The Alpha - Joel Abernathy Page 0,77

knew.

When Ronnie reached the dorm room, he found the spare key waiting underneath the mat as usual. Dave was not one for security. He was, however, one for regularly getting so wasted that his friends took his keys from him, necessitating other ways to get back into his room.

The room was empty and every bit as trashed as Ronnie remembered. It still smelled like dank weed, and while Ronnie had once found the scent pleasant, after living with Dave, he would be fine if he never smelled it again. It was, however, an improvement upon the mildew of the hotel room.

At least Dave hadn’t moved any of his things. The clothes Ronnie had left on the floor in his rush to get to his last class were still in the same spot. It was almost like a memorial to the relatively normal life he had once led.

He grabbed his duffel bag and stuffed as many of his things inside it as he could fit. Clothes, a couple of books, his reading glasses, and the cash hidden in the back of his desk drawer that had miraculously remained untouched. Probably only because Dave didn’t know it was there.

Once he was done, he left the dorm just in case class let out early. It was a bright, sunny day, and the picturesque campus felt like it hadn’t changed at all since Ronnie had left it. In fact, now that he was there, it was easy to feel as if nothing had changed. It was easy to imagine it had all just been another strange dream, and if he walked to the science building, his chemistry class would be there waiting for him at the exact place he had left off.

“Ronnie?”

The familiar voice was a strange relief, even though Ronnie had never imagined he would feel that way about its owner. He turned to find Jason walking toward him, a look of confusion on his face.

He looked as perfect and put together as ever, his light brown hair freshly cut and smoothed back over his forehead. He was dressed in business casual attire, even though most of the other law students Ronnie had seen on campus wore sweats to class.

Of course Jason had to look like a model wherever he went. Hell, he probably had peppermint breath in the morning, too.

“Hey,” Ronnie said, too startled to say anything else.

It had been such a long time since he’d actually had a conversation with someone, he was surprised he’d even managed to get that out. His social skills were so rusty, he needed a tetanus shot.

“I didn’t know you went here,” Jason said, frowning.

Ronnie wasn’t surprised. Brown had a relatively small campus, compared to other universities of its stature, but he wasn’t exactly a social butterfly. “I don’t,” he admitted. “Not anymore. I just came back for my things.”

“Oh.” For a few seconds of painfully awkward silence, Jason seemed as uncertain about what to do next as Ronnie was. “That’s a shame.”

“Not really,” Ronnie muttered. “I’m not Brown material, even if it is my last name.”

Jason snorted something close to a laugh. Ronnie could tell he wanted to ask something else and decided to put them both out of their misery. He had a feeling he knew what it was.

“I’d say I could give him a message for you, but I probably haven’t talked to him any more recently than you have,” said Ronnie.

Jason’s brows knit in confusion. “Colt? I haven’t talked to him in months.”

“Seriously?” Ronnie asked, unable to hide his shock. His filter was long gone. It had never been securely in place to begin with. “I thought you guys would’ve patched things up by now.”

It was one of the reasons he had originally decided to move out. He knew Colt and Jason wouldn’t remain apart forever. They were two polarized forces, destined to come together eventually and crush anything foolish enough to get between them in the process.

Ronnie knew a love story when he saw one. His own parents had lived theirs out plainly in front of him his whole life. Colt and Jason were just meant to be together, and Ronnie wasn’t delusional enough to think he had anything other than a supporting role in that story.

“He didn’t tell you?” Jason asked doubtfully.

“Tell me what?”

He glanced away, a dark cloud coming over him. “He broke up with me. He ended it for good.”

Ronnie couldn’t help the laugh that escaped his throat. When he saw Jason’s offended expression, he added, “I’m sorry,