Page 13 of Safe Place

We reach the building, and he opens the door for me.

“You know,” he says as we head down the hall, “I don’t think I’ve ever been this early to class. You’re a terrible influence.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

As we step into the lecture hall, I veer toward the back. “Have a good class,” I say, heading toward my usual seat—third to last row, farthest from the door.

Micah frowns. “What? You don’t want to sit with me?”

I pause mid-step. “Oh—I just assumed you’d sit with Grant. Or Ella.”

I don’t know why I added the last part.

He grimaces. “Ella? I barely even know her.” Then, without hesitation, he follows me and drops into the seat beside mine like it’s always been his.

I haven’t sat next to anyone in class in a while. Maybe since last semester in my Public Speaking class, next to a guy I may or may not have developed a small crush on after we were paired together for a project—coincidentally. Apparently, that’s how these things start. But we haven’t kept in touch once the class ended, so there’s that. I figure the same thing will happen with Micah once this semester ends.

“You sure you want to sit this far back?” I ask.

He leans into the chair like he’s claimed it. “Perfect view of the board. Comfortable distance from the professor. From now on, this is my seat.”

My cheeks flush.

A few minutes later, Grant strolls in, all swagger and amusement. His grin stretches when he spots us and he takes the seat one over from Micah, leaving an empty seat between them. He tosses me a wink.

Declan arrives next, slipping into the seat in front of me. “Hey, Sophie. Micah. Grant.” He nods in greeting. “Are we sitting with our group today?”

“Uhm…no. But feel free to join us,” I offer quickly.

Then Ella walks in.

She doesn’t look at me. Doesn’t even acknowledge I’m here. She breezes past Declan and Grant and goes for the seat between him and Micah. But before she can sit, Micah reaches for Grant’s backpack and drops it into the empty chair.

Ella huffs and settles on Grant’s other side instead.

“Word at the house is you and Hailey are over,” she says, tone sharp.

Micah doesn’t even look at her. “There was never anything to be over.”

She lets out a sarcastic laugh. “Yeah? So you just hand out your hoodies and screw girls for months just because?”

Oh.

I don't know why I feel surprised. It's not like I expected Micah to not have a history. I mean, look at him. It has nothing to do with me. I barely know him. I just shift slightly in my seat and mind my own business.

I can feel Micah tense beside me.

Grant leans forward, clearly enjoying himself. “Ella, don’t act like you give a shit about your friend. You’re probably thrilled he’s single—not that he ever wasn’t. You’ve been trying to crawl into his lap since freshman year. Don’t pretend this is about her.”

“Fuck you, Grant,” she snaps.

He grins. “Funny. You were a lot nicer to me last year when you were moaning my name. Oh right, but then I found out you were also hooking up with my teammate—how’s Peterson, by the way? Still convinced you’re girlfriend material?”

She mutters something under her breath before straightening up and tossing a glance our way. “What are you all doing back here, anyway?”

Then she finally notices me. “Oh, hey, Sylvie,” she adds with fake sweetness. “Cute hoodie. Another Westcliffe one? Must be so proud to go here, considering your entire closet seems to be school merch. First in your family to go to college?”

I stiffen. I should be proud. I’m doing what I need to survive. This hoodie was ridiculously cheap with my employee discount—basically free thanks to the tiny defect. But still, I can’t help but feel an unwelcome shame.