I stow my phone and clench my teeth. I’m so fucking pissed, I can’t even see straight. What I should be doing is keeping calm, focusing on the game tonight. We’re getting closer and closer to the finals. We can’t afford to lose a single game.
Spring break starts today, technically, as well.
We’ll have a week with no class.
My phone buzzes.
Vi
Party?
If you want to go to one, I’d gladly get you drunk.
Apparently you don’t have a choice.
There’s one happening at your house tonight.
I sigh. “Erik?”
He comes around the corner, grinning like an asshole. “Yeah?”
“How many people did you invite over?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I told Maddie and Paris to handle it.”
Great. So, a fuck ton. I make a mental note to lock my door—and give Violet a key. People at parties can be weirdly invasive. They think it’s okay to go into any room, touch people’s stuff, fuck on their beds… no thanks.
“You’ve never minded,” he says.
I lift one shoulder. I didn’t, back when a party was a guaranteed way to get laid. Now, I don’t need it to get Violet naked. It’s a good excuse for it, though. And it might salvage my mood once I actually confront my father about her.
“You good?” he asks.
I nod sharply. “Never better.”
“You know, no one asked me if your girlfriend could move in.” He sticks his hands in his pockets. “And her roommate, too. I would’ve appreciated a heads-up.”
Girlfriend, huh? I like the sound of that… although I’d like to call her something more permanent. I’ll have to think on that.
Part of me wants to flip him off and be done with it—but he’s right. It’s his house, too. And we’ve gotten along amicably for most of the year. It really would be a shame to piss it away in the final semester.
“Yeah,” I finally say. “Sorry. It’s not forever.”
He nods. “Yeah, man, I know.”
I watch him retreat, then finish getting changed. I’ve got one class, then a paper that I need to work on. But I’m also itching to blow it off and make sure Violet’s safe.
Me
I just heard. You good?
Vi
Yeah, just got out of a meeting with Mia. She wanted my clean bill of health from Dr. Michaels. Just had to sign a release, then got chatting with her.
I frown.
Her typing bubble pops up, then disappears. I clench my phone tightly, watching it come up again. My heart is going crazy—this stalker has my blood pressure rising.