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I groaned. “That’s notexactlywhat happened.” Once again, I went into detail about what happened with Damian. I barely knew these two, but they had both shown kindness and understanding where others hadn’t, so I decided to trust them. What was the worst that could happen? They go off and tell someone thetruthabout whatactuallyhappened with Damian?
“That’s… actually pretty hot,” Justin said. “I can see why you fell for it. I would have, too.”
I nodded. “Well, I’m gladsomeonegets it because I sure as shit don’t.”
Luna finished sewing the sides of my white shirt, and she motioned for me to stand again. I slipped the shirt on and began to button it.
“He’s hot,” Luna said. “He’s hot, and you’re naïve. Your accent tells me you’re not from around here. Midwest?” I nodded. I’d told Asher I was from Indiana, but I wished I hadn’t. It was really stupid. “So, that means you probably trust a little easier than most people. You’re not used to the shit people pull around here. It’s fun and amusing in books and movies, but when youactuallyrun into people that fucking diabolical?” She tilted her head, her brows raising. “Yeah.Totallydifferent.”
“I’m talking to Asher after I leave here,” I admitted. “I promised him I would. I also promised I wouldn’t tell anyone, but I feel relatively safe with you both. Besides, even if you told anyone, it’s not like it could get much worse than it was today. Agreeing to go talk to him tonight was the only reason I got to eat lunch at all.”
“Don’t trust him, Temperance,” Justin warned as Luna fidgeted with my shirt. “He’s Damian’s best friend. He can’t be trusted. I’ve seen him destroy lives just like Wolfe has.”
“I won’t,” I said, though I wasn’t sure how true that was. Only time would tell how many mistakes I’d make.
“Okay,” Luna said. “This is as good as it’s going to get. Take it off. I’ll have you leave all your skirts and a couple of other shirts here with me so I can alter them all.”
“How’d you get that gnarly scar, by the way?” Justin asked, momentarily looking up from his phone to look at my side. “I didn’t want to be rude and ask, but then my curiosity got the best of me.”
“Car accident,” I said automatically. The second it was out, I felt bad for lying, but I knew I didn’t have a choice. It was best for everyone.
“Damn,” he said. “That must have hurt.” I nodded but didn’t respond otherwise, staring at the floor as I handed the shirt to Luna. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
I jumped a little as Justin gently reached for my hand, my eyes meeting his. There was obvious regret there, and I felt bad for making him feel bad.
“No,” I said, squeezing his hand. “It’s okay. Really. It happened a couple of months ago. I lost my parents. Still gets to me sometimes.”
His lips pressed into a straight line, and he nodded. “Well, you’re safe here with us. We’ll take care of you.”
I smiled. “Thanks.”
He gave a curt nod and squeezed my hand back before letting go and sitting back on the couch, once again scrolling through his phone. I never caught him looking at me sexually a single time. Either he wasreallysmooth at it, or he truly was a gentleman.
I was betting on thesmoothbit.
It was almost seven, so Luna quickly measured my skirt on me to alter those as well. She had me try on one of her black shirts and one of her skirts, and while they fit much better than my other uniforms, they weren’t perfect.
“Here. Take these. I’ll have your stuff done for you and ready by morning, but just in case something goes wrong, you’ll have something good to wear. Once we get the new black shirts, we’ll put some curves in the sides, so they fit nicely, too. They’re much better than these, but they’re made for guys, so they’re straight up and down. Unfortunately, Crestview has a veryboys will be boysoutlook, so the guys get to dress sharp as fuck while the girls are supposed to look dumpy. It’s sexist and gross.”
That was an understatement. Not to mention their outdated gender views when it came to clothing. If any trans kids attended the school, I felt terrible for them for being stuck in clothing that didn’t represent who they were.
“Thank you so much,” I said. “I have no idea how to sew, so I appreciate it. I’d have to suffer as the daughter of a cereal box if it weren’t for you.”
She laughed and waved me off. “No problem. I couldn’t leave you to that fate. You better go, though. I wouldn’t want to have to sic Justin on Asher if he comes here looking for you.”
Justin lazily looked up from his phone, a dark grin on his face that made him look oddly dangerous and beautiful. “Yeah, I’d hate for him to have anaccident.”
I immediately thought back to what Luna said about him being scary as fuck. He reminded me of a panther or some other big cat right then. Something super snuggly looking until he bared his teeth, and then he was death walking. I had no doubt that Luna was right.
There was definitely more to Justin than meets the eye.
I snorted at his dark joke. “Yeah. I’d ‘hate’ for that to happen,” I said, putting air quotes aroundhate.
After asking Luna for directions to the gym, we said our goodbyes, and I headed back to my apartment to drop off my things and get changed into some workout clothes. The purpose of my visit to the gym may have been to talk to Asher, but I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to work out.
It would be the first time since the attack, and I wanted to make the best of it. The soreness had gone away, and I felt fully healed. The doctors released me to return to activity as normal, though they said fatigue would be expected and to take it easy for that reason. Just ease back into it, and I’d probably regain my full strength within a few weeks to a couple of months with regular exercise.
While I dreaded the idea of talking to Asher after the day I’d had, I was happy I’d be able to get a workout in.
