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Our point seems to get made better when we use her name as opposed to calling her Duchess.
Her posture is still stiff. Making myself appear more relaxed and at ease, I reposition myself, leaning against the headboard. My arms are crossed over my chest, and my ankles are crossed, giving an aloof appearance. Kennedy jumps as I move, edging herself into the corner. Considering her clothes, or better yet, lack thereof, she can’t escape.
“I…I was out with Kassidy.”
“We already assumed as much. I want to know where you were, as you weren’t on campus.”
My tone remains subdued, hiding how truly pissed off I really am. The longer we piss around down here, the less time Gareth has to explain. We need to get upstairs now! Kennedy’s back is straight, her posture still.
“It shouldn’t matter where I was,” she mutters softly, breaking our stare down.
She moves to sit on the edge of Calista’s bed. Every muscle in her body is tight.
“It would be such an issue if you had returned at leastoneof our messages.”
“Yes, the four of you blew up my phone so much the battery died.”
My eyes squint, trying to tell if that is a lie or not. One of my eyebrows raises at her indignant tone as if we wronged her somehow.
“If you had responded, or may not have disappeared, we wouldn’t have blown up your phone.”
Kennedy ignores my statement, trying to brush it off. “Why are you in my room, Callum?”
“See, if you had answered your phone, you would already know the answer.”
Kennedy pinches the bridge of her nose as if the conversation is tedious. It is, but she doesn’t know what is happening. Her pulling a Houdini and disappearing for several hours just compounded the problem.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I ignore it. No doubt, if Kennedy gets the opportunity, she will ghost us again.
“Callum, I am tired. It has been a long week, and I have calls to make, plus arrange a flight home.”
The mention of her going home has my attention. Sitting up, putting my feet on the floor, and resting my elbows on my knees, my voice gets serious.
“I need you to come to our rooms… Please.”
Hopefully, adding “Please” will make her agree to come willingly. She has been acting very standoffish, and none of us know why.
“Callum, I just want to go to sleep.” Kennedy’s voice has a whiny tone to it, which is unusual, having never heard her speak like this before.
“Kennedy, look, we need to talk to you. If you aren’t willing to come to me upstairs, the guys can come here because thiscan’twait.” Using an almost pleading tone, my patience wains, waiting for her response. Finally, resignation shows on her face, and she drops her head in defeat.
Walking to her closet, she pulls out a pair of lounge pants with a coffee-themed print on them. After slipping those on, she pulls her hair up in a clip and slips her feet into a pair of flip-flops.
“Let’s get this over with.” She sighs out, grabbing a sweatshirt from her desk chair on her way to the door.
Jumping to my feet, I rush to catch the door just before it closes behind her.
CHAPTERFORTY-TWO
Making our way up to the guys’ room, Callum keeps his hand pressed against my lower back. It’s as if he expects me to try and make a run for it.
Why would I bother since they have a key to my room?
We cut through Ashton and Callum’s room through the bathroom and into Rodney and Gareth’s room. Ashton fell in line behind us when we passed him.
“Now that you have me here, what is the problem? I want to go to bed.”
My tone is snippy, but I don’t give a shit at this point. All four of them spent the afternoon looking for me. Trying to avoid contact with anyone I thought might rat me out stressed me out.
