Page 15 of Jump on Three

Less touching.

Her presence, though, was as soothing as the heavy blanket around my shoulders, smoothing out the scraping, raw whirlwind of feelings swimming beneath my skin.

The repetitive beats of San Holo filtered through my ears. My fingertips drummed on my knees. I closed my eyes, blocking out the dim light of my bedroom.

I didn’t cry. The aching need to break down had faded. A small part of me was proud I’d taken care of myself and eased my frantic, spiraling thoughts. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to.

I waited until I was settled then slipped my headphones down to my neck, picking at a thread on my blanket.

“I’m sorry.”

Delilah scoffed. “Don’t try that on me.”

“I interrupted you and Rhys.”

“He’s fine, and if he had a problem with me being with you when you need me, he wouldn’t be my boyfriend.”

I lifted my head, searching her face, almost a mirror of mine. “I’m not sure I needed you.”

Again, she scoffed. “When you’re upset, I need to be near you. Humor me, darling. Did something happen, or was this a general the world is fucked up and I need to decompress moment?”

“A boy keeps taking my study room. I left him a note, asking him to use another room, which led to us texting. He won’t compromise.”

“Who is he?”

“An asshole.”

She gasped, then giggled. “Oh my. If my sweet sister is calling someone an asshole, they must be simply terrible.”

I scrunched my nose. “He left crumbs all over the desk yesterday.”

She shook her head. “Gross. And he’s just stealing your room?”

“He says he’s following the rules. It’s first come, first serve, and he has some mythical powers that get him to the library as soon as the final bell rings.”

“Ugh. I hate him so much.”

“Me too.” I stretched my legs out in front of me. “I wasn’t able to finish my statistics assignment, though, so I don’t have time to stay upset about this.”

She held out her hand to me. After a beat of hesitation, I slipped my palm against hers. My sister’s hand didn’t engulf mine like I imagined Ivan’s might, but her skin was soft, comforting, like home.

“We’re going to dinner soon.” She rubbed her lips together. “I assume you won’t be joining?”

I shook my head. “No. Too much work, too many people.”

“All right, darling. I’ll pick up something for you.”

We sat holding hands for a little while longer, then Delilah left to have dinner with her boyfriend and our friends. I stayed in my room, listening to music and finishing my work, which took longer than it should have with the breaks I’d taken to reread my texts with the squatter and curse his very existence.

Chapter Six

Evelyn

Me: Must you leave garbage everywhere?

Since I’d gotten my room back, my mood was far less bleak than it had been yesterday. I had walked into the library, prepared to be disappointed, so it had been a pleasant surprise to find the squatter hadn’t been in yet.

His mess hadn’t bothered me as much as it had the first time, but I found it difficult to believe one person could be so careless.

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