Page 54 of Glass Omega

“But you are married? That’s so cool!” Kailey gushed, holding my hand up closer to see my ring. “He must be rich because damn this is some rock.”

Gently pulling my hand from hers, I glanced over at Rhodes who looked to be trying to glare a hole in the side of my new friend’s head as it seemed like her voice was carrying over to the little group he was standing in.

“You said you needed help with your composition and set up, right?” I asked, hurrying to change the subject.

Kailey looked back over at her station which she hadn’t even started putting together. “Desperately, if you walk me through it like I’m five, I may just understand you and owe you forever.”

“I think I can manage that,” I told her, my insides a little bit warm at finally making my first friend at school.

An hour and a half later and I was walking arm-in-arm with Kailey as we headed to our next class. Even though the class was mainly taught with digital cameras, the professor had offered extra credit for anyone who wanted to process some old university film from the archives and I’d jumped at the chance to see the campus darkrooms for the first time.

It had been ages since I’d touched photography film—not since I was in my photography classes in high school—but I could always appreciate how therapeutic it was to work on processing film for hours on end.

Working in the darkroom later would also give me a chance to avoid the conversation about my checkup appointment with Rhodes a little bit longer.

“I can’t believe you actually want to process all of that film. It’s extra credit in a lower division class, Perrie,” Kailey said as she eyeballed the reusable bag full of rolls of film. “I know you’re a visual arts major and all, but is it really worth it?”

I shrugged, already used to Kailey’s blunt way of speaking after spending the last couple of hours with her. “What can I say? I’m a kiss ass.”

That made the other girl laugh, her eyes going over our shoulders to where Rhodes was following at a close clip. “Does he always follow you this closely?”

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes, I nodded. “This is actually him giving me some breathing room.”

“Wow, your dad is so protective even after you’ve gotten married,” Kailey gushed, her blue eyes wide. “My dad’s a lawyer and I can barely get him to take me out to dinner let alone hire an entire commando for protection.”

I let Kailey believe that Rhodes was protecting me at my father’s behest because it was easier than trying to explain the latter.

How was I supposed to say that he was my criminal husband’s second-in-command-slash-lover and that he was protecting me from getting kidnapped by some unknown boogeyman that I didn’t quite believe existed. Not only that, my husband had also offered him up on a silver platter to be the third person in a pack that shouldn’t exist, but the guy couldn’t stand me?

No, letting her believe that Ethan Chandler was actually a good father was much easier.

Or at least it would be if Rhodes would stop snorting like a pig every time Kailey complimented him.

Luckily for me, Kailey seemed to have the attention span of a butterfly because her eyes were already locking onto the next most interesting thing in the Quad.

“Romey!” she shouted, waving a hand wildly over her head. “Over here! Look who I have!”

The crowd parted, showing my little brother, who had been ignoring all of my texts since the wedding, standing with a group of his friends.

Kailey had mentioned him once before at the campus store, but I had no idea they actually knew each other and was especially surprised when she launched herself into his arms.

“Hey, K, how’s it going?” Romey asked, his expression open and happy as he slowly detached her arms from around his neck, his gray eyes meeting mine over her shoulder and immediately cooling.

“Not much, but you didn’t tell me your sister was coming to our school, you jerk!” Kailey gave his arm a little punch. “Nor did you tell me how actually gorgeous she was.”

“Well, that’s because I didn’t know she was cominghere.” The air around us seemed to chill by a few degrees as Kailey looked between the two of us with a frown.

“I see that you two need to talk so I guess I’ll head to my next class. Don’t fight you two, you are far too pretty to frown like that. Bye, Perrie! You’re my new favorite Chandler!” she called with a wave.

“I thought you weren’t a Chandler anymore,” Romey scoffed once she was out of earshot. I reeled back away from him, surprised by the hostility in his tone. The last time we’d seen each other he seemed sad about me being married, but now he looked angry as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“I’m not, but I registered under Chandler at school,” I told him, trying to search his face for the sweet little brother thatI’d seen at my wedding a week ago. “Why haven’t you been responding to my text messages?”

“I’ve been a little bit busy. The house has been a shitshow ever since that asshole carried you off like a sack of potatoes.” Romey nodded to Rhodes who was standing just behind my shoulder.

Rhodes didn’t look pleased with being referred to as an asshole because a growl rumbled out of him.

“Watch it, pup, just because you’re her little brother doesn’t mean I won’t lay you out in front of all of your trust fund friends,” he warned.

---