This Fearless Girl (St. Clary's University #2) - E. M. Moore Page 0,60

but he doesn’t deny that’s what they’re thinking. It had to have been. His father once told him in front of my face to just fuck me out of his system. His eyes plead with me. “I had to do this for my mother.” His fingers skate over my cheek, his thumb making soft trails over my cheekbones. “If you had a chance to find your father, you’d do it in a heartbeat. I have to do the same, and this was their requirement.”

Fuck. He’s right. God, I hate him. “I can’t let you leave your own house, Stone. I’ll move back into the dorms.”

“Over my dead body. You’ll be much safer here with Wyatt and Lucas, and I’m not going to entertain any other options. My dad’s driver is waiting outside.” He takes another breath. “You guys keep the Audi, I’ll drive one of the other cars. I just have to grab my stuff.”

“Are you still going to attend Saint Clary’s?” Wyatt asks.

Stone nods. “I’ll commute in.”

“Every day? What about treasure stuff?”

“Dad and Rissa’s family are fully aware of what’s expected of me right now. We can still do that, they just don’t want me sleeping near Dakota.”

“I’m going to the dorms,” I tell him. “This is dumb. You need to be close to Clary so we can still hunt and go to school.”

“You’re not going back there,” he snaps.

“I agree with Dakota,” Wyatt says. “We’re already spreading ourselves thin. At least if you were here—”

“I said no,” Stone roars. “Dakota deserves so much more than she’s ever had. I don’t care what it does to me.”

“You’re so...thick-headed,” I growl. “The dorms are fine. Maybe you don’t remember the state of the house I grew up in, but at least I have running water there and a working kitchen.”

Stone’s gaze turns furious, the gray-blue of his eyes almost metallic now.

“You’re not actually helping your case,” Lucas informs me.

“This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. I have a perfectly acceptable accommodation in the dorms. The fact that you don’t want me to live there sounds fucking pretentious. Not everything is about how nice your things are.”

“No,” Stone agrees, “it’s not. But when you’re talking about the people you care about, nothing short of the best is acceptable. You haven’t felt that all your life, but it’s about time you did. Besides, at my dad’s house, I can keep on him about Mom, and I can ask him what we’re going to do about Cole. He has resources that I don’t. He doesn’t want the treasure in Cole’s hands either. I have to do this.”

His voice is so firm, it’s clear there’s no changing his mind, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to happily accept his fate. “It’s not right.”

“Trust me,” Stone assures. “As soon as I can move back, I will.”

I shrug my shoulders because there’s really nothing more to say. He takes that as his cue to retreat to his room and collect his things. My skin runs cold while he’s gone. His family home isn’t a disaster by any means, but I can imagine what it’s like living with Lance. Sure, Stone might be surrounded by opulence there, but we’ve already established that nice things don’t make people happy.

“He’ll be fine,” Lucas says. “He always has been. Like he said, it might be worth it just for the access to Lance.”

I give him a bland look.

Within minutes, Stone comes strolling back out with a book bag. He walks right up to me and plants a soft kiss by my ear before whispering, “I left something for you in your room. Think of me.”

Then, he tells Wyatt and Lucas goodbye before leaving and not looking back. The three of us stand there, shaking our heads. Stone was the glue that kept all of us together. I wouldn’t even know Wyatt or Lucas if it weren’t for the fact that the Wilders hated the Jacobses.

What now?

Lucas comes over, wrapping me in a hug. Before long, Wyatt appears at my side, too. He hugs Lucas and me both, a strong hug that makes me laugh and anchors me at the same time. The brief moment of wondering what the fuck I’m going to do is completely obliterated.

I’ve entwined myself into these three lives even more than I thought. It should’ve been obvious, but when you aren’t used to having people around, you kind of automatically assume that it’s going to be that way forever. All the pretty words they’ve said