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CHAPTER FOUR
Indi
Icaught a bus backto campus and made it almost to my dorm room in one of the four giant towers that looked like mini citadels bordering Rippton U’s imposing campus before Xoan caught up with me.
His frantic footsteps heralded his arrival and without turning around I knew it was him. Unlike anyone else, he didn’t call out, or grab me or even get angry that I left after drawing all over the cover art I made for him and adding to his lyrics.
There were half a dozen other reasons I’m sure I could think of for him to fire me before I started, but I didn’t think he was here to dress me down.
Undress me, perhaps...
Or maybe that was just a wild wish rolling around my mind. My spine tensed as he caught up with me and fell into step at my side, shortening his long strides to better match my duck-butt pace.
He liked his silences, for all that he made a ton of noise on stage. But the silence in that little room without him became more than unbearable in his absence. What if he brought back a different girl? What if he forgot about me and left me there?
What if, what if whatif...
And yet here he was, walking back to the dorm with me, two guitar cases strung across his chest bouncing gently with his loping stride like it was the most natural thing in all the world.
A rock star, walking with me.
Very much not my natural environment.
I gripped my portfolio tight and opened my mouth to ask about his gig, but nothing at all fell out.
That all pervading silence was back.
“You left,” he broke the silence abruptly, turning to face me. “I came back and you were gone.”
Something almost painful in his voice hit me as an accusation.
I swallowed hard. “You said you didn’t do encores.”
“I don’t.” He paused. “I didn’t.”
“Oh.”
“Is that why you left?”
I nibbled my bottom lip as he stopped walking and turned to face me. Sighing, I faced him too, unable to pop my own confession out.
“You didn’t want to be rejected. I understand that. It hurts.”
