Page 515 of Lessons in Cruelty

I give Kai the finger without turning around.

His feet slap against the paving as he comes after me at a jog and falls in step beside me again. He grabs my wrist again, turns me to him again.

“I’m going to see Ezra at the hospital.” Green eyes the color of new moss narrow as he searches my face. “Come with me.”

There’s venom in my laugh. “Not enough money in the fucking world,” I spit, tugging my hand free.

Trying to.

He’s holding on a lot tighter than before.

“Please.”

“Fuck that.” I flick the fingers of my other hand at him like I’m shooing a fly. “I told you, I’ve got stuff to do.”

Kai looks away, jaw clenching. “I’ll come see you after then. Tell you what we⁠—“

“Don’t bother.” I shake my head. “He’ll have you all brainwashed again.”

Damn, I didn’t wake up with a hangover, but either the sun or Kai’s stupidity is giving me a blistering headache.

“I just want to figure out what⁠—”

“Yeah, whatever, Kai.” I wave him away as I hobble toward GAZ again. “You do you, boo.”

This time, he doesn’t follow me. When I glance over my shoulder, he’s just standing there like an adorable lost puppy.

Am I the asshole?

Yes. Yes, I am.

Do I care?

Not one fucking bit.

I need sleep, a handful of aspirin, and all three wishes from a genie to get me out of this shitshow.

The front door is locked, and since I don’t have my key with me, I use the spare key to let myself into the kitchen.

There were no police cruisers or campus security golf carts outside, so I’m guessing they’ve done what they needed to do.

I don’t care either way—I’m picking up my clothes and those painkillers, getting the Land Rover, and heading over to the strip mall. I’ll clean up in the public restroom like I’ve done so many times before.

The hush inside the sorority house creeps me out. I’d be sprinting up the stairs if I could, but I’m resigned to limping up them one at a time, leaning heavily on the railing to keep my weight off my injured foot.

The stairs are a challenge, but I take them—literally—in my stride.

Now my foot’s really starting to ache, but I can take the weight off when I’ve reached my room. Gritting my teeth, I hobble down the hall, gaining momentum by the time I’ve reached the end.

Which all fizzles out when I see the yellow tape on the door.

POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS

The top left part of the X has come loose, leaving enough room for me to step over without disturbing the rest of the tape.

No one will even know I was here.

But as soon as I’m inside my room, I realize what a fat waste of time this was. I came here to fetch my things…but there’s nothing to fetch.