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Chapter Twenty-one
Zadie
“Myfatherdoesn’tbelievein renting,” Elena declared.
Helen rolled her eyes. “Renting isn’t like the Tooth Fairy. It’s a real, tangible thing. You can’t not believe in it.”
Elena rolled her eyes right back. “Obviously he knows it’s real. Don’t be purposely obtuse.”
“Don’t be purposely classist,” Helen tossed back.
I took a bite of my sandwich, wondering how Elena and Helen were going to survive another year of living together when they couldn’t even get through a meal in the dining hall without going at it. Although, I wasn’t sure either of them would like me once I told them Amir and I were together. I’d put it off for another week, but the end was almost here. I’d give myself this weekend, then I’d tell them.
“It’s mydad, not me,” Elena groaned. “And I had a point of bringing that up.”
“What? What’s your point?” Helen challenged.
Elena wagged a perfectly manicured finger at her. “My point is, I mentioned to my father that I wanted to start to look at houses for the three of us to live in. He balked at first, then came back with the idea of investing in rental properties near campus.”
Helen’s face flushed. Her red lips parted. “So, your dad is buying you a house?”
“He plans on buying a few as investments. We’ll live in one. It’s honestly very cool. My dad won’t be a slumlord or anything, and he’s agreed to allow me to help fix up a few of them.”
Helen snorted. “You’re going to do manual labor?”
Elena held her hands out. “Look at these nails. Are these the nails of someone who does manual labor? No. I’ll bedesigningthe improvements.”
“I think it’s a great idea,” I interjected. The two of them could go back and forth forever, and while they amused me, Amir was picking me up in a half hour, so I couldn’t sit here with them all night. He was already impatient enough to get me. I’d just texted him I was still at dinner and he sent me a scowling emoji back.
“I don’t think college students needdesigns,” Helen drawled.
Elena arched a brow. “Oh? So I should just let the contractor choose the new tiles for the bathrooms? And the cabinets in the kitchen?” She snapped her fingers. “One second, those sound likedesignchoices, which I will make. What’s your problem? I told you we’d pay equitably. I don’t get why you wouldn’t want to have a nice place to live.”
Helen started to say something else, but my attention was pulled away when someone took the empty seat beside me. Cold dread pooled in my stomach and spread through my veins like ice.
“Can we talk?”
Elliott Schiffer had his arm draped around the back of my chair and was leaning into me, creating a false intimacy between us.
“Hey.” I leaned back, hitting Helen’s shoulder. “How are you?”
His brow furrowed. “Forget me. I’m worried about you. Areyouokay?”
I hadn’t heard a peep from Elliott since he’d offered me up as a human sacrifice. Not a text or call. Nothing. And that was good, because I had no doubt Amir would follow through on his threats and eviscerate Elliott if he caught him even looking at me.
“I’m fine. You should go, though.”
“I miss you, Zadie. I shouldn’t have done what I did. I realize what a good thing you and I had and—”
I frowned at him. “We barely kissed. I’m pretty certain you don’t know my last name or where I grew up. I don’t know—”
“I know your last name is Night.” His eyes shifted to the side, then back. “I don’t remember where you grew up, if you ever told me, but we can get to know each other. How much longer do you have to do thisthingwith him?”
He brought his hand up from my chair to graze my shoulder. I shivered, the dread in my belly turning to revulsion. I tried to pull away more, but since Helen was beside me, I had nowhere to go.
It didn’t matter anyway.
One second Elliott was looking at me with sad, puppy-dog eyes. The next, his head was slammed down on the table.
