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“My door is open.”

“Huh, that’s weird. Maybe you left it unlocked by accident.”

“No, I didn’t. I specifically remember checking it.” I creep forward, my heart thundering in my chest.

“Maybe we should get security?” she suggests, but I’m already at the door. There’s no sign of forced entry. I push it open and slip inside. Everything looks untouched. My bed is still half-made and clothes strewn around the floor. I never claimed to be tidy.

“Anything?” Hadley moves up behind me.

“Everything looks okay,” I say, checking my sparse belongings. But when I pass the bathroom door, something catches my eye.

I nudge open the door and gasp.

“Kennedy—what the hell is that?”

“Watch your back, trailer trash.” I read the red lipstick message smeared across the glass mirror hanging above the sink.

“Oh my God, she’s a crazy fucking bitch.” Hadley leans closer. “She even kissed the mirror.”

Sure enough, there’s a perfect red kiss just beneath the message.

“Lylah.” I spit her name, feeling anger explode in my veins.

“I’m going to call Conner.”

“No,” I snap.

“No?” Hadley frowns.

“I don’t want to give her the satisfaction. She’s never going to stop, Hadley. The only way I’ll win is if I ignore her.”

“Yeah, I get that, Kennedy. But she broke into your room. That’s serious.”

“For all I know the RA probably let her in, or she sweet talked someone into giving her a spare key.”

“She’s such a bitch.”

“Yeah.” I inhale a deep breath.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call Conner?”

“No,” I rush out.

He’s finally in a good place, I don’t want to burst his bubble. Besides, it’s just words. I’ve dealt with worse, much worse.

I grab some paper towels, run them under the faucet, and start cleaning the glass. A sense of resolve washes over me as the red smudges finally disappear.

Nothing is going to ruin this weekend.

Nothing.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Conner

"What do you think?" I ask as we sit on a bench that looks out over Colton U's main buildings.