Chapter 1
Cast:
Emily Browning as Olivia Harper
Dave Franco as Landon Cavalier
Miles Teller as Riley Harper
Jennifer Lawrence as Tori Skyler
Cam Gigandet as Noah Lucas
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“Get up you slacker!”
Ladies and gentlemen, meet my stubborn boyfriend, Landon Cavalier.
“Mom, is that you?” He groggily mumbled against his pillow.
I rolled my eyes in response.
He never wanted to wake up in the morning. He was honestly a big, lazy, man-child.
I innocently smiled as I walked over to the window and pulled back the violet curtains, letting the sunlight enter our bedroom in full force directly onto Landon’s face.
He angrily popped one eye open. “It’s too early to adult!” He whined, finally starting to sit up in bed.
“Well, this is college hun and your morning class starts in an hour.” I sighed.
We were in our first semester of freshman year at the University of Florida. School started two weeks ago, and me trying to get him up had become a regular hassle.
A very annoying, regular hassle.
“Landon, I’m not going to do this every day. Pretty soon I’m going to start letting you sleep right through your classes and when you start to flunk out, I don’t want you coming to me saying that it’s my fault.” I shrugged as I walked over toward the kitchen to start a small pot of coffee.
“Relax Olivia, I’m not going to flunk out. I mean, look at me.” He winked in my direction.
“Yeah, you’re a real dream.” I said sarcastically, causing a pillow to be thrown near my face.
“Just get over here.” He laughed, holding his arms open to me from the edge of the bed.
I rolled my eyes with a smile as I slowly walked over to him, lowering myself down to straddle his waist as he wrapped his arms around my petite frame.
I placed my hands around the back of his neck and leaned in, softly relaxing my forehead against his.
“It’s you, Olivia.” He whispered.
“It’s you, Landon.” I whispered back before crashing my lips against his.
College was exactly what I expected. I mean, I had watched all the movies.
Crazy dorm parties where you're up until two in the morning drinking, and then casually walking to class with coffee at eight in the morning as if nothing happened the night before.
I really didn’t see how they did it.
I looked like somebody from the walking dead if I didn’t get at least seven hours of sleep every night.
Landon and I were originally from Henderson, Nevada but we moved to Florida for college because we wanted a change of scenery. I had known Landon for as long as I could remember, since we had grown up together. We were best friends before we started dating in our freshman year of high school.
It was a very risky move, because we didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but it was also the best decision that we’ve ever made. I couldn’t have been happier.
My life seems so perfect.
Walking onto campus for the first time with Landon’s hand in mine was the best feeling in the entire world. To know that we had made it this far in life together, gave me the chills every time I thought about it.
The good kind of chills, of course.
We both decided that we didn’t want to experience the “dorm life” because we already knew what it was all about thanks to my older brother, Riley. He was a sophomore in college this year and yes, he went to our school as well.
We didn’t plan on going to the same college, it just sort of happened.
Okay, maybe we had planned it. What could I say? My older brother and I shared a great bond.
He told us how amazing this school was and when Landon and I looked at the brochures and at the pictures that Riley would send us every other day, we fell in love with the school. It was always bright and sunny during the summer, and the rest of the time it was usually raining, so it was a pretty even scale.
Landon and I came to tour the campus and the area a couple of weeks before the semester started, so we could get a feel for the state itself, and the area around the campus. We also came across a cute little studio apartment only a few minutes away from campus, so we practically jumped at the deal.
I was a little nervous to move all the way across the country, but with Riley and Landon here with me, I knew I would be okay.
My dad was a little skeptical to let me go to a school so far away from home. I guess you could say that I was a daddy’s girl.
He also wasn’t too thrilled about me living with my boyfriend.
Yeah, I know, typical dad.
It had taken Riley weeks to convince him to let me go, just so long as Riley agreed that he would pop in and check on Landon and I all the time.
He doesn’t do that though, just so we’re clear. He gives us our much needed privacy... most days.
That’s one of the reasons why I loved my brother. He always did what he could for me, even if it meant going against our dad’s wishes.
My parents didn’t waste any time getting pregnant again after having Riley, being that he was only a year older than me. Our mom always said that she wanted a boy first, and then a girl right after, so that we would be close in age and so Riley would be able to protect me.
Yeah, he doesn’t do much of that either, just so we’re clear. He wasn’t exactly tough at all, but don’t tell him that. His ego was probably as big as his head, which was very big, might I add.
Our mom grew up as an only child, so she knew what it was like not to have any siblings. She always used to say that she didn’t want her child to go through the feeling of being lonely all the time like she did, despite having her few friends, so she made sure to have more than one.
Man, I really miss her.
“Oh my God! Olivia! Get the heck over here!”
I whipped my head around almost too fast, as I heard the scream of my best friend, Tori.
I quickly paid the coffee-stand guy, I think his name was Pete, and then I jogged over to her.
“Do you have to be this obnoxious so early in the morning?” I asked, not looking up from my delicious, iced caramel frappe.
I looked at her for an answer, and as I was taking a sip of my coffee, I slowly brought my eyes to where she was pointing.
I nearly spit the contents of my drink out onto the sidewalk when I saw who she was pointing at.
“You’ve got to be freaking kid-”
“Hey Olivia!”
“Uh, hey...” I awkwardly replied.
“Miss me?” He laughed. When he did, his short brown hair slightly moved as his light blue eyes trailed over my body. I felt a little uncomfortable, to say the least.
“If by missed you, you mean hoped to never see you again, then yes.” I sighed, then took another drink of my coffee.
“Well, at least I got a yes.” He winked.
“So, not to be rude but, why the hell are you here?” I asked, becoming annoyed by his presence. Tori just casually walked next to me, clearly amused by the encounter.
“Well, for school. Obviously.” He sarcastically replied.
I gave him a blank stare and walked in the opposite direction, pulling Tori’s arm for her to follow.
“See ya around, Liv!” He yelled across the schoolyard, causing a few students to look up.
“That was amazing.” Tori laughed, pulling her notebook out of her bag in preparation for class.
“Not helping.” I grumbled, pulling my own notebook from my bag.
“Hey, don’t get moody with me just because he’s here.”
“Well I wanna know why! Out of all the schools he could’ve gone to, he deliberately chose this one. I bet it was just to spite me.”
“Nobody said college would be easy.” She innocently smiled.
I gave her an eye roll as we sat down in our seats, waiting for the professor to start his lecture.
Once class was over, and we walked out of class, I found myself still thinking about the fact that Noah Lucas went to our school. I prayed that moving all the way across the country would keep me from ever having to see him again, but sadly, the universe just seemed to hate me and wanted to watch me suffer.
“Man, I can’t wait to hear how Landon reacts when he finds out!” Tori said while looping her arm through mine as we stopped by the school café.
“When I find out what?” We heard from behind.
Crap.
Mentally slapping myself, I slowly turned around with an innocent smile on my face to pretend to be okay.
“Oh, hey babe!” I greeted.
Giving me a stern look, Landon crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest.
“When I find out what?” He repeated.
“Oh you know, nothing... except for the fact that I saw someone today.” I said, trying to avoid eye contact.
“Olivia, who did you see?” He asked, lifting my chin with his index finger. We were now looking into each other’s eyes.
“Oh, look!” I pointed, “The café has French fries today!” I tried to pull away from his grip, but it was no use.
“Olivia, come on.”
“Alright, alright.” I could see Tori grinning from the corner of my eye, and I wanted to slap her. Only just a little bit.
“Well?” He persisted.
“I saw Noah.” I whispered.
“Who?”
“Noah.” I said louder so he could hear me.
“Are you kidding me? Why the hell is he here? Of all the schools in the country!” Landon spoke loud, causing a few of the other students around us to look up from their lunches.
“Landon, relax. Who cares?” Tori asked, not aware of what the real issue was. The only thing she knew was that Noah was my ex-boyfriend. She didn't know why. I hadn’t had the guts to tell her yet.
Pathetic, I know.
“You don’t understand, Tori.” Landon said with an eye roll.
“Clearly.” She scoffed.
“Tori, I’ll explain later.”
“Oh, I know you will.” She grinned.
“Landon, please. I promise this isn’t going to change anything!” I pleaded.
“It changes everything, Olivia. I gotta go, I’ll see you at home.” He gently kissed my cheek and slowly turned around, walking away. He looked back at me once, and I could see the anger and nervousness in his eyes.
Wonderful. Just what I needed today.
“So, are you going to tell me what the big deal is or am I going to have to guess?” Tori asked, pulling a soda out of her mini fridge.
Tori was lucky enough to get a single dorm, not having to share her space with anyone. Her parents were a little on the wealthy side, so scoring the single room wasn’t too challenging. She told me that if she couldn’t have me as her roommate, she didn’t want anyone as her roommate. I understood completely and I liked that if I ever wanted to spend a night with her, we wouldn’t have to deal with some random student listening to all of our ridiculous banter.
Tori and I became friends in junior year of high school. She decided long and hard about what college she wanted to go to, and because of the business program, she chose this one.
I personally think it was because of me.
“Do I have to?” I mumbled into the pillow that was laying over my face as I lazily laid on her futon.
“Yes Olivia, you fucking do.” She smirked.
I really hate her sometimes.
“Alright. It all happened in freshman year. Before Landon and I started dating.” I began.
“I know that much. Get to the good stuff!” She grinned, opening a bag of gummy worms.
I sighed.
“Well, Noah and I were together for two years. He asked me out in seventh grade, despite Landon telling me to stay away from him.”
“Mhm.”
I sat up and crisscrossed my legs, facing Tori who was now lounging on her green beanbag.
“There’s no easy way to say this... but, I was pregnant.”
The silence in the room became deafening.
“You... you were what?” She asked in disbelief.
I felt a pain in my chest from bringing back the memories that I had worked so hard on trying to forget.
“I was pregnant.”
“Holy shi- ... I mean, damn. I’m so sorry.”
Tori got off her beanbag and was now sitting next to me on her futon.
“Yeah. Anyway, naturally Noah wanted nothing to do with me or the baby once he found out, and he told me to get an abortion.” I managed to say.
“What an asshole!” Tori yelled.
“So I did...”
Tori looked at me with both empathy and worry.
“You got an abortion?”
“Yes. It was the hardest thing that I ever had to do Tor. I was fifteen years old and a freshman in high school. There was no way in hell I could have been a single mother.”
“I just... I can’t believe he left you with no other choice.”
“He was fifteen too. We were incredibly young with no money and my dad told me that if I decided to keep the baby, I would have never finished high school and I would have never gotten into college.”
“You could have finished school, Olivia. It would’ve taken longer than everyone else and it definitely would’ve been harder... but you could’ve done it.”
“Riley said the same thing. But I couldn’t do it. How was I supposed to walk the halls of high school with a huge pregnant belly? How was I supposed to explain that the father wanted nothing to do with us? How was I supposed to support the baby’s needs? I just couldn’t.”
“I wish we were friends back then, maybe I could've talked you out of it.” Tori seemed as though she were judging me, and I didn’t like it.
“It wasn’t like I just woke up one morning and decided to off my child, Tori.” I didn’t realize I had raised my voice.
“It took me weeks to finally agree to it. Weeks. I was almost to the point of not being able to get the abortion, but I went through with it at the last minute. I will probably always hate myself for it, but I did it. My life sucked that entire year. Landon was amazing. He stood by me the entire time. He even beat the crap out of Noah for me. He helped me through everything, and that’s one of the reasons why I fell for him so hard. He picked up the pieces that Noah destroyed and he slowly put them back together.”
I could feel tears stinging my eyes.
“I don’t need you to tell me that it was wrong, because I already told myself that a million times and I still do sometimes.” I finally said after minutes of silence.
The tears finally escaped my eyes and slowly slid down my cheeks.
“Olivia, don’t cry. I’m sorry. You’re right, you did what was best for you at the time and you shouldn’t have to explain yourself to anyone. Even me.” Tori was now hugging me with her arms over my shoulders.
“Thanks.” I whispered.
I finally got the courage to enter our apartment, after standing outside of the door for ten minutes.
Landon was lounging on the bed watching Netflix.
He was obsessed with this show called Breaking Bad. I didn’t care for it.
“Hey babe.” I innocently said as I made my way through the apartment.
He didn’t even look up at me.
“Food is in the microwave.”
“Thanks.” I mumbled.
I slowly made my way to the microwave and pulled out my plate of lasagna. It looked homemade. The smell hit my nostrils and instantly watered my mouth. I hated the reason for this meal being made, but I can’t say I was disappointed with having to eat it.
Landon always cooked whenever he was upset. He was an amazing cook. I, on the other hand, could barely make spaghetti.
I began eating my dinner and the silence drove me insane.
“Are you even going to talk to me about this?” I asked, looking at him from the small dinner table that is next to the kitchen.
Note to self: We need a bigger apartment.
“There’s nothing to talk about. He goes to school here. He lives here. There’s nothing we can do about it, so we have to just live with it.” He said. The blank expression on his face made me angry.
“You're treating me like this is somehow my fault.”
“How?”
“Um hello, the silent treatment? The barely being able to look at me. Shall I continue?”
“Just stop, please.” He said, finally looking at me.
“No, Landon. Why are you taking this out on me?”
“I’m not trying to. It’s just frustrating to see him again.” He said, walking over to me.
He knelt down next to me and placed his hands in mine. I looked down into his big brown eyes.
“I’m sorry, Olivia. It’s a big campus. Hopefully we don’t have to see him hardly at all.”
“One can pray.” I said, not wanting to mention that I already had an encounter with him.
“I love you, Olivia.”
“I love you too, Landon.”
