Page 46 of Our Ruined Beginnings

He scoffs. “Please. Your family is rich as all hell.”

“Theyare. I’m the family embarrassment, remember?”

Now his frown is less confused and more furious. “He cut you off?”

I shrug again, not sure what to do with this version of Madden, and wary of when he’ll no doubt switch again and tell me it’s my fault anyway.

“So how do you get money?” he asks.

“I don’t, genius. I had a job, and then, thanks to Bethany, I didn’t,” I say, looking at him pointedly. I shrug. “Full board is included with tuition at DU. I won’t starve.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and I can practically hear the cogs working in his head. “That’s why you didn’t book a ticket.”

“How did you know I didn’t?”

“I overheard Kinsley on the phone to you.”

I remembered the conversation he must mean. It was only a couple of days before I got the email including the ticket, and I’d been quietly hopeful I’d be able to stay at DU for another break.

“So you bought me one? Why did you want me back here?” I’m not sure he’ll reply, but apparently, whatever truth serum is in the air, he’s not immune to it.

“Bethany and some of her friends were staying until Christmas Eve.”

I’m even more confused, if that’s possible.

“What, you didn’t want to miss out on the torment?” I roll my eyes, but he scoffs.

“Trust me. Without me there, they’d be feral.”

He picks up the rest of his soda and leaves the room, leaving me reeling.

Is he trying to imply that he reins them in? I can’t believe that—they wouldn’t give a shit without him riling them up. I mean, yeah, they would’ve known Caleb last year, but really? Was one of them his girlfriend? No, I don’t believe that for a second. Caleb barely dated, and if for some insane reason he had but hadn’t told me, nobody in that group would ever be his type.

I can’t get it to all line up in my head, and I spend the rest of the day restless and confused.

Chapter Nineteen

Madden

Theclockonthewall steadily ticks down, and my eyes zero in on the large hand as it hits another hour.

Sleep has never been something I’ve struggled with. I’ve always found solace in closing my eyes, falling prey to the darkness, and relishing the silence. But since sleeping with Harper—if you could call it that—sleep is harder to come by.

Something changed within me then, and something more changed tonight, between Harper and me. Something I can’t put my finger on, but something I know I can’t cling to when the sun begins to rise and dawn breaks, bringing about the new semester.

Harper being in my space has brought a comfort I haven’t felt in so long, making the days a little more bearable despite the memories this house holds, but tomorrow, when I travel back to DU, I have to let her go again and remember why … and I’m not sure I’m ready for that.

A creak in the hallway grabs my attention, and my eyes fly from the clock to the thin crack beneath my door. The light pad of footsteps follows, the low dim of the lamps passing a slither of light into my room.

My heart thunders in my chest as light feet approach my door, and I wait, watching eagerly for the twist of the handle. But it never comes. Instead, the footsteps move past my room and head toward the stairs.

After a long minute, I drag myself from beneath the comforter before I can think about what I’m doing and follow her footsteps. It can only be her. Nobody else would be tiptoeing around in the middle of the night.

When I reach the ground floor, the bright light of the kitchen illuminates the hallway, followed by the clang of pots and pans as Harper helps herself around the large room. What the hell is she doing?

Is she baking?

I know she has been at school—Kinsley’s been bringing treats for some of the players, and I’d recognize them as Harper’s anywhere—but I haven’t eaten any. Even if Kinsley hadn’t threatened me with pain of death or I managed to grab one before the chosen few scarfed the lot, I couldn’t bring myself taste it.

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