“I’m good. I’ve got my car.” She holds up her keys for me to see.
I know tonight is not the night to argue with her. “Okay. I’ll follow you.”
I have to walk a little bit to where I parked, but I walk quickly. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to leave me behind. When she drives past me, I pull out and follow her. After the noise of the night, it's nice to drive in quiet.
When we get back to campus, I pull in next to Riley and park. I take her bag from her, and she doesn’t argue with me. We head towards her dorm, and a sense of peace comes over me. I’ve wanted to do this for so long—just be able to walk next to her, carry her bag, and see that she gets inside safely. We’re quiet as we walk inside and up the stairs to her room. She stops at her dorm room, and I hand her bag to her. “Thanks, Reid,” she whispers.
“You’re welcome. Get some rest, Riley.” Then I force myself to leave her behind. When I get back outside, I’m not surprised to see Zane.
“Did she already go in?”
I nod. Part of me wants to tell him to just let her be, let her sleep. The other part of me knows she might sleep better tonight if she patches things up with him. “Just don’t keep her up long; she’s tired. Don’t forget tonight was her first shift.”
“I know.” We both remember how exhausting the first few shifts are.
Chapter 12
Riley
Hey, can we talk real quick? In person.
I’m not surprised to hear from Zane.Sure.I’m glad I’m still dressed.
I’ll meet you in the lobby. I’m here now.
I grab a sweatshirt to throw over my dress and head downstairs. I glance around the lobby but only see Zane. I’m surprised at the disappointment that fills me. “Hey.” Zane walks right over to me and wraps his arms around me. “I’m sorry for being a jerk.”
I swallow hard. “I’m sorry too.”
He squeezes me tightly and then pulls back. “Tonight was an awful night, and I only made it worse. I’m sorry.”
“Did Evie make you come over here and apologize?” I can’t help but tease him.
“Oh, she was all for this,” he admits. “But I made this decision on my own. I know I was being a jerk.” He puts his hands around my biceps and looks me directly in the eyes. “I am so happy for you. Reid is a really, really good guy. And once I got my head back where it needed to be, I remembered that. If I had to choose a guy for my baby sister, I’d choose him. And, Reid deserves the best; he really is a good guy.” He makes sure I’m listening carefully. “And if I had to pick the best of the best for him,” he smiles. “I’d choose my baby sister.”
My eyes tear up, and I put my head against his chest. “I’m sorry for being so awful tonight.”
“You weren’t awful, Riley. That was a lot tonight.” He pulls back and stares down at me. “Are you sad about Peter?”
My stomach knots. “Not in the way it sounds. I was never interested in him that way. Honestly, he wasn’t even that great of a friend; but he was one of the few guy friends I had that didn’t want to be more than friends and was okay with me being who I was.”
“That can’t be true. You’re beautiful and talented and smart—”
“And taller than most of the guys I know and am stubborn and opinionated and—”
“And confident,” he says, cutting me off. “I’m sorry about him, for your sake.”
“I mean, I hate that he was killed.” A shudder rolls through me. “How did I miss that he was a skinwalker, Zane? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know.” He looks just as frustrated as I feel. “But we won’t figure it out tonight. You need to get sleep with what little time is left.”
“You do too,” I remind him. “Thank you, Zane.”
He gives me a soft smile. “Yeah. I know you’ve got Reid now, but if you need me, you know I’m always here for you, Sis. Always.”
I nod. “I know.” And I did; he’s always been the best brother to me. I glance outside. “Is Reid still out there?”
He nods. “He is.”
