Page 7 of Trust Me

“I’m gonna have you assassinated.”

“Whoa.”

“What?”

“That was dark.”

“Dude, it’s a joke.”

“You said it super seriously,” Carson noted. “Remi, you got a good lock on your door?”

“Sure do,” Remi replied. “Got a go bag and a Glock ready too.”

“Damn, that’s extreme.”

“You don’t grow up like I did and just get comfortable. Right, Oli?”

“Pretty much,” I agreed. “But you’re more on the crazy side of things.”

“You won’t even sleep in your bedroom.”

“Why do I need a separate space just to sleep? The term ‘living room’ literally encompasses everything.”

“Still weird.”

“Shut up and focus on not dying this time.”

He muttered something I didn’t catch but ended up doing as I said. By the time we reached the final battle, my eyes were heavy and I’d sunk so far into the couch that I could easily go right to sleep.

We barely made it through the fight, and when we did, Remi was still upset because the boss didn’t drop the cuirass he wanted. Before I logged off, I transferred it to his character, then I shut everything off. I got to my feet and threw my arms in the air, groaning when my shoulder popped in the best way.

Grabbing my phone off the couch, I checked the clock, then swore. I had just enough time to shower and grab a yogurt on my way out. Once I was in my car, I realized that I didn’t have a spoon, but it was too late to go back up, so I peeled the top off the container, then immediately whipped out of the parking spot. The foil slipped from my fingers, landing somewhere on the floor. Hopefully it wouldn’t start to smell if I forgot to look for it later.

Since I didn’t have a utensil, I stopped at a light and dumped the yogurt into my mouth all in one go. I froze when the taste registered. It was off. Very, very, very off. There was nothing for me to spit it in, so I rolled down the window and hung out the side of my car as I spit everything onto the asphalt. Someone honked, so I hurriedly situated myself and raced through the intersection.

The lingering taste of that rancid yogurt was still on my tongue as I pulled into the university. That oughta teach me to pay more attention to the things in my fridge, not that I actually would. I was under the impression that things lasted a lot longer than their expiry dates claimed. Clearly, yogurt was an exception.

I had to ask five people if they had gum on my way to Pritchard’s class before someone finally gave me a piece. And it was cinnamon, which was my favorite. Maybe it was one of those luck things Remi talked about.

If I had luck on my side, life would’ve been a lot easier for me. I didn’t have it as bad as Remi in my youth, but it was a major stretch to think fortune had smiled upon me. All I’d done was manage to avoid some of the really bad things.

I wasn’t lucky, but maybe I wasn’t unlucky either, and that was something I could appreciate.

I’d barely sat at my desk when I spotted Brooks making his way over to me. He wasn’t intimidating, but he was unpredictable enough that I stayed wary when I didn’t know what was on his mind. There was something playful in his expression, and the way Tilian watched made me wonder what was going on.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“You should come sit with us since we’re in the same group. Melissa said she doesn’t mind.”

My gaze moved over his shoulder to where a girl was grabbing her stuff. When I saw where she’d been seated, my stomach fluttered.

“Uh, yeah, totally,” I said quickly, already on my feet. Brooks grinned, but I didn’t really care if he was playing a game here.

As soon as I sat down, I felt nervous. There was no reason to, except maybe there was. When I’d tried to do something nice with the discount, Dean had been dying for a chance to bolt.

So why did I take this seat?

Dean walked in the door, and I had my answer in the way my heart sped up. Immediately, he froze, which reminded me of his weird feelings about me.