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“Yeah,” Charlie replies, eyes never leaving the library’s grand entrance, where shadows play tricks, and every sound feels like a warning.
“Enough of this. I’m going to get her.”
Movement flickers at the front door. Charlie’s stance tenses, ready to spring.
“She’s here,” he murmurs, and we both lean closer to the dark, watching, waiting for Ever to step into our line of sight.
26
CHARLES
“Do you have someone you can call to walk you home?” the Librarian asks Ever as Alistair and I slip through the night towards her.
“We’re here for her,” I say, stepping into the light and making them both jump. “But thank you for looking out for our girl.”
The Librarian gives me a narrow-eyed glare before shifting her gaze to Alistair. “You know these two?” she asks Ever, folding her arms. “Or am I calling campus security?”
Ever giggles, that sweet, sweet sound. “I know them. They’re my housemates.”
The Librarian stands down, and with a smile at Ever, she closes up and Ever gives us a searching stare.
“What are you doing here?”
“It got dark, you didn’t come home, we trackedyou here and were waiting for you to come out so we could walk you home,” I explain briefly.
She smiles, nodding her head so that her blonde hair fluffs around her. “I see. You’re my protectors now?”
“We will never let anything happen to you again, Ever,” Alistair states. “We let you down once; it won’t happen again.”
“You didn’t let me down. You had nothing to do with Stanley and that situation.”
“We should’ve stopped you from going,” Alistair practically snarls, getting worked up, not at Ever, but at himself.
Ever raises an eyebrow. “Stopped me from going? And how you do think that would’ve gone down, Your Grace?”
He hisses as she uses his royal title, and I know the effect that has on him. Usually, he hates it, but tumbling from her lips, it will be a benediction.
He squints at her to her amusement as she challenges him. “You are a very frustrating creature,” he growls.
“No, I’m not some damsel who needs locking up in her tower. Okay, yes, Saturday night was bad. Very bad, and if you guys hadn’t shown up, I’d be a ruined mess right now and probably crying in my bed at home, having given up on all this.” She waves her hand around. “But here we are, so please stop blaming yourselves.” She shifts her gaze to me before looking back at Alistair. “Okay?”
“Fine, but going forward, you will not walk anywhere alone. Got it?”
“Is that an order?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Is that like a ‘I live under your roof, so I’ll abide by your rules’ type of thing?”
“Yes,” he says with a smirk. “Fuck, yes. If that’s what it takes.”
Snorting into my hands as she appears about to whack him around the head with that very large and dusty book she’s hugging to her chest, I step in.
“It’s cold and raining. Can we continue this at home, please?”
“Good idea,” Ever mutters and starts walking. Then she stops. “Have either of you heard from Alex lately? I haven’t seen him since that party. I don’t know if he’s avoiding me or what?”
“He went home for a few days. Family shit,” I say, exchanging a wary glance with Alistair. We both know we should come clean about the twin, but this is not the time. She will feel extremely betrayed and worried, and it’s probably better coming from Alex. With a nod, Alistair knows my thoughts and will make sure North-West has a conversation with Ever about this.
