I jumped back from the door as another young woman rounded the corner and nearly plowed into me. She looked vaguely familiar from the photos in the old album Vero kept in her closet, with thick, wavy layers of russet-brown hair and a galaxy of freckles radiating from her cheeks.
She put a hand to her chest, as startled as I was. Her face was flushed, as if she’d been in a hurry. Her hazel eyes dropped to my bag and she pointed to the door.
“That’s my room. Can I help you?” she asked.
“I have a delivery for Zoey Kline?” I had no idea what room Zoey was in. A DoorDash driver should probably know that, and I hoped Ava wouldn’t ask to see the receipt.
She gestured at the door directly behind me. “Zoey’s across the hall. Want me to take it?”
“No, thank you,” I said quickly. “It’s right here. I don’t mind.”
Ava retreated into her room but left her door open. The longer I stood idle in the hall, the more I sensed her eyes on me. I hoped Zoey wouldn’t react too overtly when she saw Vero’s message.
I knocked on Zoey’s door. When it opened, a girl with wild, kinky curls and a heart-shaped face peered out from behind it. I wished I had thought to ask Vero for a description of Zoey.
“DoorDash for Zoey Kline?” I asked.
She frowned at the bag. “I’m Zoey, but there must be a mistake. I didn’t—”
I thrust it into her hand. “No mistake. Don’t worry. It’s all paid for. But there’s only one napkin in that bag, so be careful not to lose it.” I reached inside and pulled her door shut between us before she could ask me any questions. Then I hightailed it out of the sorority house and hurried back to the van.
Vero looked frantic by the time I climbed back into the driver’s seat. “Was she there? Did you tell her I was here?”
“Yes, she was there! But you didn’t tell me Ava lived right across the hall!”
“I didn’t know you were going inside! I nearly had a heart attack when I saw Mia leaving the building. I didn’t expect to see her here; she graduated last spring. And Ava’s a senior this year. I thought she would have moved off campus by now.”
“I think Mia came to visit Ava and they missed each other. Mia left a note on Ava’s dry-erase board. Something about J and B coming by later.”
“Probably Jackson and Bennett. Jackson is Ava’s cousin, and Bennett is Mia’s boyfriend. Theo and I used to hang out with them a lot. We were all thick as thieves back then.”
I cringed. “Maybe not the best analogy.”
Vero rolled her eyes. “Did Zoey open the bag?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and—”
Vero’s breath caught when the door to the sorority house opened. Zoey came outside, clutching the fast-food bag in her hand. Her doe eyes widened when she spotted Vero through the windshield. She checked over her shoulder and both ways down the sidewalk, her artfully shredded jeans and paint-smattered Vans taking cautious steps toward us as she crossed the street.
She stopped a few feet away, staring at Vero through thewindshield as if she wasn’t entirely sure she believed her eyes. Vero pushed her sunglasses firmly in place, checking both ways up and down the row before opening her door and getting out.
Zoey sprung forward, arms outstretched, taking Vero in a smothering hug that almost knocked her hood off.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Zoey said into her hair. “Where the hell did you go? I missed you so much!”
Vero squeezed her back. “I missed you, too. We should get inside before anyone sees you with me. I’m not supposed to be here.”
Zoey hesitated when Vero slid open the back door of the van. I twisted around and waved to her from the driver’s seat, trying to appear as nonthreatening as possible, as it occurred to me how this all must look to her. Zoey offered me an uncertain smile as Vero nudged her into the back seat.
Vero shut the door behind them and raised an eyebrow at the girl’s cardigan. “Is that my sweater? I’ve been looking everywhere for that!”
Zoey’s tawny brown skin wasn’t quite dark enough to hide her blush as it raced across her cheeks. “Sorry. I totally meant to give it back to you, but you left without saying goodbye, and no one knew where you were. It feels like you’ve been gone forever! I never would have knownyousent that food if it hadn’t been for the order. I can’t believe you remembered.” Zoey’s eyes watered, overcome with joy.
“I maintain my position, Zo. That is not Mexican food.”
“It totally is!”
Vero eyed the Taco Bell bag with unqualified disgust. “Go ahead and eat it then, before it gets cold.”
