to get my head in check. After all Alex had been through, how could I tell her that her friend had her drugged? Wouldn’t surprise me if she never trusted anyone ever again.
Inevitably, I stood outside her apartment. I’d seen her car in the lot, so I knew she was home. I stared at the solid structure separating us for a long moment. I wished it wasn’t just a stupid door that separated the two of us.
I sucked in a deep breath and knocked. When Alex left my apartment earlier, she made it clear whatever was going on between us—my promise to try—wasn’t enough for her.
I knocked again, then stepped back. My eyes dropped to the bottom of the door. A shadow lingered underneath.
I felt ridiculous speaking to a closed door, but it was easier than seeing the disappointment in Alex’s eyes. “I talked to Cameron today.”
I paused, giving her time to open the door. But she didn’t.
“He fessed up. Said he did it. But the whole thing was Taylor’s idea.”
Still no sound. No movement.
“Just thought you’d want to know who you’re hanging out with.”
Even as I turned and walked to my apartment, I expected her to open the door.
But she didn’t.
At least I’d done what I could. I’d gotten her the truth. What she did with it was up to her.
ALEX
I gripped the doorknob, wanting to pull open the door. Wanting to see the face of the guy who only hours before had held me in his arms, protecting me from the world around me.
But I couldn’t.
With my back to the door, and my mind spiraling with the news he delivered, I sank to the cold hardwood floor.
Taylor.
I should’ve known.
There was no way she would’ve just let that opportunity slip through her fingers.
Now what was I supposed to do? Confront her? Tell someone?
Being on the receiving end of her vengeance told me one thing. Mess with Taylor and expect a fate worse than death. Acting oblivious could buy me time. Time to drop out of the competition. Time to distance myself from her.
Unfortunately, the only real friend I had just walked away, and I did nothing to stop him.
HAYDEN
Taylor stood alone outside the student union texting on her phone. I hadn’t called her like I told Alex I would. I needed to see her eyes when I called her out on what she’d done.
Taylor’s entire body jumped as I grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her inside the building without a word.
Her phony, sugary-sweet persona slipped off her face. “What the hell, Hayden?”
“That’s what I want to know.” I swung her around the corner into the commuter lounge. I didn’t care if people stared. Let them. It took everything in me not to inflict the same pain on her that Cameron got. But I’d never touch a girl. Not even a selfish conniving bitch like Taylor. “Have you talked to Alex?”
She looked me dead in the eyes. Admitting no wrongdoing. Displaying no remorse. She actually puffed out her chest. Did she think she was tough? Did she think she’d get away with it? “Not since Friday night.”
“You the one who dropped her off?”
Taylor rolled her eyes on a huff. “Since when are you concerned about anyone other than yourself?”
I slammed my palm into the wall beside her head, likely cracking some of the paint. She flinched. “Answer the fucking question. Did you drive her home?”
“Yeah.” The tough girl mask slid back in place. “She was plastered out of her mind. I thought she could handle her liquor, but she was falling all over the place. It was embarrassing.”
Blood rushed violently through my veins. The thought of Alex drugged, with no one to take care of her, pulled at something deep inside me. Something I didn’t even realize still existed.
And knowing the bitch who did it stood in front of me, and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to make her pay, amplified my rage. “Why’d you leave her? Why not bring her into her apartment?”
Taylor crossed her arms and sighed, like my inquisition was a waste of her precious time. “She said to leave her outside. She didn’t want to wake her aunt or something.”
Lying bitch. “Her aunt’s away.”
She shrugged. “That’s what she said.”
I wasn’t satisfied. “What happened with Cameron?”
“Cameron? I don’t know. He took her for a walk.”
“Come on, Taylor. You’re boy was more forthcoming than that.”
Her bored façade slipped for just a second as she fought to maintain her composure. Then, as if I