“I’m so sorry, Will. Truly. You are an amazing person. I never meant for it to be this way.”
He sits back. “And I was going to move to America....”
“You still should,” I say urgently. “Maybe major in business so you know how to invest in all those awesome ideas you have.”
He snorts.
“Seriously, don’t give up on it. You’ll beinsanelypopular there.”
We sit in silence for a moment, and then Will pushes away from the table. I stand up with him. Then he swivels to me.
“It was Venice, wasn’t it?”
I freeze. “What?”
“I should never have left you at the airport. If I had gone...” His hands drop limply at his sides. “Things would be different if we’d been together in Venice.”
Maybe he’s right. It’s hard to not be affected by the romance of the lapping water and hidden canals and cold, starry nights spent with another person. But then I think about Dev and me laughing over Quidditch and studying in his secret room. How he caught me on the subway and took care of me on the flight. How he immediately drove me crazy. How I did the same to him. And it makes me think Venice was only fuel added to a fire.
Chapter
40
Acid pools in my stomach as I get off the van and walkinto the cool corridor of Emberton. The reality of what I’m about to do sinks in. Oh god. Ohgod. I have to talk to Dev. I debate taking a brisk walk around the manor first, or maybe grabbing a snack from the cafeteria, or locking myself in a bathroom stall and not coming out until everyone is back in America. But I know if I wait, it’ll only get harder to be around him. I take a breath and force my legs to move.
As I walk up the stairs to his floor, my mind fills with the memory of meeting him here on my first day. I think my heart will explode by the time I finally knock on his door.
Huan opens it, looking tired. “Hey.”
“Hey. Is, um, I mean, can I talk to Dev?”
He squints in confusion. “Dev’s still finishing his exam.”
Some of the pressure lifts from my chest and I suck in another breath. “What exam?”
“His anatomy exam. He didn’t talk about it last night?”
“I mentioned your study group but he said you weren’t doing it.”
Huan snorts. “Oh, did he? Well, that’s a big fat lie. And I’m officially blaming you for my lack of sleep.”
“What’d I do?”
“You’rethe reason Dev skipped out on our study group. Instead he stayed up until four a.m., studying and waking me up to ask asinine questions about our material.” Huan nods down the hall. “Speak of the devil.”
I turn and my stomach lodges itself firmly in my throat. Dev strides toward me and it’s all I can do not to launch myself into his arms. When I turn back to Huan, he’s already shutting the door.
“Ellie, what are you doing here? I thought you were spending the day with Will?”
I try to speak, but my throat is too tight. My entire body is trembling. I force myself to take a deep breath. This is Dev. No matter what happens, he’s not going to hurt me.
“I broke up with Will.”
His eyes go wide. “What? Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Did he do something to you?” He steps protectively toward me. “Is that why you’re—”
