Garrett is there. Of course. He's naked, hand around his dick, staring at me. I can't show him I'm scared. I have to play it cool. So, I force myself to walk to a shower head across the room, the furthest from him. He's tall, pale, and skinny. I can see his ribs. He looks like a French model, even though I'm not sure how French models actually look. His hair is long, his nose defined, his eyes glinting with something wrong. If he wasn't such a creep, he could be beautiful.
Usually, Garrett's stare-fest is slightly less terrifying with Ethan around, because I know he'll protect me. Everybody's pretty much figured out we're together, and no one says anything. Unspoken rule: don't mess with any of the couples.
But Ethan's gone. I feel Garrett's eyes drilling into me. I focus on the wall like it's the most interesting thing I've ever seen. Doesn't matter. He turns on the water from the head next to mine. I gulp, wondering if I have time to bolt.
"I'm meeting with Griff soon," I say, hoping he gets the hint that messing with me right now would be a seriously bad move.
Garrett laughs and stays quiet for a beat. He lets the running water be the only sound in the echoing shower before he says, "I know, pretty boy. I know. I know everything about your schedule."
My stomach churns. I'm actually scared. I'm pretty sure he can do something bad to me for real, and he's just playing with his prey, stalling, letting it get to my nerves first. And it works.I'm terrified. I shut off the water and get out of there as fast as I can. His smile lingers behind me.
I head to Griff's office, still dripping, my hair's soaking my shirt and neck, but he doesn't care. The hallway is deserted, everyone else at dinner or winding down.
Griff smiles when I arrive and gestures for me to sit. I'm nervous. Every time I'm here, it's for some kind of torture. And yet I still like him. I guess Ireallyam a masochist, given how much I enjoy when Ethan hurts me too. Griff seems oblivious to my discomfort. He must be used to seeing all of us on edge.
"So, I want to go over some of your options after you leave. You're in carpentry, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"You enjoy it?"
"Yeah. It’s okay, I guess. I’m not so good, but I really like working with my hands."
"Ever had a job before, Liam?"
I nod. "I worked at Wendy's. I know it sounds lame, but I actually loved it. I liked how the orders came in and I had to assemble them just right, keeping the fries and nuggets hot. The teamwork. It felt like one of those restaurant mobile games," I say, laughing. He looks at me, smiling but a little puzzled.
"Why'd you leave if you liked it?"
My heart sinks. No real reason. Just me screwing up my life, throwing away every good thing I touch. I want to joke or say something dismissive, but I can't. He has a way of making us unable to lie.
"My friends made fun of me," I confess. "They kept joking about me serving burgers. I ended up quitting and just smoking weed with those guys all day." I say, feeling pretty down. I've messed up my life in every way possible.
"Do you think that was a good decision?"
I shake my head.
"Maybe if I'd stuck around, I could've been a manager by now. I know it's not much, but it's honest work, and I would've had some money, and I wouldn't be locked up. Maybe I'd like to go back to the food industry later. Be a cook, who knows. I like my shifts in the kitchen here."
"Every type of job is a good job, no matter what it is," he says.
I nod. I'm usually into someone scolding me, but not this time. I just want to cry.
"I don't want to throw my life away," I say. "Like my mom did. And my dad too, I guess."
He knows about my mom. Usually people give me this pity face I can't stand, but he doesn't. He just nods.
"You've got a new chance to change things, and few people get new chances. If all you needed was someone to believe in you, you have that right here. And I'm not saying this because it's my job, because it's not. My job is making sure you guys don't break the rules. But I believe you can do much more than just stay out of trouble. You can create something. Really change your own future. It's hard work, but I know you can work hard. I see it every day. You can do it."
"Thank you, sir," I say, genuinely grateful. I can tell he cares. I've had enough people in my life who never did, and he's different.
We talk some more, and I feel good. I leave his office, wish him goodnight, convinced I'm going to have a future. I'm not going to end up like my parents, or like those deadbeat friends back home wasting their lives on drugs. I can change it.
My pep talk gets a cold splash of reality when I see Garrett waiting for me on the stairs leading to the dorm.
Chapter 32. Liam
I start mentally kicking myself because I totally could've taken a different route, maybe followed Griff out and cut through the courtyard to the cafeteria. But no, I had to go through the deserted corridor that links directly to the dorm building.
