Lib Novel Page 158
“Then leave. It’s me who brings out the worst in you anyway. I am the poison threatening your well-being.”
“Patience,” he grits out, looking at the sky, then at me. “Get your ass off my track.”
“I will if you tell me you’re all right.”
“I’m fucking terrible.”
My presence only seems to make things worse, so I leave.
He’s fine.
I’m fine.
We’re fine.
***
The next morning, I drive back to campus. After the security guard lets me pass, I drive the two-mile cobblestone road connecting the houses with the college. The campus is like a small town teeming with students.
The whole campus was designed in the shape of an eagle, the Family crest. The rest of the students live here. On the left and right sides of the road are houses ranging from small to large. In the middle is a shopping and entertainment complex, and the eagle holding a globe between its claws is a park.
Kaden talks to Blake, and they are both sitting on Kaden’s hood.
Parking, I step out of the car and take in Mia and Hunter’s college house. It’s a luxurious single-family home. Moving in with them after the whole fire incident will be interesting.
“I worry about him,” I say, approaching Kaden while looking at Blake going inside.
“What should I do, huh? Chain him to a chair until he talks?”
“I think that’s the only viable solution.”
The diamond on my finger sparkles under the sunrays, grabbing my attention. I stare at the engagement ring, urging it to catch fire and free me. “I knew it would happen, but…”
He lifts my chin and my lower lip wobbles. “It’s okay. This will be over soon.”
“And then what? I already lost…” I inhale deeply through the pressure stomping on my lungs.
When he pulls me to his side, I sigh but get myself under control.
Bailey is the last to come. She gets out of the car, looking crestfallen.
“What did they do now?” Kaden asks.
“The usual stuff.”
I hate her parents the most. You have to be a despicable human being to cripple a person as sweet as Bailey.
The moment I walk inside, I can feel the tension rolling in waves. Celine and Hunter are on one side of the room, and our group is on the other side. Blake and Mia are in a weird stare down before she walks toward us.
“Welcome. Should I show you to your rooms?”
Kaden offers a small nod. “Thank you. That would be great.”
She takes Kaden upstairs first while Blake, Bailey, and I wait in stiff silence in the hallway. Hunter and Celine move to the living room.
“Such a warm welcome,” I sigh.
When Mia comes downstairs, she shows me my room next. It’s a small bedroom with a single bed, a desk, a closet on the right wall, and a bathroom. All the necessary amenities are present, the white and cream look offering a peaceful ambiance.