“Oh!” I quickly exclaimed, cutting her off before she could bring up the whole Connor-Ethan kiss mix-up situation. “How’d your study date go on the weekend? You never texted me back!”
Easiest way to distract Nina: get her talking about herself. Specifically, her love life. I let out a small sigh of relief as shestarted in, in depth, about a guy she’d beentalking withfor weeks and finally met in person.
Haze watched me silently, but I just gave a tight smile back and busied myself with eating my lunch. To my surprise, he waited for me to finish, then offered to walk with me to the library as it was on the way to his chemistry lab.
That comment made Nina glower. “Now that you mention it, Haze, were you totally aware you nearly killed Eve with that explosion the other week? She was really hurt and?—”
“I’m aware,” he acknowledged. “I said sorry.”
A laugh snorted out of me and I couldn’t hold back my grin. “Yeah. I’ll catch you later, guys.”
Nina and Sven both gave me cheek kisses and promised to text later as I headed out with Haze. For a few moments we walked in silence, and I got the weird feeling he was angry about something.
Right as I was about to ask, he turned to me with a bemused frown on his face. “Con loves to sing Taylor Swift, huh?”
I grinned. “I didn’t hear you denying it. In fact, I heard you adding fuel to the fire. Besides, if I can’t tell my friends anything true…why not make some shit up? It’s harmless.”
Haze just grunted in response, and I got the distinct impression it was his version of approval.
22
EVELYN
What in all of the fucks are you doing, Eve?
As I crept along the bushes that lined the front of the college, I kept asking myself the same question, all the while urging myself to stop, and yet…I hadn’t. I wouldn’t. At least not until I figured out whathewas up to.
It was late, nearing midnight, and not even twenty minutes ago, I’d woken from a bad dream, dragged myself out of bed, and glanced out the window to find Connor sneaking off into the darkness. No car. No friends. Dressed all in black.
Why I thought it was a brilliant idea to slip some sweats and runners on and dash after him, in the hopes of uncovering one of his many secrets, was so far beyond me. Yet here I was, tripping over my own feet because I’d forgotten to bring my phone in my rush to escape.
Not that I could have used the light and given myself away. It was pure fucking luck that I managed to catch up to him without alerting the asshole to my presence in the first place. Not that he was particularly sneaking along—he strolled quite casually toward the front gate.
I’d never seen Connor look worried or nervous in whateverhe did, his confidence and general capabilities were annoyingly attractive. Not that it made me hate him any less though.
Hate and curiosity warred within me every single time I was in this guy’s presence.
It had been a week since he’d smashed into Ethan’s room to find me naked and fucked to within an inch of my life, and since that morning, he’d steadfastly ignored me like I didn’t exist.
Which sounded like heaven in theory but pissed me off for some reason. I’d spent the week studying, cleaning, and cooking every fucking dinner, which Andrew made all of them be present for. Connor refused to look at me. He chatted and smiled at the others, he ate every dish I created like he enjoyed them all, and he laughed when they addressed him.
But if I spoke, he suddenly had selective hearing and never responded. Fuck, he never even looked my way, his gaze skating over whatever space I occupied like it was empty. I’d have been impressed by his ability to ignore an entire human if I wasn’t so busy fuming over it.
Tripping over a rock I missed in the low light of the half-moon, I recovered just in time to glance up and notice that Connor’s broad shoulders were no longer in view.
Motherfucker! How could he disappear that quickly?
Hurrying my steps, I headed for the last place I’d seen him and, to my surprise, found a small gap in the perimeter of the fence around Meadowridge.Tightest security in the world, my ass.
With a shake of my head, I leaned out through the gap and tried to spot him in the darkness. There was no sign of Connor at all, and when I was about to finally give up and go back to bed, I noticed a flash of red light quite a few yards away, and it took a few seconds for me to figure out it was the end of a lit cigarette, only visible because the moon had ducked behind the clouds, making it darker than ever.
The witching hour.
Dad had always told me midnight was the hour for the darkest and most depraved of individuals to be out and awake. He’d probably kick my ass if he knew I’d followed Connor on a midnight walk, but then again, he had no right to give a shit any longer, since he’dgone out for milkand never fucking returned.
Cliche that he was.
Okay, it wasn’t exactly milk, but the sentiment remained the same. He’d said he’d be back for me and then never showed his face or called again. I was lucky that Mitchell and Karolyn hadn’t just thrown me out on my ass and left me to a group home.
