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“I’m on campus.”
“Campus? What in the ever-loving… Are you drunk, Bash?”
“I’m not drunk. And yes, I’m on campus, like a college campus.”
There is a beat of silence as she processes my words. A whole blissful minute of silence…
“You’re in college?!” she asks, her voice so screechy I have to pull the phone away from my ear. “Are you sick? Is this a joke? Because, let me tell you, it’s not funny…”
“It’s not a joke.” I let out a long sigh, running my hand over the scruff on my jaw.
“It sounds like a joke. You? In college? Doing what?”
I have no fucking clue.
“College stuff,” I say evenly. I guess she’d know better what that entails since she actually had a relatively normal life before entering the competition. “Are you done with your questioning?”
“Oh, no, I’ve barely started. ‘College stuff,’” I can practically see her drawing the air quotes, “sounds like you have it all totally figured out. Which college?”
“As if I’d tell you.” I was pretty sure that if she knew, she’d be knocking on my door first thing tomorrow morning. I pinch the bridge of my nose. No, I’m definitely not telling her shit. “Was there a point to this conversation, or did you just call to mock me?”
“I called to make sure you’re alive, considering you haven’t talked to anybody since you up and leftmonthsago.”
“I’m twenty-three. Hardly a kid, Sera. I know how to take care of myself.”
“Mhmm… I can totally see that,” she mutters dryly. She was never one to beat around the bush. With Sera, what you see is what you get. Which is one of the reasons I liked her.Usually.
“I’d have called if something was wrong.”
“Or you could have been dead, and nobody would have been the wiser since you couldn’t find a second to answer a damn call. And why? Because you went off to college?”
“You know why I had to leave,” I snap, making a few heads turn toward me.
Well, shit. So much for keeping my head low.
“Exactly! That’s why I was worried in the first place about your stubborn ass. Not that you appreciate it.”
It was a lie, though. She knew a part of the reason for my absence but not the whole thing. Nobody knew, and I’d prefer it if it stayed that way.
Cursing silently, I duck my head to avoid anybody staring at me for too long and make my way through the crowd. Instead of going out, I move further down the hallway, checking the labels on the doors.
“You don’t have to be worried about me. I’m fine.”
“Because nothing screams ‘fine’ more than stopping your tour before it’s done, canceling all your appearances, and disappearing from the face of the Earth for the last few months. Except, only when you finally decided to pick up the damn phone did you tell me that you’ve suddenly left the career you love to go tocollege?But by all means, tell me just howfineyou are.”
“Iamfine,” I grit through clenched teeth, my fingers tightening around my phone as the irritation threatened to suffocate me, along with the memories I’ve tried my best to push inside a box at the back of my mind over the last few months.
The laughter rang in the room as we were getting ready to go out on stage.
The sweet scent of weed mixed with the heavy perfume of the brunette clinging to my side.
The feel of her mouth brushing against my neck.
Leaning down and kissing her.
The taste of vodka on her tongue.
A heavy thud coming from the bathroom.
