Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124923 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 416(@300wpm)
Inhaling, I hold the smoke in my lungs and look at him out of the corner of my eye while trying to figure out how to respond. Today we might have called some sort of unspoken truce, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to trade secrets and braid each other’s hair.
“It’s complicated. Shayne doesn’t know.” It’s risky throwing it out there like that. Who’s to say he won’t run to his sister the second I leave just to spite me?
“None of my business,” he says. “Just trying to gauge whether my sister is going to be his target again. Even if he’s set his sights on Valen, my sister lives with her. She’s bound to get caught up in the crossfire. Hasn’t she dealt with enough from your family?”
So much for sticking to a safe subject.
“And I live right across the hall.”
“And yet, he still managed to waltz into their dorm without anyone noticing.”
Feeling my anger rise, I shake my head. I take another hit, waiting a beat before I speak again. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to her, you know? She’s my sister, too. I love her.”
Grey works his jaw, staring straight ahead. “Yeah. I know.”
Wanting to break the tension, I decide to give him shit. “And not in the way Thayer loves her. With his penis.”
He punches me on the arm.
“Ow, motherfucker!”
He snatches the joint from between my pinched fingers, then takes a drag. I laugh, rubbing at my arm. “In fact, she might even be more my sister than yours now.”
“What the fuck does that even mean?” he asks on a cough, his voice hoarse. Fucking baby lungs.
“Well, if Thayer keeps fucking her, technically, she’ll be my sister-in-law, too.” We both know it’s far past just fucking. Honestly, I’m surprised Thayer hasn’t already talked her into marriage. They practically lived together before school started, and if it wasn’t for the fact that living on campus is mandatory for freshmen, they still would.
Grey takes another hit before passing the joint back. “She’s still my blood, idiot. That trumps everything.”
I raise both eyebrows at his insinuation as if to say you sure about that? Technically, he and I are blood, too. Something I don’t think either one of us is ready to admit.
“Maybe not everything.”
“Dick.” I laugh.
“Runs in the family, apparently.”
I check my phone for the time, ignoring the stab of disappointment I feel when I don’t see Valen’s name in my notifications. She hasn’t texted me once today. Not that I expected her to. Knowing her, she’s still in the denial stage, too busy pretending she doesn’t like our little secret as much as I do. It’s already ten o’clock, which means I’ve officially spent my entire day on this bullshit. All I want to do is crawl into my bed and pass out while using Valen’s thighs for pillows. And now, thanks to our temporary arrangement, I can do just that.
I pass the joint back to Grey. “Parting gift,” I explain.
He shakes his head, stubbing it out on the lid of a water bottle that sits inside the cupholder. “Gotta drive.” Instead, he drops it into the chest pocket of his t-shirt for later and gives it a pat. We both step out into the night air and Grey’s shoulders hike up to his ears as he stuffs his hands into his pants pocket, but I welcome the cold.
“Thanks,” is all I say.
“Don’t mention it.”
The parking lot is the closest one to our dorms, but it’s still a fucking trek back to the room with the campus being the size of a small city. When I finally get to our hall, I hesitate between both doors, hand hovering over my door handle. I don’t know what I look like. I don’t know what I smell like. I should at the very least shower and change my clothes. A nice guy would probably send a courtesy text before showing up in her room late at night. Too bad I’m not a nice guy.
Fuck it. I’m already reaching for her door before I’ve made the conscious decision to do so. The fact that it hasn’t even been a full day and I’m this desperate for her should probably concern me, but I can’t seem to find it in me to give a shit. I want to see her now.
I knock, shoving my hands into my pockets, feeling weirdly nervous and on edge as I wait for her to come to the door. There’s loud music coming from a few dorm rooms down, so I knock again when she doesn’t answer. Still nothing. A feeling of dread snakes its way up my spine. I have the fleeting, irrational fear that my uncle could have come back for her in the name of revenge for my visit, but there’s no way he could’ve pulled himself together in time to beat me back here.