Page 84 of Colton

And later tonight, when she’s finally asleep on my chest, I decide it’s been long enough. Every plan I had to take care of these issues in the town is set into motion, because by the time she graduates, Saint Valley will be the safest place for her to exist.

I swear it.

32

The weekend flew by too quickly.

By nine in the evening, I’m back in my dorm, opening the door. Immediately, I come to a halt when I spot Grace lying on my bed, and Sophia with a stern expression on her face. Both of them turn to look at me, then glance at the bags in my hands, before looking back at my face.

“That,” Sophia points to the bags, “will be discussed tomorrow. But right now, we have a crisis.”

The door closes behind me, and I drop the bags, rushing to sit next to Grace — as much as her sprawled figure allows. She isn’t the tallest by any means, but she’s able to make this bed barely fit her, let alone another person.

“What’s happening?”

“Sophia thinks Lila needs an intervention,” Grace says with an eye roll. “Honestly, if we received pennies for every situation Sophia deemed intervention-worthy, we’d be rich.”

“This is serious!” Sophia defends, worry evident in her eyes. “I’m really not sure what we’re going to do with her.”

“Okay, I was gone for one weekend only,” I say. “What the hell did I miss?”

“Lila’s obsessed with a man.”

A frown appears on my face, and I fail to understand why that would need an intervention. Then, the missing piece of the puzzle falls into place, and it all clicks in my head. I take a deep breath, and a small groan slips from my lips.

“Is she obsessed with that priest?!”

“Thank you!” Sophia says, exasperated. “Finally someone who understands the gravity of the situation!”

“Wait, hold on,” I try to backtrack, and Sophia shoots me a warning glare. “So she has a crush! Big deal, it’s not like she’s stalking or bothering him.”

“No,” Sophia drawls. “But ask me where she is right now.”

“Do I want to know?”

“She’s at church,” Sophia deadpans. “At nine o’clock in the evening.”

“So?” I frown. “Lila’s religious, we all knew that.”

“Unless she’s a fanatic, there’s no reason for her to be at church on a Sunday evening when she’s supposed to be in her dorm! And the damned church is in the forest. Sure, the campus is more or less safe, but no place is ever truly safe.”

My eyes soften. “You’re worried about her.”

“Obviously!” Sophia throws her hands up. “Why do you think I want to hold an intervention? This kind of obsession isn’t healthy?”

“Avalon’s obsessed with Colton,” Grace says, and I throw her a glare.

“Not the same thing,” Sophia and I say at the same time.

Grace glances between the two of us, raising her hands in surrender. “Alright, take it easy. But, for scientific purposes, how is it different, exactly?”

“For one, Priest Silas is much older than her,” Sophia says flatly.

Grace sits up, shrugging. “Colton’s older by seventeen years.”

“Well, Silas is forbidden fruit!” I scoff.

“So is Colton,” Grace says. “You guys suck at finding logic here. The only slight difference in the situations would be that Colton and Avalon? It could possibly happen. I highly doubt a priest would be with someone our age and throw his beliefs down the drain.”