She rolled her mischievous eyes that looked so much like Josie’s and Grayson’s it was eerie. There was something weird about seeing your best friend in girl form. Some days the three of them couldn’t be more different, and then other days, it was like I was seeing triple. “Chi Sigma house,” she said proudly.
My heart dropped. “You didn’t.”
Her dark ponytail bounced as she nodded.
“Fucking hell, Kenna. Do you know how reckless it was for you to go there by yourself?” In my current mood, I was close to shaking some sense into her. She was like a fucking sister to me.
Fury flickered in the centers of her eyes. “He needs to know that he fucked with the wrong girl.”
“And you don’t think my fist smashing into his face was a clear message?” I commended her for wanting to protect her cousin, but she shouldn’t sacrifice her own safety to do so. “I get that you’re pissed off. I am, too, but if anything had happened to you… Maddy would never forgive herself.”
Her lips quirked at the mention of the nickname everyone knew Mads hated, but residual anger continued to cling to her eyes. “As you can see, I’m fine.”
“That’s because you got lucky. What if you had been caught by one of those fraternity assholes?” I snarled. “You of all people should know just how dangerous it could have been.”
She flinched. Hurting her had not been my goal, yet I somehow succeeded in doing just that. “Not every guy is like Carter,” she snapped. “They aren’t all going to rape me at the first given opportunity.” Defiance shone in her dainty features. Kenna had always been so frail to me until she’d come back after a two-year hiatus. It had done her good because the girl had grit now, and a fierce determination that scaredmeat times.
A small frown touched my lips. “You don’t know that,” I said softly. “True, they might not all be as fucked in the head as Carter, but what if one of them had been drinking and stumbled upon you lurking about? He might not have forced himself on you, but he could have very well reported it to Sterling. The campus doesn’t take defacing school property lightly. You could have gotten kicked out of school.”
Her chin lifted, eyes sparkling with fierceness. “I’m not afraid of him.”
Tugging on the ends of my waistband strings, I scoffed. “Okay, now I get why Grayson is constantly in a mood. I’ll make you a deal,” I rushed to say, seeing Kenna open her mouth to argue. “The next time you get an itch to vandalize shit, you fucking call me. No matter what time of night.”
She didn’t respond immediately but stared at me, chewing on her lip. “Fine,” Kenna reluctantly agreed.
I flashed her my teeth. “I want to hear you say it.”
Shoving back the hood, she shook her long dark hair out of its tie. “God, when did you become a nag? You’re supposed to be the cool one.”
“Exactly, which is why I’m not going to tell Grayson or Brock and I’ll have your back in the future.”
“Thanks,” she replied with a grim smile. “It might not make sense to you or the others, but I had to do something, even if it has no impact. I just wanted to take him down a notch, even if for a few minutes as he’s wondering who dared to call him out.”
I understood the frustration. “You really need a new hobby.”
“Shut up.” She eyed me, and I didn’t like the glint in them or the way they narrowed on me. “Why are you pacing in front of your girlfriend’s dorm like a lovesick puppy?”
Did I plan to tell Kenna that Sterling was tormenting me? No. Instead, I just skipped right over her question as if she’d never asked. Sometimes ignoring her was the only way to get her to stop probing. “Is she asleep?”
Kenna tugged at the cuffs on her sweatshirt so they nearly covered all of her fingers. “She was when I left.”
“I need to see her.” The statement burst from me. I didn’t even know that was what I wanted until the words were out.
She held my gaze for longer than necessary, and I could practically see the wheels in her mind churning. “Why?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yeah, it does. It’s not like you to be so… I’m not even sure what this is. Serious, perhaps, but it’s more than that.” She angled her head to the side. “Are you afraid?”
Only one thing in the world scared me: Mads getting hurt because of me. I forced a leisurely smile. “Of Sterling? Not a chance. But I don’t trust him. I need to see that she’s safe, and before you tell me she is,Ineed to see it.”
“Okay, I get it.” She pulled out her school ID card from the small zippered pocket in her bag. “Did something happen?”
Before she could sling the bag over her shoulder, I took it from her, tossing it over mine. “Nothing new. Where are we going?” I asked when she headed in the opposite direction of the main door.
“The side entrance. It’s closer to our room, and we can avoid the main lobby,” she explained like it was something she did regularly, and maybe she did, but Mads always took the main entry.
KU didn’t have any student curfews, nor were there any rules or regulations about having visitors in the dorms. It wasn’t weird or unusual for students to be coming and going at all hours of the night, but guests were supposed to check in by scanning their ID. “Aren’t you worried the staff will think it’s odd that you go out in the middle of the night so often?”