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ChapterEight
“You need to get laid.”
My hand itched to smack River for repeating what had become her favorite phrase, but since I didn’t think I’d enjoy being set on fire, I ignored it. Besides, it wasn’t like she didn’t have a point.
Rather than admit it, I drummed my nails on the stack of books in front of me on the library table. I tried to focus on studying for our latest Debunk assignment, but my mind had been a scattered mess following the party.
Darrio had crashed into my room that night with River not long after Sam had stormed out. After he had hugged me hard enough to squeeze the breath out of my lungs, he turned and abruptly left. In the two weeks since, it had been nearly impossible to get him to speak to me for anything other than assignments.
To say I missed him didn’t even scratch the surface, which was crazy considering he was right there in front of me.
Sam was always nearby, hovering on the edge of my periphery. I couldn’t tell if he was looking for an opening to reinsert himself into my life or if he was just playing bodyguard, but either way, his presence had become a constant again. I was both irritated and touched that he cared enough to be a helicopter boyfriend—no, not boyfriend. Shit, I didn’t know what he was, but it wasn’t that.
Remy and Varon were less visible, but every now and then, I’d feel a gaze boring into me and turn in time to catch a glimpse of one of them watching me.
I had to say, it was the safest I’d felt since I arrived at Divinity.
And the loneliest.
Thank the gods for River, Rocky, and Ben. To my relief, Illyria didn’t seem inclined to stick around if she saw us gathered on the couches, so we were spared that headache. Kate actually hung out with us in the living room a few times, so it would seem her bestie hadn’t managed to turn her against me. Yet. Things were still a little weird between us since the night I caught her with Brodgan. Did she know I’d seen her?
“River, leave her be. It can’t be easy trying to deal with all of them. One guy is more than enough drama for me.” Rocky laughed when Jesse shot her a glare. I had my suspicions about the two of them, but I was minding my business for the time being.
“No one told her she had to date all of them.”
My fists clenched at River’s snarky comment. Not only because it came off pretty bitchy, but because I was sick to death of people counting Varon as part of my… team? Group? Dare I say it… harem?
I snorted to myself. Yeah, right. Women didn’t get to have harems. At the end of this, I’d have to choose between them, but that was far in the future and wasn’t worth thinking about at the moment.
“I think it’s a very enlightened approach to a relationship.” Ben’s endorsement earned him a smile, and he grinned back at me. “Why jump into exclusivity with someone when you barely know them? Nothing wrong with getting better acquainted with a few people until you see who’s most compatible with you.”
“Thank you, Ben. See, River, not everyone is so judgmental.”
She shrugged a shoulder and returned her attention to her book, flipping the page as she searched for the right section. “I’m just saying, you’d have less of a headache with one.”
I couldn’t deny her point, so I didn’t try. Besides, I wasn’t dealing with all of them anymore, anyway. I just needed to figure out how to fix things with Darrio.
Just thinking of cutting the others out of my heart hurt. A lot.
Speaking of Darrio…
His presence was palpable, and my eyes darted to where he stood in one of the aisles of the library, combing the stacks for something. We didn’t have a partnered project at the moment, so he’d barely spoken to me the past few days, and I’d had enough.
Jamming my stuff into my bag, I stood so fast my chair made a horrendous screeching noise as it scraped against the floor.
“Sorry.” Frowns covered the faces of my friends, but there was no time for more than that. Darrio had looked up at the noise and was already making a swift retreat. “Gotta run, I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
I hustled after him, reaching out to grab his arm as we exited the main door of the library.
“What the hell, Darrio?”
He allowed me to stop his progress and turned to face me. Since he could have easily shrugged me off and kept going, I took that as a hopeful sign. His shuttered expression gave nothing away, but I could swear there were cracks in that facade. He was still in control now, but he was on the verge of losing the mask he held in place.
“What is it, Thea?”
Ouch, the legal name.
So he was really pissed.
