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We got a dozen to make sure we had a backup if we had the same problem. Dix had sent me a picture of her cradling the new sloth.
I scrolled to that image on my phone and grinned at her happy little face. Some of her hair had begun to fall out. Not a lot, but it was noticeable how it had thinned around her pigtails. Jackie discussed getting it cut just to make it easier for her while she was in the hospital. It was hard to get her hair braided properly with everything else.
Tracing my fingers over her face, I sighed, then closed out of that and glanced at the gray, gloomy, rapidly darkening sky. Yeah, I was gonna go take a shower and then order takeout unless we had leftovers to heat up.
Oh, we might.
The walk to the dorms left me soaked despite my hurry. Aubrey and I had used an umbrella earlier, but I left it with her. No biggie. I was cold, but I could warm up in the shower. Inside, I got the wet off my shoes and shuddered before I jogged up the steps.
I didn’t know if it was the rain or talking to Bronson about break-ups or thinking about Pen, but the whole day just seemed—darker somehow. Shaking off the melancholy, I shifted my backpack before I unlocked the door to let myself in.
The light in the kitchenette was on, but we always left it on. The whole suite felt quiet and shadowed—empty. Maybe Jonas had stuff to do after classes, too. I checked my phone to see if I had any messages from Aubrey before I set my backpack down.
A faintly funky smell tickled my nostrils. I frowned. Did we forget to take out the trash? I diverted to the little kitchen area. I never had to remember it ‘cause Jonas took it out like clockwork almost every day.
Honestly, it was a really nice thing to do and after a while I stopped thinking about it. When I opened the drawer with the little trash can in it though, it was empty with a fresh trash bag in it.
What the hell was that smell?
I checked me, just to be sure, then loosened the tie of my uniform. It wasn’t laundry, that had been picked up, so whatever it was, I’d find it after I showered. Hopefully we didn’t shove a food package under the sofa or something.
That happened to me once and I didn’t think I’d ever get over finding the fuzzy, desiccated remains of what I thought had been a microwavable burrito.
Just nope.
I went to unlock my door and it pushed right in. I flipped on the light and stared.
The room was—trashed.
The funky smell hit me full force. There were shredded books on the floor. All of my clothes had been dragged out of the closet and they were in tatters…it looked like someone had just got scissor happy. There were pictures scattered along with papers amongst the ripped books.
The smell? It was coming from the bed. The pillows had been ripped up. The sheets and the comforter had been ripped and the stuffing flung everywhere.
Right in the middle of all of it was a pile of shit. A legitimate pile of shit. There were also print outs and magazine clippings. I had my phone fisted in my hand as I stared at the photos of me and the douchebags. In each one, they had their faces scratched out.
The smell and the damage…it was awful.
It was also creepy as fuck. Backing up, I began my retreat and then froze. I had two stands in my bedroom. One for each guitar. The cases were in the closet.
One of my guitars was still there with every single one of the strings cut and the fret board looked awful. Tears clogged in my throat. But the second guitar…
The one Dad gave me.
It was gone.
I swung my gaze around at all the destruction. Where was it? Why wasn’t it here?
What if they destroyed it, too? The strings could be replaced and I could fix the fret… but if it was gone.
My eyes went hot. The smell was making me gag, and I pulled the phone up to dial security as I made it to the sitting room. Something hard hit the back of my head. It was like slamming into a wall if I’d been falling. As it was, I pitched forward and my phone went flying as I tried to catch myself.
I managed to get my hands out, hitting my knees hard enough to jar my teeth. Shoes entered my periphery, but I couldn’t get my eyes to focus and I tried to lift my head when another blow crashed into me and the world went black.
Thirty-Three
LACHLAN
“So why no college?” I asked as I followed Jonas toward the stairs. I’d “run into” him coming out of the music hall where he’d been using one of the studios. I’d had a lecture one building over, and I’d only had to wait fifteen minutes for him to emerge.
