She’s having second thoughts. “Do you … want to talk about it?” Shit. I’ve never been good at talking through emotional stuff, but that look on her face…
I have to try.
She flashes me a smile. “You sound worried.”
“I am.” The beast growls too. He’s prowling in my belly again, on high alert in case the SF shows up and knowing that Brianna’s uneasy only makes his hackles rise more.
“It’s fine,” she says, but when I raise my eyebrows, she shrugs. “It’s just that … I’ll probably fail all of my classes this semester if I’m gone for a few weeks. I doubt my professors will be understanding, and I’ve already paid for my classes so that means I’m out of the money—” She shakes her head. “You know what? Never mind. You probably don’t want to hear this.”
I place my hand over hers to stop her fidgeting. “Actually, I do.”
She bites her lip again, and if it weren’t for her innocent expression, I would swear she’s doing it to torment me. She turns her hand until our palms touch and our fingers thread together.
I squeeze. “Tell me. I want to know.” And the crazy thing is that I do want to know what’s eating her up. I don’t know if I can make it better, but I sure as hell want to try.
“Okay.” She shrugs again. “It’s just that money is always tight for me, so the thought of having to pay for all of those classes again makes me kind of sick.”
I frown but wait for her to continue.
“You see, I worked before starting college because I didn’t want a huge debt when I graduated. I work hard now, too, six nights a week, so between that and my savings I’ve managed to pay for my schooling in cash. And knowing all of that hard work is now down the drain this semester because I’m here and not there—” She clasps my hand harder. “Don’t look at me like that. That’s not what I mean. I want to be here, but it’s stressing me out too.”
I smooth whatever expression stole across my face and take a deep breath. It’s hard, though. My gut is so tight it feels like I ate rocks, cause the thought of her changing her mind and leaving me—
I remind myself that this conversation isn’t about me. It’s about Brianna.
“Has money always been tight? It sounds like it stresses you out a lot.”
She nods. “I don’t come from a rich family, and my dad has had a hard time holding a job so I send him money, too, when I can. And as you probably know, school is expensive, so I work a lot to try and make ends meet.”
“Sounds tough even on a good day.”
She laughs, and the sound eases some of my tension. “It can be, but it’s a lot of fun too. I love college and being able to see my friends every day. I’m going to miss it when it ends.”
She pulls her bottom lip into her mouth again. I’m quickly coming to learn that means she’s worrying.
“You’ll be able to finish.” I don’t know how I can promise that, but I want to reassure her. Dammit. I have to find a way to give her the life she wants. “I promise. I’ll find a way to get you back to your life this semester so you can finish school.”
Of course I have no idea how I’m going to do that, and from Brianna’s dubious expression I have a feeling she doesn’t believe me.
“It’s okay if you can’t.” She props her elbow on the door. “Maybe I’ll just have to write this semester off as much as that makes me feel sick.”
“Then I’ll pay you back for it. That’s the least I can do. You’ll still be a semester behind your graduation schedule, but you won’t have to worry about paying again.”
She laughs. “And how would you do that?”
My lips curve up at the sound of her laugh. “Unlike you, I come from money, a lot of it, so getting you tuition money wouldn’t be hard if I wanted to.”
All laughter fades from her expression. “I don’t want you to do that. You don’t have to pay for me.”
“Maybe I want to pay for you.”
“But wouldn’t that require you visiting your bank? And couldn’t that ultimately lead to the supernatural police or whatever catching you?” She shakes her head vigorously. “No. No way. I’ll manage just fine on my own. I’m