Page 58 of Drama Queen

“Nothing, I’m fine,” she murmurs, and I roll my eyes. Yeah, because that was totally believable.

“Don’t lie to me,” I tell her, dropping to my knees in front of her when she still refuses to meet my gaze. My brows pull together as I once again look into her blue eyes.

Had I imagined the color change? No, I know what I saw. Just a few minutes ago, her eyes were pink, even brighter than her hair. She looked otherworldly, but no less beautiful.

I shake the thought from my mind; that isn’t helpful right now.

“Em—Emory. Please let us help you,” Silas pleads, pulling her gaze to him. Once again, her eyes soften as she looks at him, and I bite back the urge to snap at her. It’s not her fault he’s the nice brother. Hell, it’s not his fault, either. I’ve always been an ass; most girls even seem to like it. Emory just isn’t one of them, much to my current annoyance.

“It’s hard to explain,” she tells him, glancing in my direction before looking down at her lap.

“Well, try,” I say, sounding angrier than I intended. I could apologize, but before I can think to, her eyes dart up, meeting mine once again with that same fire I’m used to. I’d rather she be mad at me than see her like she just was.

“I can’t,” she grits her teeth in annoyance before looking around at the other people milling around the library. “Not here.”

“What the fuck does that?—”

“We can go somewhere else,” Silas says, cutting me with a glare. It's funny how he has no problem giving me the stink eye, but can hardly hold eye contact with women.

“Okay.” Emory slowly gets up from the chair, seeming unsteady on her feet, and I have to resist the urge to reach out and lend her support. Whatever this is seems to have happened when she touched me, not to mention I doubt she would want my help given the choice.

“If you want to go back to my apartment, I can explain…or try to.” She doesn’t sound very sure of herself—nothing like she usually is. While I don’t love the idea of following a stranger totheir house, my curiosity is piqued, and I find myself agreeing almost as quickly as Silas.

Fuck, of all the women for Silas to take a sudden interest in, it had to be her?

At least it isn’t Jamie, I guess.

Silas makes quick work of packing their things, making it so far as to reach for Emory’s bag before she reaches out and snatches it from him.

“I’ve got it,” she tells him with a half-assed smile. Cramming her things in her bag, she hurries toward the exit and out the door, leaving us standing there. I look to Silas, but he shrugs, clearly not knowing anything more than I do, before he hurries after her.

I’ve got a weird feeling about this, but I follow them regardless. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I message Aldric and let him know we won’t be back right away. I’d love to say I think Emory is harmless, but you can never be too sure, and if she’s luring us to some trap to steal our organs or some other crazy shit, at least Aldric will know where to start his search.

We’re going to Emory’s for a few. Something's going on, and she won’t explain it in the library with other people around.

I don’t really have much more to give him, as I don’t understand myself, but it lets him know where we will be. I’ll explain later if I need to.

Drop me your location, and I’ll meet you there.

I hesitate for a moment, caught off guard by his response. Aldric isn’t the type to want to come and hang out, and from everything I’ve seen of these two, they don’t get along well, either.

He’s probably just going into overprotective big brother mode because I said something was going on. Aldric isn’t one tolet people suffer if he thinks he can help. No matter how abrasive he might seem, he’s a big softie.

Without wasting more time trying to figure out why he wants it, I drop my location and head out, hoping Emory and Silas are still around for it to be useful.

I push my way down the hall more aggressively than necessary as people try to stop me, and I hate to admit it feels good. I’ve fallen into a role of people-pleasing since I’ve been here, feeling as if I need to do well and be liked. I’m a scholarship kid, and while it’s not always bad, some days, it eats away at me. This isn’t who I am, and even though I can play the part, I’m still the same asshole deep down. Maybe it’s time everyone else got to see it.

I make it out of the main entrance with my phone still in hand, ready to call Silas, when I spot Emory near the parking lot. Her bright pink hair makes her impossible to miss. They stand with each other but not too close, and I’m not sure if that’s because of Silas’ nerves or her choice after she freaked out.

“Why are you just standing here? I half expected you guys to leave me instead of waiting,” I say as I walk up behind them. Emory turns at the sound of my voice, taking a step back away from me, and I try, and fail, not to feel offended by it.

“I tried,” she tells me, her eyes darting to Silas before she turns away from both of us.

Clearly, I missed something.

“She was going to walk,” he says with a shrug.

“Why?” I ask before I can stop myself.

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