AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Tara plops into the chair beside me, her face so red I’m sure she would spit flames if she could. Vance is busy on his phone, and doesn’t look up at her. I give her a smile, but her eyes are glued on him. A second later, she grabs the phone out of his hand.
That gets Vance’s attention, and he looks up to find himself staring at Tara’s darkened expression. I cover my mouth to hold in a chuckle.
“What’s your problem?” Vance asks, reaching for his phone.
Tara moves it out of his grasp. The scene repeats itself a couple times—Vance trying to grab his phone from her, Tara eluding his attempt—until Vance lets out an exasperated sigh.
That’s when Tara speaks. “You’re holding Alize hostage?” she hisses.
Vance’s eyes widen and he shakes his head. “No, why—” He looks at me. “Is that what you told her? I thought we had a deal.”
I take a sip of my orange juice, shrugging. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, pulling a small smile.
Now that my stomach is full and hunger isn’t forcing me into fight-or-flight, I’ve regained my sense of humor. Vance frowns, turning back to Tara who looks like she’s a few seconds away from stabbing him with a fork.
“It’s not what it sounds like,” Vance says. “Locking her up was Alexander’s idea. I’m the one who brought her here so she can finally eat.”
Tara isn’t amused. “How magnanimous of you.”
“Just—don’t tell Alexander,” he says. “I’m not the bad guy here, truly.”
Tara looks down at the phone in her hands, then at me, then back to Vance. She tosses the phone in his lap. “You’re buying me breakfast for the inconvenience.”
Vance laughs. “That isn’t a problem.”
Tara plucks one of the menus from the table, and starts thumbing through it. Even though she always orders the same thing every time we come here for breakfast, she always makes a show of looking at the menu. By now, I know her order by heart.
“How are you feeling?” she asks me, after the waiter has taken her order of a potato omelet, coffee and toast.
I shrug. “I’m not sure,” I say. “I’m fine, I guess.”
She webs her fingers beneath her chin, resting her elbows on the table. “That’s not good enough for me.” Her eyes are filled with compassion. “Now that you’ve got Alexander out of your hair for a bit, I say we do something to make you feel better.”
Vance perks up at her words, breaking his attention from whatever issoenthralling on his phone.
“Slow down,” he says. “Alexander might be away, but he left Ezra and I in charge of her.”
My mouth falls open. “Are you even listening to yourself? I’m not an inanimate object, or a kid who needs someone ‘in charge’ of me!”
My words faze through him. “I’m just covering my ass, it’s nothing personal. Alexander would have my head if he knew I let you out of my sight.”
“Well, since she has a bodyguard now, it seems like the perfect opportunity to go off campus.”
“To do what?” I ask. Vance’s eyes hold the same question.
Tara smiles, shaking her shoulders noncommittally. “How the fuck would I know? I say we take the day off, and go do some fun shit. We all have a break from exams.” She starts listing out things with her fingers. “We could go for a hike, we could go shopping—”
An idea pops into my head. “I can finally change my hair color.”
Tara’s eyes light up. “Yes!” She gets out her phone. “In that case, we can go to the salon like right now—it’s still early and I think I can have them squeeze us in—and then get some new clothes to match the new hair!” She does a little squeal, shaking one of her hands. “I am so fucking excited.”
Vance’s expression is drawn.
“I can’t let you go by yourself,” he says to me.
Tara pipes up. “Then come. You could use a little help with that pitiful hairstyle.”
One of his hands moves to his hair. He runs his fingers through the strands slowly, confusion spreading on his face. “What’s wrong with my hair?”
