“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask. “I know we don’t really know each other, but I’m a good listener. And you saved my ass, so it’s really the least I can do if you need someone to talk to.”
She looks at me for a few seconds, then drops her eyes as color floods her cheeks. “I kind of got in some trouble, and I had the crazy idea that maybe Jordan could help me.” She lifts her eyes to mine. “But involving him is probably the stupidest thing I could do, so it’s good I got distracted.”
I want to ask her what happened, but I don’t want to push her, especially after everything she’s done for me tonight.
“Do you have your phone?” I ask instead.
She gives me a weird look and digs it out of her purse.
“Do you want my number? Something tells me we could both use another friend.”
Her eyes widen in surprise, then she beams a big smile at me and unlocks her phone.
I tell her my number when she’s ready, and she sends me a quick text so I can program hers into my phone later.
“I should probably go,” she says reluctantly as she tucks her phone away. “People are going to talk if I’m in here too long.”
“Yeah, probably,” I agree.
I might not give a shit if her stepbrother gets pissed at me or if everyone at school starts gossiping about us, but I’m not the only one involved in the situation. And I’m also not the one who’ll end up bearing the brunt of whatever drama this might cause. I don’t want to make things harder for her than they already are.
“Thanks for everything,” I say as she stands up and smooths down the material of her jacket. “And I meant what I said about being friends.”
She smiles, her cheeks flushing soft pink. “I’d like that.” She pauses like she’s going to say something but just gives me a quick wave as she heads toward my door.
I watch as she leaves my room, then pick up my phone to add her number to my contacts when the door closes behind her.
When that’s done, I open one of my music apps and search through my playlists. It’s too quiet in my room, and I need some music to distract me.
When I’ve finally settled on one of my older playlists that I haven’t listened to in a while, I pull out a yellow bottle with half a dozen pills in it from my bedside table. Shaking one of them out, I put it on my tongue and wash it down with the rest of the water from the glass Eden brought me.
Then I lean back against my headboard and try to lose myself in the music as I wait for the Oxy to kick in and for the welcome haze that comes with it.
12
XAVE
“I need to talk to you,”Jordan says as soon as I walk into the kitchen.
“Sure.” I head over to where he’s standing at the island, a tablet in one hand and what looks like a cup of coffee on the marble surface in front of him. “What’s up?”
“Do you know Damon Cosgrove? He’s a Keeper.”
I barely manage to hide my reaction and keep my face blank. Why the hell is Jordan asking me about Damon?
“I knowofhim,” I say, keeping my tone neutral. “But other than occasionally being in the same place over the years, we’ve never really interacted.”
Jordan gives me a long look, then nods and glances down at his tablet.
I’ve known Jordan since we were pledges, and I can tell he’s not just distracted by something. He looks worried, and that’s weird as fuck.
Jordan and his best friends Axel and Nico are the current Rebel leaders, and all three men are known for being ruthless when it comes to protecting each other, their families, and thefrat. They also have a reputation for their creative punishments and their “my way or the highway” style of leadership.
In all the years I’ve known him, I’ve never seen Jordan be anything other than the unflappable strategist he is. Well, that’s not entirely true. He, Axel, and Nico have been stressed as hell lately, but they’ve done their best to hide it from the others. I’ve just noticed because they tend to drop their masks around me, and because reading people is one of the things I’m good at.
Something is going on beyond the usual stress that comes with running a secret society that moonlights as a frat, and my gut is telling me it has nothing to do with whatever internal drama has been going on and is about something new.
“Why?” I ask when he doesn’t continue.
