Carter: You okay now?
Me: Yeah. Must have eaten something bad. Much better.
The knock on my bedroom door startles me.
“Come in,” I shout.
Alek saunters in looking everywhere but at me. He’s rubbing his palms together. “Thank you.”
I raise an eyebrow. He smiles.
“I mean thank you for not going to the party.” He finally makes eye contact and sits next to me on the bed. “Twinkle, you’ve been through a lot. I wish I was there for you when you needed me.”
I reach for his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “Are you okay, Alek?”
“I’m just afraid that you’ll follow in my footsteps, engaging in risky behavior. Partying, multiple sex partners,” he mumbles and swallows visibly.
“Why would I do that? I just want to make friends.”
“Because that’s what I did my first year here. Once I got out of our shithole, the freedom was so sweet.”
I smile and hug him. “Abi is good for you.”
He gives me a knowing look.
“I can’t be without her.”
We embrace for a long moment and I cherish it. I understand him a little better.
“By the way, where does Victor go every Thursday night?”
“He’s told me he fights at the secret fight club on campus. To release energy.”
I shrug. “Hmmm.”
Alek studies my face for longer than usual and leaves my room to go back to his apartment while I wonder how much my feelings for Victor are written on my face.
Victor got me hooked on jogging in the mornings. I stretch my legs and swing them over the side of the bed. I wonder if I can persuade Abi to jog with me or just to keep me company. I’m dressing when Abi enters the bedroom like the Tasmanian Devil.
“Victor looks like crap,” she spits out.
“What? Why?”
A wave of panic washes over me. What’s happened?
“Is he hurt?”
“I don’t know. I think you should see him. He looks like he needs you.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Wait… Why are you doing this? On Thursday you pretty much told Victor I’m marrying Carter, and now you’re suggesting I go see him?”
Abi sighs and rolls her eyes. “I’m helping you because it seems both of you need a kick in the butt. Now I’m going to distract Alek and you need to sneak out of here so you can have some privacy with Victor. Got it?”
I hug her tight. “You don’t think Victor will break me?”
She holds me at arm’s length and looks into my eyes. “He makes you stronger.”
Abi releases me and starts texting on her phone.
