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“No, I fucked her for fourteen months. Payton and I haveneverbeen exclusive, and I can’t stand talking to her ninety percent of the time. She was a casual warm hole in the dark and I enjoyed plugging it.”
“And you wonder why Kaitlin wants nothing to do with you?” Did he hear himself?
“Shows what you know about girls. I never lied to Payton or led her on. Not doing it with Ace now, either. But that isn’t what I wanted to talk about.”
As rattled as I was by her surprise visit, it took me real time to notice the sober expression Lachlan wore. It wasn’t snark or sarcasm. “What happened?”
“Initiation is being set for January, and they gave her to RJ.”
“He needs to go.”
“Yes, he does,” Lachlan said as he straightened. “Are you in? Finally?”
Twenty-Six
KC
Finals week was brutal. Jonas and I spent the week mostly ignoring each other—no, not ignoring. He grabbed food one night, I got it the next. We both set up in the sitting room to study or work, but we were able to work in silence.
If we wanted music, we put on earbuds. I ran every morning, but winter storms kept me in the gym. Starting Monday, Jonas followed me to the gym. Surprised, I’d given him a questioning look, but he just put on his headset and walked on the treadmill next to mine.
What amused me was he brought a book with him and had it open in front of him as he moved. He didn’t try to engage me in conversation. Instead, he walked and studied while I ran. As odd as it seemed that first day, the next morning, I had a bottle of water waiting for him when he came out to join me.
Lachlan showed up on the second day, too. It amused me that Jonas claimed that treadmill right next to mine while I took the one on the end, leaving Lachlan nowhere to join me.
His bruised eye looked better, but I had a feeling Jonas itched to give him another one. It was just this little splash of sunshine in the middle of the intense week. I caught Lachlan watching me in the mirror more than once.
I also noticed Jonas glaring at him. It wasalmostcomedic, the three of us not talking but looking at each other. It kind of reminded me of a sitcom where the music should get more and more Benny Hill-like.
Right, finals were going to drive me right down the rabbit hole to a mental break. It was coming. I just needed to make it to the last day of the semester before I cracked.
Jackie left me a message each day assuring me Pen was doing well on the new chemo protocol. She’d been sicker than expected,but, and Jackie emphasized this point, they had admitted her to the children’s hospital.
“I promise if anything changes, you’ll know. I will keep you in the loop. They admitted her because they were worried about dehydration and nutrition. Despite not feeling great, she’s in wonderful spirits and she keeps playing with the bear you gave her with you singing. Focus on class, keep your head up, sleep, and remember to eat. We’ll see you over the holidays.”
It was the same message over and over. It helped. It helped a lot. Yvette, Aubrey, and I were planning to do the first week of break in in L.A. at my mom’s house. She was still off at the Sunshine Retreat and hadn’t answered a single call or message. Trish had gone radio fucking silent again. Thankfully, Johnny had let me know he’d tried to see her but no luck.
Poor guy. I felt for him. I wanted to yell at my mom for treating him poorly. And I invited him to Christmas in L.A. if he was out there. He said he’d think about it, and when I promised pie from Davina, he said a firm maybe. Poor dude.
Even with the distractions, there was more gossip and news stories. I ignored them. Fortunately, it looked like Captain Douchebag hadn’t been booted from the school. That was good. A kiss wasn’t worth his job, even if he was a dick about it sometimes.
In fact, Captain Douchebag stood proctoring our literature final on Wednesday. All the literature classes for this level were taking the exam. The quiet in the room was downright unnerving. Even more, I swore I could feel his gaze every time it brushed over me.
Maybe I imagined it, but I stole looks periodically—yeah that wasn’t distracting at all—and each time, he was definitely looking at me.
Not. Helping.
It took me almost the entire time allotted to finish the exam. The fact it included two detailed essay questions made me reread, check, and rework twice. Words were important, and I had a feeling I was overthinking all of this, but I couldn’t help it.
Ramsey touched my arm after I turned in the test booklet. “Do you have a minute?”
Did I?
Um…
I shook off some of the sleepy and nodded. “I don’t have another final until tomorrow.” Awareness of Jonas waiting for me at the door—well, I assumed he was waiting for me, I motioned toward him. “Mind if Jonas hangs out?”
Surprise flickered across Ramsey’s face for a moment before he glanced at his brother, then he nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll be right with you both.”
