ASPEN
This time when I wake, there is no sewage smell or water pouring from the ceiling in my room. In fact, I’m not even in my room, and I know this because the pillow beneath my head smells spicy, manly, like Quinton.
I blink my eyes open and look to the other side of the bed. Unfortunately, I’m alone, though I don’t know why I expected him to be here. I can’t believe I actually had the courage to come here.
I stretch beneath the sheets before tossing them back and sit up in the bed. It’s so comfy that I consider staying in his bed forever. Ha, like he would let me do that. I mean, maybe if I was naked.
I roll out of bed and look down at the clothes I’m wearing. This isn’t going to work. I can’t go to classes wearing Quinton’s sweatpants and T-shirt. My eyes scan the room, and that’s when I spot a T-shirt, pair of yoga pants, and tennis shoes all neatly stacked on top of each other in the chair. A smile appears on my lips. I shouldn’t be smiling, so what if he did something nice for me?
It doesn’t change anything. Like he said last night, nothing we do will ever change the dynamic between us. My heart aches for a moment, but I push the broken pieces aside.
I go to the bathroom, get dressed, and do my best to tame my unruly hair. It’s a mess, and I’m surprised there aren’t sticks sticking out of it. I put it in a ponytail, so I don’t have to deal with it and sigh.
I’m not sure where Quinton is, but I tiptoe over to the bedroom door and hear voices on the other side. I know he and Ren are roommates, so maybe he’s just having breakfast with him. My hands slip against the doorknob when I grab onto it and pull it open.
Time ticks by slowly, and since I’ve already missed a bunch of classes because of my leg and just overall bullshit, I have to go—which means leaving this room, even if I don’t want to.
Squaring my shoulders, I scrape together every bit of courage I have.It’s probably just Quinton and Ren. It’s not a big deal.I tell myself as I pull the door open and step out into the living room.
The apartment is open concept, so of course, as soon as I open the door, they spot me. I stand there like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Nash, Marcel, and Ren sit at a breakfast nook, eating.
All three of them are staring at me. Marcel and Nash watch with shock as I take an unsteady step forward while Ren’s face remains impassive. Emotionless. He probably knew I was here all along and was just waiting for the gopher to pop its head out of the hole.
Not wanting to stay longer than I’m welcome, and without saying a word, I scurry out of there. Once in the hallway, I take my time walking to my room. I expect students to be staring at me or whispering, but there’s none of that. When I reach my room, I use the keycard to get in.
My nose wrinkles when I catch a whiff of the air inside the room. It smells even worse than it did yesterday, and my heart sinks deep into my stomach as my eyes scan the room. All my stuff is ruined. I didn’t have much before, but what I had is gone, dissolved down to nothing beneath this putrid water.
Angrily, I walk out of the room and slam the door behind me. I’m so upset and angry over the busted pipe ruining my things, but what can I do? I feel helpless and trapped. Even if I wanted to call my parents, it wouldn’t matter. One, my computer is somewhere in that mess of a room, and two, they wouldn’t be able to help me. No one can help me.
I lift my head and tip my chin up. The only thing I can do is go to Lucas and see if he’ll give me a different room. Surely, he won’t make me stay out in the corridors…
Who am I kidding? He would. The mere thought sends a shiver down my spine. I decide to go to my classes and make a pit stop by his office at the end of the day. Maybe he’ll take pity on me?
The day drags by slowly, the anticipation of what I have to do after classes sits heavy on my shoulders. I race to the administration office as soon as I’m done with gym. I’m sweaty and hungry, but none of those things matter. Not if I don’t have a place to lay my head at night, and I highly doubt Quinton will let me shack up with him again.
I march into the office and head straight for Lucas’ door.
“You can’t go in there! You don’t have an appointment!” his assistant calls after me, but I ignore her.
This is between Lucas and me. I shove open the door to his office and find him sitting behind his computer. He looks up from whatever he’s typing and right at me.
“Thanks for making my life a little easier.” He grins and tosses something at me.
I barely manage to catch it and look down at the card in my hands. It’s identical to the keycard I have for my room, but somehow, I don’t connect the dots in my mind.
“What’s this?”
“It’s the keycard for your new room.”
I stand there, my mouth hanging open, shock pouring out of me. “My new room? What do you mean?”
Lucas shakes his head. “Just go check it out. I don’t have the time to explain it all to you. The room should have everything you need.”
Everything I need?
“Uh, okay.” I flounder, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. I came in here ready to rip the walls down and tell him he was going to give me a new room, and he was already one step ahead of me. It’s rare that something like that occurs and discovering this puts me on edge. This must be a trick.
I lick my lips. “If this is some cruel joke, I swear—”