Page 58 of The Very First Night

We all agreed the kitchen was the selling point when we signed the lease—with its sleek granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and ample space for cooking and socializing, it’s no wonder why. We’re a little farther from campus than most of us would have preferred, but it was far nicer than the beat-up houses near school.

“Where’s Marcus?” I ask Jenna as I grab a piece of bacon off the plate sitting next to the stove.

“We ran out of milk for the scrambled eggs, so he went out to get some.”

I nod before grabbing another piece of bacon, but Jenna quickly swats it out of my hand. “That’s for breakfast, you heathen. It’ll be gone before he even gets back if you guys don’t stop.”

I notice Tanner had the same idea as me when I see him pause with a strip of bacon halfway to his lips. The pause only lasts a millisecond before he shoves the entire strip into his mouth. It doesn’t seem humanly possible, but he manages to do it nonetheless.

“You’re an idiot,” Jenna says as she rolls her eyes.

“Seems to be the mantra today.” He laughs, grabbing a paper towel to wipe the grease residue off of his hands.

Marcus appears in the doorway with a gallon of two-percent milk and Jenna all but tackles him when he walks across the threshold. She wraps her fingers around the handle of the jug, but he doesn’t let go of the bottle.

“Nope. Pay the piper, my dear.” He puckers his lips dramatically, earning an eye roll from Jenna, though it’s crystal clear she isn’t the least bit annoyed as she lifts onto her toes and places a gentle kiss on Marcus’s lips before grabbing the bottle from his hands and beelining for the stove. She swiftly starts mixing the ingredients needed for scrambled eggs as we begin chatting around the kitchen island.

“How are you?” Regina asks me timidly, pushing her long auburn hair over her shoulder.

I’ve only met her a handful of times, so the awkwardness she probably feels is evident in her question. Either way, I appreciate her inquiry. It’s no secret that I had a rough summer and an even harder spring. I spent a long time pulling myself out of my hole, but I’m proud I got out.

“I’m good!” A forced kind of pep seeps into my words, so I repeat myself, correcting the borderline psychotic enthusiasm. “I’m good. Tired, but good. I have to go to the campus bookstore today, which isn’t fun because I know it’s going to be a madhouse. But I’m good.”

“Good.”

Jenna says, “Wait, you’re going to the bookstore today? Can I tag along? I need to pick up the textbooks I ordered.”

I’m not sure why she even asks—we’ve gone to get our books together since we started rooming together.

“I actually do care; I don’t want you in my car.”

“Well, bite me, because I’m going anyway.” She laughs, shutting off the stove as she pulls the pan away from the heat. “Food’s ready!” she yells, though there is only one person who isn’t in here already.

I try to tamp down my irritation at the reminder that I’ll have to coexist with Elijah for the next eight months as he appears in the doorway and walks over to the stove.

“Looks great, Jenna,” he says softly before walking over to me. “Can we talk?”

I freeze. I don’t want to talk to him, but also…I do? It’s the weirdest feeling and I don’t know what to do with it. How the hell are you supposed to navigate the mixed emotions of hating someone with every fiber of your being but at the same time holding so much love for them that they’re constantly at odds?

Being a human is ass.

“Yeah, sure.” I swallow hard, stepping toward the doorway, but suddenly Jenna appears at my side.

“No can do, E,” she says brusquely. “Kat promised she’d take me to the bookstore, like, right now, so you’ll have to talk later.”

He pins her with a glare but doesn’t say anything.

It’s abundantly clear she just pulled the bookstore excuse out of her ass, as there is a plate piled high with freshly cooked, untouched eggs.

I love her for that, really.

“Oh yeah. Um.” I swallow before glancing upward to meet his eye. “We can talk later, okay?”

Elijah simply nods, and I can’t tell if he is irritated or relieved. My guess is he’s probably a little bit of both.

TWENTY-SEVEN

KAT

---