“I know,” I whisper. “That’s what scares me because why? He asked me why I was in town, told me I had no business being here, and to leave if I knew what was good for me.”
Cooper’s jaw tightens. “We’ll figure out who it was. I promise you.”
The certainty in his voice startles me.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight,” I admit, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I can stop them. “This place doesn’t feel safe right now.”
“I’m not leaving you,” he assures me. “I can sleep on the couch or on the floor. I don’t care. I just don’t think you should be by yourself either, not after what happened.”
I study his face before I nod. “Okay,” I say softly.
Relief passes over his face before he smooths it over. Almost like he didn’t want to show it, but it slipped through.
I sink onto the edge of the loveseat, exhaustion hitting me now that the adrenaline is starting to wear off. My hands are still trembling. Cooper crosses the room to grab a blanket and drapes it over me.
Neither of us speaks for a long time.
“Who have you met or spoken to since you’ve been here? Anyone who may not be happy that you’re in town?”
I shake my head, pulling the blanket tighter around my shoulders. “Not that I can think of. Except for the guy at the bar last night, but he wouldn’t necessarily know I’m new in town. No one even knows where I am.”
His posture shifts immediately. I can feel his gaze burning into my skin.
“No one at all?”
“I didn’t tell anyone,” I say quickly, like I need to justify it. “I didn’t want questions from my mom. Or opinions.” I swallow. “So I don’t understand how someone would even know I’m here or would even be looking for me.”
I’ve already said too much, and I’m waiting for him to question me on why I’d keep it a secret from my mom of all people.
“Do you think it was a mistake?” he asks. “Wrong person?”
“Maybe,” I say, clinging to the idea because it somehow makes it easier to breathe. “That’s what makes the most sense. Maybe they just got me mixed up with someone else. There are a ton of students who have moved to Rixton right now.”
He doesn’t say anything. He just nods.
“You okay?” he asks quietly.
I mumble out a “yeah” through a yawn. “I just want to sleep.”
That’s when his gaze drifts past me to the corner of the room. I follow his line of sight and cringe. The air mattress sits deflated on the floor, and the cheap sheets I picked up are slightly askew. My stack of blankets looks thinner than it did last night.
His jaw tightens before he looks back at me, then back over at the bed.
“No,” he says under his breath.
“What?”
He exhales a sharp breath, running a hand through his hair. “You’re not sleeping here tonight.”
“I am,” I say automatically.
He shakes his head. “You don’t even have a real bed or enough blankets. It’s cold in here, Brinley.”
“I’m fine,” I insist, wanting to put my foot down just to spite him.
He meets my eyes. “Come back to the hockey house with me. Just for the night.”
My heart jumps. “I don’t think… That’s not a good idea.”
