You're the Reason - J. Nathan Page 0,44
Last night had been amazing. I just wished I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop.
***
Rain trickled down as Valerie and I ducked beneath our hoodies on our way to the dining hall for lunch.
“Do you know how bad I wanted to text you last night to hear what was going on?” she said.
I laughed. “You mean, you didn’t come by and put your ear to the door?”
She laughed. “I thought about it.” Her eyebrows bounced. “Did you guys…?”
I shook my head, not feeling like getting into the whole virginity thing. Sure, we were getting closer, but it wasn’t something I openly discussed—unless provoked by an evil roommate.
“I’ve never seen him hold Chantel’s hand,” she said. “Or seek her out. And, the only time I’ve seen him show her any affection was that night you showed up thinking he sent the Uber.”
“Seriously?”
“Oh, yeah. They were never touchy-feely. They were the complete opposite of how he was with you last night.”
A strange sense of satisfaction washed over me as we made our way into the dining hall, shaking off the light rain that clung to our hoodies. We grabbed sandwich wraps and chocolate cake and found a table by the window.
“So?” she said.
“So what?”
“What did you do?” she asked.
I hesitated, unsure how much I wanted to say. “Well, when we left the party, we walked across campus.”
Her brows furrowed, as if she wanted chocolate but got vanilla instead.
“It was nice,” I said. “He brought me to the roof of one of the buildings. I think it was Salvador Hall. The one with the castle roof.”
I watched her swallow down hard.
“Have you ever been up there?” I asked, before biting into my cake.
She shook her head, her eyes growing distant.
“He said they take their pledges up there.”
Her eyes focused on the untouched vegetable wrap on her plate. “He shouldn’t be talking about pledge stuff.”
“Do the Alpha Phis do that?”
Her eyes flashed up, fear swirling in them.
“Did you have to stand on the ledge and recite your motto?”
Tears welled in her eyes. “Why are you asking me this?”
Aw, shit. What had I stumbled upon? I reached across the table and placed my hand over hers. “Oh, honey, you can talk to me. What’s going on?”
She tugged her hand away. “Don’t,” she whispered. “People are always watching.”
I glanced around the room. Some of her sisters were at a nearby table. While some of them were in the middle of conversations, others definitely looked our way. I looked back to her, speaking softly. “Did someone threaten you?”
“Please stop asking me questions.” Valerie jumped to her feet. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Valerie.” I went to stand up.
“Stay here,” she said through clenched teeth. “Just let me go.”
“But—”
She spun away from me and hurried out the doors.
I glanced to the table filled with her sisters. All of them watched her go.
What the hell were they hiding?
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Monday sucked.
One. Valerie had been ignoring my calls since lunch the previous day, and she wouldn’t answer her door when I stopped by. Two. Chase didn’t show up to History through Film. Nor had I seen or heard from him since he left my room yesterday morning. Three. Chantel returned while I was at class and cleaned out everything on her side of the room, apparently moving out. Actually, three wasn’t so bad.
On Tuesday, I went to classes, received no calls or texts from Chase or Valerie, and ate alone.
“Hey, Sophia!”
I twisted around. Ryan jogged toward me outside the dining hall after my dinner alone. “Hi.”
“Hey, so…I just wanted to explain what you saw Saturday night,” he said, his eyes focused on his sneakers.
“What did I see?” I asked, completely confused.
He glanced up, lowering his voice. “In my room.”
“What about your room?”
He cocked his head, his eyes examining my face. He had to see I had no idea what he was talking about. “Oh. I guess…you know what? Never mind.”
“O-kay,” I said.
“So, you and Chase?”
I shrugged, not really sure what to say.
“He’s a good guy. But, good luck dealing with Chantel. That’s gonna be a whole different story.”
Wednesday, I threw my hair into a messy ponytail and trudged across campus toward History through Film. I’d never felt more alone. I wasn’t the type to beg people to want to be with me, so I was waiting on Chase to call and Valerie to come around. But it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.
I entered class, stopping short in the doorway. The person coming in behind me bumped into me as I stopped.