You're the Reason - J. Nathan Page 0,18
talk to and rely on.
“It’s just a bucket list of things I want to do before graduating. But some of them are really personal.”
“Like getting nipple rings?” Valerie bumped me with her arm, letting me know she was joking.
I laughed. “Something like that.”
“Why do you think she did it?” she asked.
I shrugged, though I was fairly certain I knew.
“So, what are you gonna do about it?”
“I’m not sure. I’m so mad right now that she even did it.”
“You should bleach one of her favorite shirts. Or, wait, cut her hair while she’s asleep. Or, better yet—”
“You’re starting to scare me.”
We shared a laugh. And, as much as I appreciated her trying to make me laugh and lighten the mood, I still had no idea what I was really going to do about this problem with Chantel.
“Was Chantel like this last year?” I asked. “Or do you think she’s just acting out because your house got shut down?”
“She’s definitely gotten worse.”
“Do you think Sydney Lane’s death changed her?”
Valerie’s eyes shot to mine. “What?”
“No one’s mentioned Sydney. Not you, not Chantel, not anyone. But I’m sure losing her last year must’ve been difficult on all of you.”
Valerie closed her eyes, pained by my words. “She was a great person,” she whispered.
“There are a lot of great people who struggle with mental illness,” I said.
She didn’t look at me, though I could see her eyes opened and focused on her shoes. “Her family doesn’t believe she struggled with any illness.”
“That’s why they’re having it investigated?”
She nodded.
“What do you think?”
She shrugged. “They’d know their daughter better than anyone.” Valerie pushed herself to her feet. “We should probably head back now.”
“Oh,” I said, realizing I’d made Valerie uncomfortable and she was done answering questions about her dead sorority sister. I grabbed my backpack and jar and stood, following her back to the dorm in silence. “You wanna get dinner?” I asked when we neared the back door of the building. “I really don’t want to go back to my room yet.”
Her mouth twisted as she considered my question. “I’m not really hungry.”
“Oh.” What the hell? She was always hungry. “Okay. I guess I’ll just…see you tomorrow.”
She nodded before walking back inside the dorm.
I didn’t feel like eating alone in the crowded dining hall, but there was no way I could go back to my room feeling as unsettled as I did in that moment. Chantel pissed me off, and I needed space.
CHAPTER TEN
I ended up at the campus coffee house, taking a spot at the back corner table. The place was dead save for a few scattered people seated alone. I didn’t bother popping in my earbuds, opting to eat my bagel sandwich and drink my coffee to the natural sounds of the whistling milk steamer and random orders being called.
Once I finished eating, I released the lid on the mason jar and pulled out the papers Chantel had so carelessly opened. I folded them back into the smaller squares they’d been in since I’d written each wish.
Had I overreacted? Did some people just not understand boundaries? Or, had she purposely done it to get a rise out of me? To punish me for—
The chair across from me scraped loudly back, and Chase dropped into it.
I said nothing, in no mood to banter with him right now. I closed my jar and pulled it closer to me.
“What’s that?”
“Your girlfriend didn’t already tell you?” I snapped.
His blank stare told me she probably hadn’t.
“Never mind.”
“You don’t like her, huh?”
I lifted my coffee to my lips. “Not today.”
He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “What’d she do?”
“I don’t feel like talking about it.” I sipped my coffee and avoided his eyes, hoping he’d take the hint and leave.
He didn’t. He remained in his chair staring at me from across the table.
“What?” I snapped. “Why are you still here?”
He glanced around the quiet coffee house. “Can’t a guy get a cup of coffee?”
My eyes landed purposely on the empty space in front of him on the table.
“Chase the Great!” the barista called.
Chase smirked, and my eyes couldn’t roll far enough back in my head. He stood and grabbed his coffee. I expected him to take off, leaving me to wallow in my anger, but he returned to my table, making himself comfortable in his chair.
“So, what’s in the jar?” he asked.
“None of your business.”
“Is it why you’re mad at Chantel?”
I drank my coffee so I didn’t have to answer him.
“You’re different than she is. I think