I back up from the car, hands in my pocket as I watch him reverse out of the driveway.
The weight of the necklace he gave me last winter sits on my chest. I pick the ring up and press it against my lips.
We share a look before Elijah turns the car and beeps his horn quickly before driving down the road.
I hope I can be as strong as he thinks I am.
5
Elijah
I flop onto the stiff mattress, already dreading the restless nights ahead this school year.
The trip here was long enough, and hauling all my stuff up to my dorm from the parking lot was the icing on the cake. I’m fucking beat. Now that I’ve finally washed off the mix of Tobias and me in the shower, I can rest for the night before unpacking tomorrow.
I bury my face in my pillow and breathe in the faint scent of Tobias’s shampoo. He always smells so bright and airy, like sunlight on linen. I wonder if he’s noticed I stole his pillow instead of mine. The thought makes me smile. I’m glad it still smells like him. I want it to linger for as long as possible.
After missing a school year following dad’s passing, the housing office had to place me in a new dorm since my old room and floor were completely booked. Which means I’m starting fresh again, without a single familiar face on this floor. I’d be a third year if only I hadn’t had a year away. It’s like I’m re-starting all over again.
Part of me wants to repack my bags and leave, but I can’t ignore the disappointment I’d see not only from Tobias… but from dad. I know how much school meant to him. I just hate that it means being away from the one person that makes me feel sane.
A knock at the door yanks me from my thoughts.
Suppressing a groan, I roll off the bed and make my way across the room.
Opening my door, I’m met with a shock.
Katelyn, my ex-girlfriend, leans on the door with a smile on her face. The last time I saw her, she was less than impressed with me after I broke up with her immediately after she spent March Break with my dad, Tobias, and me.
After what I did—dragging her away for the week, hooking up with Tobias in the next room, then dumping her before our five hour drive home—I can’t blame her for hating me.
“Katelyn—” I gasp, mouth open like a fish out of water. She flashes me a slow, deliberate smile, flipping her long, shiny hair over one shoulder. Looks like she’s dyed it back to black after the red, and she’s added a few more tattoos to her arms since the last time I saw her.
“So the rumours were true. You’ve come back.” She looks me up and down before pushing past me and straight into my room.
I leave the door open a crack, just in case she decides to murder me in here. “Yeah. I just got here today.” I answer.
“Nice!” She strolls over to my desk and picks up myAmerican Werewolf in Londonartifact that Tobias got me for my birthday. “It was weird not having you here.” She admits, tilting it in her hand.
Weird?
“Sorry, I thought you hated me?” I question, taking it from her hand and setting it back down on my desk.
She takes a moment to look me over before sighing. “Yeah, well. I did hate you for a while. But, then I saw this–” She pulls out her phone from her back pocket and starts searching for something on her screen.
I’m confused. What could she have seen that changed her mind?
Tilting her phone, I see it—one of the worst nights of my life. My stomach knots before the first frame even plays. The gymnasium, twelfth grade, my art show… except it isn’t my art on display. It’s naked pictures of me, strung up where my work should have been.
My breath stutters. I watch as I rip the images down on screen, the sound of paper tearing loud in my memory. I thought I’d buried this behind me, but of course someone filmed it.
“Why do you have that?” I bite, looking away. That wasn’t a memory I’ve ever wanted to relive.
“I met a friend who went to your school. Told her who my ex was, and she showed me this. A friend of hers had it.” She looks down at her phone. “But, it wasthisthat really made everything click for me.” She tilts the phone back to me.
My eyebrows pinch, not wanting to look.
“It’s not bad. I promise.” She urges me, pushing the phone closer.
