in a concerned tone.

Matt's expression also turned serious. "I'll go with you."

"George, do you want us to go as well?" Lex said. Alex hardly interrupted.

"What are you thinking, Lex? George doesn't even see you as a friend. Why are you still trying to be nice to him?"

"Thanks. But you guys don't need to go. I'll go with Matt." George looked at Alex coldly and strewed out.

"Do you see that? He doesn't want our help anyway, so you shouldn't blindly go and get in more trouble." Alex said.

Lex thought about it and decided not to follow.

Alice was waiting near the main gates of the Harrison campus. She was wearing a V-neck dress, had heavy makeup on her face, and was gripping her phone tightly. She was waiting for George, who she hoped had been tricked by her call. She didn't know if he would be fooled and come to save her.

Earlier, Alice and her roommates, Mary and Lisa, had come out of the police station wanting to rush back to the school to pick up some of their stuff, but they found the gates already closed. They wouldn't open again until 6:00 the next morning.

When they got home, Mary and Lisa spent ages talking about how funny, witty, and generous George was. Alice closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. In reality, she was thinking about George too. And the more she thought about it, the more upset she became. If she had known George would suddenly become this big shot, she wouldn't have broken up with him so hastily. From what it seemed like now, he would have happily ended up spending most of his money on her.

So a little while before school was due to reopen in the morning, Alice sneaked out and back to the campus gates where she called George. Ten minutes passed and no one appeared. She was getting impatient from waiting and the anxious thoughts filled her mind. "Why hasn't he come yet? Could he really just be done with me and not care about my life or death?"

But a couple of minutes later, she saw him running toward her and she heartly shouted out. "George, you came! I knew you would come. You must still have me in your heart, right?"

"Alice, are you all right? Where are those guys who were after you? Where did they go?" Matt asked curiously.

Alice's happy expression froze. And she glared fiercely at Matt. "You talk too much, asshole. None of this is any of your business. Why do you have to meddle in other people's lives? Get lost. I want some privacy to say a few words to my boyfriend."

"Wait, did you call me here just a talk? Did you not actually need help at all?" George asked in disbelief. He had rushed over as quickly as he could, but it seemed like Alice's call for help had just been a pretext to trick him into coming over.

Matt looked a little embarrassed as he glanced at George.

"Matt, I am so sorry you got mixed up in this," George apologized. "You… you can head on back. I'll treat you to a meal later."

After Matt left, George stared coldly at Alice and said, "You tricked me into coming over here. If you wanna say something, say it quickly. I'd like to get back home and go back to sleep." It was clear that Alice's cruelty over the past few days was still fresh in his mind. She hated his attitude and wished she could fix things.

"George, how can you be so cold? Come on. I'm still yours. I've been lonely without you. Come and sit me. I know you really want to." She pouted to try and gain his sympathy.

"Oh, I absolutely don't. I have nothing else to say to you, so I'll be leaving." He was done playing games with her, so he turned to go.

Alice's expression changed immediately. She stomped her foot and said, "George, how dare you treat me like this?" She had thought that being coquettish and flirty would work on him, just like it always had before. She had been banking on him immediately listening to her and giving in. After all, George had put in a lot of time and effort chasing after her before. She had felt confident that she could control his feelings for her again.

Seeing that some early risers were starting to arrive, ready for a long day of studying, Alice rolled her eyes and shouted, "George, stop right there! Don't even think about leaving me like this. I've been with you for so long. I don't care if you have no money, I'm pregnant with your child. You said that you would marry me as soon as you graduated. You can't just let me down like this."

As her high-pitched voice carried around the whole area, the people nearby stopped to look curiously at the unfolding scene. Alice was acting like the tragic heroine in a romance novel. She kept yelling after George and her expression became more and more pitiful as tears welled up in her eyes.