Somehow, I seem to have forgotten the fact that Easton is one of the scholarship students. Meaning he would be moving in here.
I expect him to turn around and leave, but when he doesn’t and instead walks over to the bed on the other side of the room, it clicks.
“You?” I ask, dumbfounded. “You’re my new roommate?” I shake my head. “Fuck no.”
This can not be happening. Anyone, and I mean anyone, but him.
Chapter 5
Easton
“Fuck no,” Bennett growls.
I cast him a look over my shoulder. “Sorry to break it to you, but you're stuck with me. Trust me, I don’t like it either,” I mutter, a wave of embarrassment and shame flooding me as I look down at my football bag. It’s the only thing I have left.
I lost everything in the fire. And I meaneverything. When I came to SVU, I took everything I owned out of my parents’ house. I didn’t want a reason to ever have to go back there.
It’s not that I had a lot, but it was mine. And now it’s all gone. Not just my clothes, but my photos. All my memories.
With him.
Not that I’m going to tell him that.
“You haven’t unpacked. You can still switch with someone,” he insists.
Unpack? That would require me to own things to unpack.
Closing my eyes, I take a breath. This is the last thing I want right now. My mind is racing, wondering how the fuck I'm going to come up with enough money to buy some new clothes.
A lot of college kids get jobs, but I couldn’t. I didn’t have the time to spare. After working my ass off for football, any free time I had was spent studying so I didn’t fall behind and lose my scholarship.
I live off the allowance that is included. All of my school supplies will be replaced, thankfully, but my clothes are the same ones I’ve been wearing since I was in high school.
The idea of having to root around in the donation bin makes me want to puke. I hate my life right now, I hate myself.
I feel like a total joke. But I won’t let him see me like that, won’t let him see me break.
“Get the fuck over it, Bennett,” I snap, whirling around to glare at him. “If you don’t like it, go home to Mommy and Daddy. It’s not like you need this place.”
Bennett snaps his mouth shut. He stares at me, eyes flicking between mine. We hold each other's gaze until he looks away.
“Sorry,” he mutters, letting out a sigh. “I just didn’t expect you, of all people, to be my new roommate.”
“Trust me, neither did I.” I grab the clothes I was wearing before and pull my shirt on over my head.
Last night, I went to stay in Taylor’s dorm. She was nice enough to let me wash my clothes with hers while she did a load this morning.
The shirt on my back and the jeans in my hands are all I own.
Tears sting the back of my eyes as the reality of that crushes down on my chest.
“You don’t have to worry,” I grunt. “I’ll hardly be here. Between school, football, and Taylor, I’ll only be here to sleep.”
I don’t wait for him to respond. Taking my pants, I go back down the hall to the bathroom, finish getting changed, and head out.
The only reason I still have my wallet, phone, and these clothes is because I fell asleep with them last night. I was too wasted to change.
I guess it worked out in my favor.
