“What happened after his family left?” Merry, sitting next to Trish on the other side of the table, seemed way more interested in this story than in the trip she was supposed to take to Cal-Mart for a pregnancy test.
I cringed, remembering the weird scene from last night. “He hands me this envelope with ANYTHING LIST written across the front. Then he says, ‘I’ll see you in the morning’ and just walks off.”
“The Anything List?” Merry asked. “What’s that?”
“Turns out, it’s a literal list.” I leaned in, lowering my voice. “A one-page sheet, and there’s, like, twenty things on there—things I have to do and rules I must follow until the end of the school year.”
Trish shook her head. “Why does this guy keep giving you contracts instead of just talking to you like a normal human?”
“Right?! This situation is insane!” I shoveled a few more comfort fries I’d ordered instead of a nutritionally balanced lunch into my mouth.
“Can I see it?” Merry asked, eyeing me cautiously. “Do you need me to read it to you?”
I shook my head. “No, it was written pretty clearly. But the first rule is that I can’t show it to anyone else.”
Trish narrowed her eyes. “Like Fight Club?”
“Kind of. But it doesn’t say I can’t talk to my friends about it. And honestly, I need a consult here because I’m so confused.”
“Wait... Is it a bunch of kinky stuff?” Trish whispered. “Does he have a sex dungeon? Is this turning into Fifty Shades of College?”
“No!” I waved my hand. “That would make way more sense, considering how this started. But it’s mostly domestic stuff—beginning with me having to live with him at his lake house until the end of the school year.”
Trish’s eyes went wide. “Like sharing a bed?”
“No, I have my own room. But I’ve got a curfew, and I have to eat lunch and dinner with him every day unless he says otherwise. Plus, he drives me to school and walks me to my first class. And if he has an event, I have to go with him.”
“Like, as his date?” Merry asked.
“Maybe? The Anything List said ‘accompany,’ but yeah, basically, I have to be ready whenever he wants.”
“But no sex stuff?” Trish raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“No sex stuff,” I confirmed with a shake of my head.
“Okay, that’s wild.” Trish still appeared unconvinced. “What did he say when you asked him about the list on the ride in?”
“Oh, are you talking about that twenty minutes when I sat in the passenger seat and tried to work up the courage to say anything at all?” I sucked my teeth because, apparently, Trish had mistaken me for someone who didn’t go out of their way to avoid conflict at any cost. “I’m easily overwhelmed on a good day, and the last item on the list was him reserving the right to add anything to the list at any time. I didn’t exactly want to poke the bear.”
“I guess not.” Trish clasped her fingers under her chin. “So, basically, this Anything List gives him complete control over your life.”
“Pretty much.” I buried my face in my hands.
“But why does he even want that without sex?” Merry asked, sounding as baffled as I felt.
“I have no idea!” I replied, just as lost as her.
“In my experience, men don’t pay this much attention to you. Not unless they’re looking to use you in some obvious way.”
I thought darkly of my brother, showing up at my hotel room door with tears in his eyes, begging me for help—only to revert to his prick, narcissistic ways as soon as he didn’t need me anymore.
“What about your shift at the shelter?” Merry’s voice took on a worried note. “Do you need my car?”
“Maybe.” I sat up and flopped my hands back down on the table. “He said he’d drive me, but that was before I canceled lunch.”
“Are you even allowed to cancel lunch?” Merry asked, sounding incredulous.
“I don’t think so.” I winced. “I put my phone on mute before he could respond, and now I’m too scared to check the messages. I mean, why would he even want to eat with someone who can barely string two words together in his presence?”
