“What happened?” I called out.
She shrugged her shoulders before receding inside her dorm.
When I entered my room, Ethan’s back was to me as he stared out my window. His shoulder blades moved beneath his shirt as he tightened his arms across his chest. “Where were you?” he asked, then turned to face me with a blank expression.
“Group therapy,” I deadpanned, closing the door behind me and dropping my shoulders.
Ethan’s gaze slid to the clock above my door and back down to me. “Group therapy ended thirty minutes ago.”
“What’s it to you?”
Ethan walked toward me. “Let’s go.”
“Go where?” I asked, taking a step back.
“Lynch wants to see you.” He opened the door and nudged his head for me to follow. When I didn’t budge, he dropped his chin and narrowed his eyes. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice.”
“Is this because I denied you?”
Ethan let out an incredulous chuckle and swiped a palm over his face. “Now, Jett,” he growled. “This is serious.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, and after three seconds of locked eyes, I stepped forward and pushed past him just as Ollie reached his door, coming back from the moment we shared only moments ago.
Ollie’s hand froze over his doorknob just as Ethan closed my door behind me four rooms down. Green eyes dragged from Ethan to me, and I could see his jaw tense from where I stood. Ethan pressed his chest into my back and grabbed my arm. “Come on,” Ethan urged.
Ollie’s lip twitched, and his arm flexed, and I shook my head.
Don’t, Ollie. He’s notworth it.
I yanked my arm from Ethan and started forward. My gaze fixed in front of me. The tension in the hall stretched around us like a rubber band ready to snap at any moment. Though I couldn’t see Ethan’s face, I felt every rush of emotion coming from Ollie to my left as we passed by. His eyes on the two of us replaced my blood with lava. The thoughts going through his mind somehow ripped me open from where he stood rigid. Ollie was ready to launch at any moment.
We made it around the corner, but the pressure didn’t let off my shoulders. Ethan remained quiet the entire way to the Dean’s office, down the stairs, and through the cold building. He paused when we reached Lynch’s door and turned me around to face him. “Relax, Jett. Just be honest.”
My brows pinched together, and Ethan used his knuckle to knock on the door.
Lynch welcomed us in and advised me to take a seat. Ethan stayed by the door, back straight, arms crossed over his chest, gaze looking out the window into the dawn of October. Lynch’s red velvet curtains laid open, overlooking the side of the building, the Looney Bin visible.
“Where did you rush off to yesterday during dinner?” Lynch cut to the chase. I snapped my eyes forward. The shade around his eyes seemed dark, making his brown eyes look lighter.
My brain filtered through yesterday’s events.
Bria. Tyler. Jude.
“I had to use the restroom.” I shrugged, having no idea where he was going with this. Lynch leaned back in his rolling chair, and he rested his elbow over the arm of his chair, propping up his chin. His eyebrows pulled together as his eyes locked on mine, searching for answers—nerves set in. My mouth went dry.
“Don’t lie to me, Mia,” his eyes slipped to Ethan behind me before falling back on mine.
“This is ridiculous. I didn’t do anything.” The words came out faster before I could think.
“Ridiculous? You could have really hurt someone with your clever stunt. Not to mention cost Rhonda her job.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lynch released his fist and held up a key. “This was found in your room.”
I twisted back to face Ethan, but his focus remained out the window. Returning my attention to Lynch, I jumped to my feet. “I don’t even know what that is!”
“Looks like a key to me,” he scoffed, examining the object in his fingers. He leaned forward and slapped it over the top of his desk. “The key to Rhonda’s medicine cabinet, found in your bloody room!”
