Tyler

I walked into the classroom like I owned the place- which in a way I did. The various catcalls and whistles from the general female population was like music to my ears. I loved being the center of attention, and each day it happened was like a giant stroke to my already big ego. My teammates surrounded me, commenting on the big win from last night's game and clapping me on the shoulder for a job well done.

In the distance, Stella- my latest conquest- was texting on her phone and peeking up at me through her long thick lashes, pretending not to notice or care but I knew better. She was still hung up on me and wondering why I refused her a second roll in my glorious sheets. It was a general rule with me, never sleep with a girl twice, and Stella was no different from the rest.

Here in college I was the most wanted man in the place, rich and known for my playboy ways. My dads money was the thing that girls liked the most, each of them hoping to get their claws into it. In fact, my dad had funded over half of the college in exchange for a free pass at most every stupid thing I did, and life was fairly easy being that I didn't have to work for much. Everyone knew it, and some even hated me for it.

The only thing I've ever had to work on was getting into a girls pants, and boy did I love getting into a girl's pants. I practically had a new girl drooling at my feet every night and all the guys thought I was some type of sex god. I wasn't, but I wasn't going to correct them or anything. I thrived on the carefully constructed facade I had made for myself, the eager to please playboy that cared about nothing and no one, hiding what was really inside.

I didn't like many guys, but the few I could stand for more than a few minutes at a time were seated around me in the living room of my penthouse apartment. I knew it was the fame and fortune that kept them around, but I didn't mind. After all a friend was a friend no matter what their intentions, and it sure beat being alone.

Beers were passed around like water and the never ending card games droned on and on, distracting me from thinking about the one thing that always seemed to haunt me wherever I went.

Despite the fact that dad always threw money at me, I was utterly and truly alone. My dad didn't truly care one bit what I did or where I went, as long as I kept his family name clean. Instead he preferred to toss enough money to keep me away for as long as possible so that he could live his own life without being tied down. Those were his words, not mine. As if I could ever tie him down. Dad was a free spirit and he treated the ladies much like I did. I guess that's where I got it from, being the great role model that he was and all.

It had been like that since my mother left. That was the day I realized that people would only love you if you had the best things and the most money. Because after all isn't that what life was about? Money and power? People had proved it to me time and time again.

It's why mom just up and left me alone with dad. Because she found someone with more money and more power. She never truly cared about me, or she would have taken me with her instead of leaving me with him to endure the countless lessons he bestowed upon me. Lessons I'd have rather not learned.

I looked around at my friends, wondering what truly kept the guys coming around. Was it the never ending supply of beer? Or was it because it kept them popular? It didn't matter really, as long as they kept coming.

Because the one thing I hated the most was the sound of utter silence.

My phone dinged in my pocket, alerting me to a new text. I had just gotten the phone today, and was annoyed that it was already ringing here during bro time. I cursed aloud and yanked it from my pocket.

Flicking the screen to unlock it, a notification popped up.

One new text.

I rolled my eyes, wondering which stupid girl was trying to get my attention now, and how they always seemed to know my number even when I didn't bother to give it to them. I guess that came with the territory, but it was annoying none the less.

"Damn bro it hasn't even been two hours since you activated that thing and you're already getting a booty call? Jealous!" Matt sang in a high pitched girly voice that grated on my nerves.

"Shut up Matt. You know I love the late night calls, that's when I know the girl likes to get freaky." I said, smirking as I hit the button to open the message. "The freakier the better."

I glanced down at the screen and frowned when I saw another guy's name heading the message. Obviously it was a wrong number.

Whatever, glad it's not some stupid kinky bimbo. I'd much rather play poker and drink beer than listen to another whining grating voice tell me how much they want me. They don't truly want me, they want my money.

"Well who is it man? Is it Shelly? She is so fucking hot I'd bang the life out of her any day." John said, slapping hands with Jake.

"You're damn right!" Jake hollered.

Annoyed, I saved her contact under a random nickname that popped in my head, smiling at how well it suited her. I would decide later what to do about her. I shoved the phone back in my pocket, rolling my eyes at my friends little outburst and grabbed another card from the deck.

I smiled, glancing down at my cards and knowing I had them beat. I had a royal flush, which trumped anything they could possibly have, so I threw some more chips in for effect. As each guy raised or threw in the cards my smile grew bigger and bigger.

Proud of myself, I laid the cards down and watched as each face fell when I reached for the ante.

"I honestly don't know why you idiots keep coming back for more, because I always beat you." I said, cocky and full of pride.

"You gotta be cheating or something man!" Jake yelled, tossing his cards at me on a fit of fake rage. Beneath his outburst was a smile I had grown to appreciate despite our differences.

If any of them were to ever leave me on my ass, Jake would hurt the most. He was the one out of all of them that seemed to see beyond what I let show and he always seemed to have my back despite my asshole tendencies.

My phone dinged again and the guys eyebrows perked up, instantly taking back up teasing me about the mystery girl who couldn't seem to leave well enough alone.

I rolled my eyes again and pulled the phone out staring down at the screen.

One new text.

I swiped the screen and looked down to see another text for some guy named Jack and started to get irritated all over again. But as my eyes scanned the words I laughed, clutching my stomach and gasping for air. It wasn't funny at all, but my friends would tease me if I didn't laugh. I wasn't in the mood for anymore teasing.

"You're never gonna believe this!" I laughed, fake choking on every word. "Sad little slut is texting some guy named Jack. It's hilarious!"

All of the guys glanced around at each other with raised eyebrows before looking back at me and waiting for me to calm down enough to go on.

"Listen to this shit. Dear Jack, I'd give anything to hold you in my arms again, brush your soft brown hair out of your eyes. I don't know if I can ever get over you." I sang in a girly voice.

"Dude must have left her ass. Thought she was crazy or something and booked it!" John said, joining in with me and laughing.

"How desperate do you gotta be to text your ex some shit like this?" I said, reading the message over and over again.

Inside my head, I wished someone would text something like this to me. Hell I just wished someone would love me for me instead of for my money and popularity.

"You should totally try to hook up with her." Matt said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Nah man. She's bat shit crazy. I don't wanna hit that. I'm just gonna ignore it. Maybe she will even send more and give me a good laugh now and again." I said as I walked to the fridge and grabbed another beer.

It wasn't just any beer, it was the good stuff. The kind of stuff they kept behind the counter because it cost so damn much. Tasted like a wet dream.

I was already feeling a good buzz, but didn't pay it any attention because I was buzzed every night. I liked being numb. Being numb meant not caring about all the shit I had went through in life and all the pain that I had chosen to lock away inside myself. Letting it out meant losing the very thing I had worked so hard to gain. Not to mention it would blow my cover as a hard ass prick with no feelings.

My phone dinged again and I quickly opened the text, drinking in every single word.

Knowing someone else out there was in pain made me feel good inside, because that meant I wasn't the only one. I didn't want my friends to know but If I told her she had the wrong number she would stop, and I didn't want her to stop texting. Maybe one day I would answer her but for now I was just going to sit back and observe.

I knew my friends would tease me more if they knew that so I pretended to laugh yet again like it was the biggest joke in the world. In truth it was the saddest thing in the world.

I sang the text aloud again, in my best girly voice, knowing full well they were staring at me and waiting.

Each one of them burst into laughter again, Matt laughing so hard he fell from his chair. I again rolled my eyes and took a seat back at the table.

"So what's next? Surely you have nothing left to bet on poker tonight." I said, glancing around at all of my friends. They had money, but nothing compared to what I had.

"I'm gonna call it a night bro." Matt said, rubbing his butt from the fall.

"Me too." John said.

"Yeah bro sorry gotta go." Jake said. "I've got a hot date. And by date I mean lots of kinky sex." He wriggled his eyebrows at me as his signature smirk slid across his features.

I stood and walked them to the door of my penthouse apartment and punched each of them on the shoulder as they walked out. It was a tradition of mine every time they left. Besides, they weren't complaining.

"Was fun guys." I said, wishing they weren't leaving. Leaving meant I would be alone.

I shut the door without letting it fully latch, pressing my ear to it to listen.

Matt, John, and Jake walked towards the elevators talking amongst themselves.

"Dude that girl was crazy. I wonder if she'll keep texting Ty." Jake said, laughing a little to himself.

"He will totally bang her. He bangs everyone. Fucking player." Matt said shaking his head.

"Such a player." John mimicked.

They might have been my friends, but they only hung around because it kept them popular with the ladies and the free beer didn't hurt either. I couldn't blame them, I was an arrogant ass and everyone knew it.

In fact, I made sure everyone knew it. I knew the ladies only wanted me for my killer body and status, but I didn't mind much when they literally threw themselves at me with little effort on my part. The guys respected me because of the countless ladies that threw themselves at my feet. It was a win win and I didn't even have to work at it. Not that it kept me warm at night.

Sometimes I would have to work for it though. When a lady caught my eye and she was determined she wasn't going to have any of it, I would have to turn on the charm and talk the panties right off her. I had learned charm early in life from watching my dad, and I was good at saying exactly the right thing to keep them wanting more.

"Actually I'm kind of jealous at how smoothly he can talk his way into a girls pants." John said, stepping up and pressing the button to call the elevator. He glanced back at the apartment, making sure the door was shut and I wasn't listening. If only he knew I was.

John might not have liked me that much, but he definitely didn't want me to know that. Knowing would mean he would lose his status. And losing his status didn't seem to be an option.

*

I walked back to the table, cleaning up from tonight's festivities as their words churned around in my head.

I put the empty bottles in the trash and gathered up the cards, shoving them into the kitchen drawer for next time. I had taken away an iPod, a watch, three hundred dollars, and some kind of gold coin from my win tonight. I gathered everything up and walked into my bedroom, shoving it all on the desk and falling back into the bed. I didn't really care about all this material stuff because truly I had all the material stuff I ever wanted.

Alone again.

My phone dinged and I jumped up quickly and retrieved it from the desk.

Sad lonely girl was texting again, so I couldn't waste a second.

A million texts meant she would keep on texting and so I was all for it. If only I wasn't afraid answering her would stop them from coming all together. I could really use someone to talk to right about now.

I wondered what her story was. Why she was such a sad sap to text this Jack guy and what had happened between them. I would just have to imagine a story for her and keep reading them as they came in. It did after all distract me from my own miserable life.

I imagined myself replying to her and asking what her story was. She would respond with how Jack had been her everything and one day she came home and his stuff was just gone. He was just, poof gone. That was how I was going to imagine it because if she was crazy it was going to break me.

Sad lonely girl was the only girl who I had ever felt that I related with on a deeper level and somehow her sadness called out to me and drew me in. There was someone out there who was just as miserable as I was and I didn't want her to go away. I'll admit, at first I was annoyed, but after that second text, something jumped out at me and I found myself wanting more.

I stared at my stupid phone for the next hour, willing another text to come through but nothing did. The silence overwhelmed me until I threw it down and stood up to do something else.

Stupid sad lonely girl. If only I knew your name.

Another hour passed while I walked aimlessly around the empty apartment, trying to drown out the silence. It didn't matter how loud I turned the tv, or how loud the radio blasted in my ears, nothing could drown out the silence.

Finally I grabbed another beer and another until I passed out on the kitchen floor. I never seemed to make it to my bed, because I always woke in the weirdest places. I didn't much like the bed anyways, it held too many memories I'd rather not face alone. With a girl it was easy to ignore them, but alone it was all I could think about.

Even in my dreams I thought about her. Manifesting my thoughts into brilliant colors of a dress on a beautiful woman. She was talking to Jack about all kinds of things, things that didn't even make sense why she would say it to her ex.

I woke the next morning, wondering when I would stop thinking about sad lonely girl and how to consume my mind with anything else. I doubted she would even text again.

I changed my clothes and grabbed my phone and bag and headed out the door. I had about ten minutes to spare to get to campus, and it was on the other side of town. My Porsche could travel fast, but not that fast.

I refused to live in the dorms like everyone else. I didn't want people to be privy to my life. I wouldn't even let a girl spend the night because I was afraid I would scream in my dreams. No one could know that the act I put up was all a front to keep people from knowing how utterly screwed up I was inside. Because then my whole kingdom would fall. I liked being King and I was a damn good one.

I marched into class, taking a seat at the very top of the auditorium so I could nap. But before I could close my eyes a red headed beauty walked in. I had never seen her in here before and I knew instantly that I had to know her. If the way my body was reacting was any indication, I was going to need to seal that deal sooner rather than later.

So much for sleeping.

She took a look around her new class, noticing me in the back corner staring at her. She gave a small wave then frowned and turned her attention somewhere else and I instantly felt the blow to my ego. No girl had ever looked away from me, especially when I was giving them all my attention. I was Tyler Scott, King of the campus after all.

Whatever.

A few girls flocked towards me and rubbed up against me, so I did what I do best.

"Are you French because ma-damn!"

Giggles erupted from all three of them, as each one of them stepped closer to vie for my attention.

"Ladies, ladies, there's plenty to go around."

My favorite pick up line seemed stupid now, the fun was gone as I thought again about sad lonely girl and frowned.

The professor walked in and the girls scampered away to their seats. I leaned back in my seat and closed my eyes. I didn't even know sad lonely girl, so why was I passing up an opportunity to get laid? And why did she consume every single waking and sleeping thought?

If only she would text again. At least in my dreams I can see her.

As the teacher droned on and on I found myself drifting back off into a dream where I was back with sad lonely girl. Her face was raw with emotion yet I had never seen someone so beautiful. If only I could stay in a dream world with her forever.