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Time passed in a blur, and I was so lost in my own mind that I zoned out during most of dinner. Will had run off campus and picked up McDonald’s—getting me my favorite chicken nuggets. He’d spoil me if he wasn’t careful.
As I stuck a fry in my mouth, Will set down his drink. “I do have some news,” he said, glancing between both me and Declan. “I wanted to tell you both before I left. It became official last week, but I wanted to let you guys know in person.” As he spoke, his hazel eyes mainly focused on me, giving me weird feelings by the multitude.
I had no idea what news he could possibly have, so I stayed quiet. Declan, however, said, “As long as you aren’t coming here and putting yourself behind because of me.” He must’ve known his older brother well enough, for Will said nothing for a while, causing him to add, “Damn it, Will. Tell me you’re not.”
I was slightly confused, so I asked, “What? What’s going on?” My chicken nuggets were mostly gone now; all I had left were a few salty fries—the best kind, really—but they sat untouched in their red holder while I stared at the two brothers.
It took Will a minute to say as he stared at Declan, “Effective January, I’ll be a Hillcrest student. I’m transferring next semester, to keep an eye on you.” His hazel eyes roamed to me, an underlying message left unsaid: and on you.
Will was coming to Hillcrest for Declan…and for me.
Shit. Things just got even more complicated, didn’t they? Well, who knew? I mean, there was still just over two months before January. We were in the middle of October, so there was time for things to calm down, for these feelings inside of me to go away…or at least time for me to practice ignoring them and acting like they didn’t exist.
Declan got to his feet, and Will followed. I remained on the floor, lost in my own thoughts. “No,” Declan said. “You can’t come here. You’re a senior at Stanton. Hillcrest was never your place—”
“No,” Will cut in, “it wasn’t, and it still isn’t, but I’m not going to sit by while everyone terrorizes you. Next semester, if they want to get to you, they’ll have to come through me first.”
“Nothing has happened since that night.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s over,” Will stated, crossing his arms. Since he was more muscular than Declan, his movements made a bigger impact. They also drew my eyes to his arms, where his muscles were, the bulging veins along his tan skin. “You never told dad what happened. Someone attacked you, Declan. Someone tried to kill you. That’s not something someone can just walk away from. If they failed, they’re likely to try again.”
All Declan could do was sigh.
“Do you even remember what happened that night? Has anything come back to you?” When Declan said nothing, Will went on, pressing further, “Have you tried to remember, or have you just forgotten that night completely?”
“Of course I didn’t forget,” Declan muttered, running a hand over his arm, where his scar sat.
“Good,” Will was relentless, his tone becoming harder, “because what if it wasn’t you in the room that night? What if it’d been Ash? What then?”
A muscle in Declan’s jaw clenched. “Don’t you think I’ve thought about that?”
“I’m transferring here, and it’s not up for debate,” Will said.
I let out a sigh. “Well, that was a tense way to end dinner.” Both guys looked at me like I was crazy. I got to my feet, moving near them. Will was just a few inches taller than Declan, and yet I still couldn’t help but feel small near each of them. To Will, I said, “If you want to transfer here, fine. We can’t stop you, but I’m more than capable of protecting Declan from whoever it is who wants to hurt him.”
It was kind of funny: I sounded a hell of a lot more confident than I should.
Will didn’t hesitate to say what he said next. “If you’re protecting him, then who’s protecting you?”
I opened my mouth, ready to say something along the lines of I don’t need protecting, I’m not a damsel in distress, I never asked for your help—or anything along those lines—but nothing came out.
I didn’t need protecting.
I wasn’t a damsel in distress.
I never asked for his help, or anyone’s, ever.
Maybe that was my problem. Maybe I wanted to fight my own battles and handle my own problems so much I was blind to the fact that letting someone else help me, having someone on my side might make it easier.
Declan’s dark gaze flicked between us, and I wondered if he saw our connection. If he didn’t, he chose not to address it. Instead he said, “What are you going to tell dad when he asks you why you’re transferring? He's tried to get you to come to Hillcrest since… forever.”
“I know, but you know Dad. All I have to say is that he was right and I never should've gone to Stanton to begin with.”
“Well,” Declan muttered, running a hand over the back of his neck, “if you’re going to transfer, I guess I can’t stop you. But you’re not being my roommate. That honor is Ash’s.”
“You mean Dad didn’t tell you?” Will paused, and both Declan and I waited with bated breath to hear what he had to say. “Next year they’re opening up admission to all female students. You might have Ash as a roommate this year, but next year? I doubt they’ll let you room with her when there are a bunch of other girls who’ll need roommates, too. Ash was only an experiment, and I guess you’ve hidden enough from Dad for him to think it’s going well.”
My stomach sank, for whatever stupid reason. I knew I probably wasn’t going to remain the only girl on campus for my entire four years here, but then again, I kind of liked it. I liked being special, I liked the fact that there were no other girls around constantly to bring their cattiness into my life. I knew not all girls were like that, but when I thought about Brooklyn and her friends…I knew a horde of girls at HU would only spell more drama for me.
