“What’s going on in here.”
He takes a step back, holding my gaze for a moment before turning away.
He’s gone before I can think up a response.
THIRTEEN
COLSON
Aunt Bess:Sebastian tells me you’ve settled in well.
Colson:I have…but you don’t have to cover my portion of the rent.
Aunt Bess:We want to do this for you, Colson. Let us be there for you.
Aunt Bess:You don’t have to be so stubborn.
I’m buzzing with energy.
I’ve been volleying between the upset of having an addict as a mom and the frustration of knowing I’m responsible for paying Finn back for the toxic substances she fed herself.
But that’s not all.
After those emotions come and go, I’m left with the guilt that consumes me for being so harsh toward a person who can’t help it, who has a disease and needs a level of help I can’t provide.And then I remind myself that no matter how much she’s fucked up over the years she’s still the one who stayed, and despite it all, that means something.
Seeing Violet was a tiny light in my day. Our lunch was too short, and I didn’t want to walk away from her, but I needed to track down the mom-and-pop sporting goods store Llewellyn told me about for a new pair of boxing gloves.
I just wish I hadn’t seen whatever was in her eyes. There was something bothering her, and because I don’t know damn near enough about her, I couldn’t figure out what it was, but it was there. Maybe if I had a few more minutes with her, she’d have told me. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t have.
Like me, I notice her reluctance to share.
I know why I’m that way.
But I’m curious to know why she is.
She’s too good, too pure for it to fester inside of her and take over.
I jab my finger into the elevator button and roll my head back and forth. Things are getting to me a lot quicker than I anticipated. Not to mention it’s been a while since I’ve heard from Finn, and that can’t be good.
The last time I saw him, he was very clear about his demands. More time has passed, and I don’t expect he’s pleased about that.
When the elevator doors open, I trail down the hall and open the door to the apartment. It’s quiet, but the living room is lit up. Sometimes the guys are out by the time I get home from work. Sebastian studies in the library on campus a few nights a week.
I slip my shoes off at the door, heading into the kitchen to down a cup of water before I head for a shower. Then I hear a giggle and stop short, waiting to see if I hear it again. Sure enough, I do. It sounds like it’s coming from down the hall, but when I move toward the wall that separates the living room, it comes again.
Webber is on the couch, his textbooks out on the coffee table, but he couldn’t care less about studying when his study partner is straddling him, her skirt pushed so far up that even from here I can see the side of her bare ass.
The girl giggles again and pulls away, dropping her forehead to his shoulder in embarrassment and coverage.
That’s when he glances over and sees me.
He grins, his hands resting on the girl’s thighs. “Oh, hey, dude.”
“Hey,” is all I manage to get out.
What a prick.
I saw him talking to Violet that night at the party, and as much as she said they weren’t a thing, I noticed the way he was looking at her. Christ, it wasn’t hard to see that he wanted her, and it’s no surprise that she turned him down. Not after seeing this.
