Page 111 of Stolen Summer

I folded my arms across my chest. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Cole nodded, his gaze flicking to Frankie’s for a fraction before returning to me. “Fair enough, but for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here, Quinn.”

The façade fell, and I took a step in retreat, shaking my head. “I can’t do this. I need to go.” I gave in to the compulsion to run. Well, it was more of a fast walk because I didn’t want to seem like a psychopath.

“Quinn,” he called after me.

“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let her go,” I heard Frankie warn, her voice growing fainter with each step carrying me away.

Footsteps clapped behind me, and I prayed it was Frankie and not Cole following me.

“Hey, are you okay?” my best friend asked breathily after catching up, matching my fast pace.

I exhaled. “Yeah, I think so. I just need a minute to process.” We walked aimlessly in silence, and after those sixty seconds, the reality of the next year hit me. “Fuck me!” I shrieked at a tree, barely refraining from kicking it, which would have only succeeded in causing me pain.

Frankie still held her drink, and she offered it to me. “Exactly. Took you long enough.”

I sipped aggressively and handed it back to her, glancing at my friend like a lost kitten. I imagined I looked like one too. “What am I going to do?”

She looped her arm through mine and guided me back onto the brick pathway. “Nothing. I refuse to let the Riley duo ruin our college experience. Just think of me as your human shield. I will make sure he doesn’t hurt you again.”

My spine straightened. “Definitely not. You did that once already and ended up in the hospital.”

She had the straw to her lips, about to take a sip, but what she had to say took precedence, and she lowered the cup. “How many times do I have to tell you that it wasn’t your fault.”

“Of all the fucking schools, it had to be this one?” The very thought knotted my insides. How could my heart heal if he was right in front of me daily?

“This might be an inappropriate time to bring up the idea that perhaps this is fate,” she said smoothly as she continued to drag me down the pathway.

I scrunched my nose. “Screw fate. Fate can suck my ass. Fate can choke on my middle finger.”

She let out a low laugh. “That’s what I thought. You got that look, by the way.”

I cut her a sidelong glance as we passed the laundry facilities, a whiff of detergent and clean clothes tinging the air. “Would you care to share what that look is?”

Something twinkled in her eyes. Something like mischief. “The one where you run away.”

I tensed. “Can you blame me? I came here to forget Crew. How can I do that knowing he is within a mile radius?”

“Do you think you can forget him?” she asked, challenging me to look deeper inside.

More and more people were meandering outside, the campus filling up as my peers hurried to class, met up with friends, or sought out the cafeteria for food. “I want to try,” I murmured.

Frankie gave me a squeeze, our arms still locked together. “How long until he shows up at our apartment, you think?”

I tripped on the tip of my shoe. “Don’t even joke. He fucking better not,” I threatened after recovering.

Frankie lifted her chin, a glint of steely determination and a speck of wickedness in her eyes. “I’ll answer the door with a shotgun.”

I snorted. “Difficult since neither of us brought one.”

She waved her drink aimlessly in the air. “Pepper spray. Shotgun. What’s the difference?”

I rolled my eyes. The anxiety threatening to consume me minutes ago slowly receded because of my friend. “Thanks, Frankie. For everything.” I couldn’t do this without her, and I didn’t mean just school. Facing Crew would be a difficult challenge, but perhaps not for the reasons I assumed.

Satisfied I wouldn’t unravel, Frankie halted, stopping me with her. “Okay, so do we risk the bookstore?” she asked, glancing to our right. “Or head straight for the bar?” She looked to our left.

It took two weeks for me to settle into campus life and to think it might be possible to attend WU without seeing Crew. Cole was another story. Our paths seemed to continually cross, and after the fourth time, I wondered if our accidental run-ins were on purpose.

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