Page 19 of Stranded

Chapter

Seven

ALPH

“I’min my last year studying fashion design at the college,” Ronan says.

Okay, that’s not a bad start. It’s pretty fucking cool. I’ve only seen Ronan in this one outfit, and I’m clueless about fashion, but I’m a little bit jealous that he’s already found something he’s obviously so good at.

I smile at Ronan, but he’s staring at his glass, drawing tiny circles on the side with his fingertip.

“I was getting sick of the dorms, so I moved in with three of my classmates last year. Things were okay at first. But the grading got tougher and tougher, and… well…” His gaze is fixed on the glass, like he’s embarrassed to even look at me. “They started doing better than me. The better they do—and the worse I do—the meaner they get.”

Oh, shit. What a bunch of immature assholes.

“That’s fuckingawful,” I tell him, gritting my teeth. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to live like that.”

“I know.” Ronan sighs. “I thought they’d chilled out over the summer, but they all just got back home, and…”

He clams up and stares at the table, so I reach over the table with my palm upturned to offer him strength. Ronan rests his fingers on mine, and then he finally sighs.

“Okay. You wanna know how I ended up on Maple Island? They figured out how to fake a location on Grindr and created a profile to catfish me. They told me to take the last ferry, and then… boom.” He smiles crookedly. “Surprise, guess who!”

What the shit?

I stare at Ronan, my jaw hanging open. I’m so outraged that I can barely even form words.

Ronan peers at me. “Oh, Grindr’s a dating app?—”

Oh, god. I’m notthatstraight. “I know what Grindr is,” I tell him, shaking my head. “That’s not… I’m just…why?”

“I was stupid. I took the last ferry—” Ronan starts half-heartedly, and something inside me crystallizes into action.

I know what I can do for him.

“Nope.” I set down my beer bottle loudly, and I crush his hand between both of mine. “No way. You’re not going to do that to yourself, Ronan. Those assholes decided to screw you over. It’s their fault.”

A blush works its way up Ronan’s cheeks as he stares at me, and I stare right back. I’m not letting him look away until I’m sure he’s heard me.

“That’s fucked up. Jesus, Ronan. You gotta find somewhere else to live.”

Finally, Ronan’s shoulders slump. He pulls his hand away and takes a deep breath. “Yeah, no. You’re right. I can’t afford to fuck up this semester. I have to move out.”

“Yes,” I breathe out with relief. “Get the fuck out of there.”

Ronan nods, working his jaw around. “Classes start in a week. It’ll be hard to find a place…”

That’s it.

I know I’m grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

“My brother and I were sharing a house,” I tell him. “I was in the apartment downstairs, and he was upstairs. But he’s moved in with his boyfriend, so it’s empty. I didn’t want to rent it out to some random stranger…”

Ronan stares at me until he finally shakes his head. “So you thought you’d pick up a stranger on a beach?”

“Exactly,” I grin at him, but I actually mean it. “If you can’t trust a stranger on a beach, whocanyou trust?”

Ronan snorts. Then he does a double-take when he realizes I’m serious. “Dude. I-I know alotof podcasts that would disagree with you. At least tell me you lock your doors.”

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