I’m already going to be begging for her forgiveness for… as long as she needs me to.
“No.” His face is blank, like it normally is, but his eyes tell me there's much more to that story than just a simple no. They alsotell me not to ask, and for now, I won’t. I have my own problems to worry about.
“What? But she’s mortal! It’s like he wants us to slip up and get in trouble!” Gavin tosses his hands in the air as if that’s a wild thought. Honestly, I can’t say I would put it past him, though I’m not sure what purpose it would serve.
“He said there really aren’t any other rooms. Her aunt made a large donation, and her parents are alumni, so he couldn’t turn her away.”
“What?” This time, both Gavin and I shout the question at the same time, and I’m glad the room is sealed to keep unwanted people from overhearing our conversation.
He cringes, and I’m not sure if it’s from the yelling or if he wasn’t supposed to tell us that, but either way, we both sit waiting for an explanation.
“I don’t know more, really. My father said her parents were powerful, and she’s a dud.”
I collapse back into my chair as I attempt to make sense of his words.
She’s a dud...
Her file didn’t mention it, but then again, I’ve never met a dud; maybe that wasn’t something that was often disclosed.
Gavin falls back into the chair he’d abandoned just a moment ago, looking as shocked as I feel, before he shakes himself out of it.
“This doesn’t change anything, though. I mean, that sucks for her, but she’s still essentially mortal, which means she shouldn’t be in a room with us.”
“In a room, you mean on the damn couch,” I correct him, but he ignores me and keeps going.
“Her being there is putting us in danger. One wrong move and we could expose our world. It should be illegal for them to make us share a dorm. This feels like some kind of cosmic bad joke.After all the work I’ve put in, she just gets shit handed to her because her aunt has money!” He gets progressively louder as he continues his rant, pushing from the chair to pace the small space from my desk to Nolan, where he stands, eyes downcast.
“This isn’t just about grades, Gavin. You have her sleeping on a couch in a dorm full of guys she doesn’t know. I don’t think this is exactly easy for her either.” I try to be the voice of reason, but I know I’ve failed when he goes stiff before he whips around.
“Why are you taking her side?” he shouts, eyes blazing as he huffs, having worked himself up well beyond what is necessary for this situation.
“I’m not taking her side. I just think you might not be looking at all the angles. I know Wren gets under your skin, but she’s still a person. She deserves a room and safety, and...”
I have to cut myself off before I say something that I shouldn’t, but it doesn’t matter. My brother might be smart, but he can also be pretty damn stupid sometimes, and this is definitely one of those times.
“She doesn’t get under my skin! Wren’s a know-it-all princess who gets everything she wants because her family has money. She thinks she’s better than everyone around her, and I don’t want her in my space. It’s bad enough she already has Julian wrapped around her finger. It’s only a matter of time before they come to blows and the whole dorm is at odds!”
He doesn’t give me a chance to speak; instead, turning away and leaving, slamming the door closed behind him as he goes.
Wonderful.
I rub a hand over my eyes before I drop my head into my hands with a groan.
“What am I going to do with him?” I ask aloud more to myself than anything.
“Nothing. There’s nothing you can do with him because he’s convinced himself that she’s the devil, and until he sees with hisown eyes that she isn’t, there won’t be any reasoning with him. The most we can hope for is that she can keep ignoring him like she has been.”
I resist the urge to put my hands through my hair as my annoyance grows ever higher.
“Has he been giving her a hard time?” I force the words out, muffled by my hand, but Nolan doesn’t seem to have an issue understanding me.
“He isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows, but she’s tough, and he’s not overdoing it, yet.”
I drop my hands and really look at Nolan, where he still stands by the door. Something about the way he said that makes me think he knows more than he’s saying. He refuses to meet my gaze, and I know I’m right.
I don’t know for sure what his father told him, but it seems to be enough that he doesn’t agree with Gavin about the type of person Wren is, whereas I would have bet money he did prior to his meeting.
“She is, but she shouldn’t have to be all the time.”
