Page 48 of Kings of the Campus

I stare at him, searching his face, looking for any sign that he’s unsure. But Matteo’s gaze is steady, certain. “They wouldn’t break into your place,” he says again, this time more gently. “They’re not like that, Tessa. I swear.”

I swallow hard, still fidgeting with my fingers. His words are starting to sink in, slowly replacing the fear and suspicion I’ve been carrying for days. He’s right—everything they’ve done has been cruel, but not like this. Not dangerous, not invasive.

“They’ve done stupid things,” I mumble to myself, “but this is different. This is…darker.”

Matteo nods, watching me closely. “Exactly. They’d never cross that line. Whoever’s doing this, it’s not them.”

As the tension in my chest starts to ease, I exhale, feeling a small weight lift. I still don’t know who’s behind this, who’s making my life a living nightmare, but at least I know now—it’s not them.

For the first time in what feels like forever, there’s a sliver of relief.

Matteo sits forward, concern still etched on his face. “We’re not letting this slide, Tessa,” he says firmly. “We’re going to the campus police. Right now.”

I nod, and Matteo stands, offering his hand to help me up. I take it, grateful for the steady weight of his grip.

We walk across campus in silence, the cold biting at my skin, but I barely feel it. My mind is racing, trying to make sense of everything that’s been happening, trying to convince myself this isn’t just paranoia. Matteo keeps pace beside me, every now and then glancing over, like he’s making sure I’m still okay.

When we reach the campus police office, I hesitate outside the door, nerves creeping up again. But Matteo gives me a reassuring nod, so I push the door open and step inside.

The campus police officer behind the desk barely glances up. “What can I help you with?”

I take a deep breath, stepping forward. “Someone broke into my dorm room. Everything was trashed.”

The officer glances up, recognizing me from a few weeks ago when I had the last incident. “Oh, don’t worry hon. I’m sure it’s just another drunken student. We’ll review the security tapes later, but I wouldn’t stress.”

“But this isn’t the first incident,” I argue, looking back at Matteo with a feeling of helpless dread creeping over me.

Matteo steps forward, his voice calm and steady but firm. “Look, you didn’t see her earlier. She looked freaked out. If she thought it was just a drunk student, she wouldn’t have come here.”

“They made a huge mess,” I tell the officer. “My stuff was everywhere. Can’t you guys just investigate?”

“I’m sure it was scary seeing your stuff tossed around but I’m telling you, it’s almost the holidays, finals just wrapped up, and you kids are going crazy with celebrations right now, so I’d relax and maybe stay with your boyfriend for the night,” he says, glancing at Matteo.

I frown. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my friend and he came with me because I was worried you guys wouldn’t take me seriously. I think I’m being stalked!”

The officer sighs. “Do you have any proof?” he asks, a note of irritation in his voice. “Do you have any evidence at all?”

When I shake my head he gives me a sad smile. “I’m afraid we can’t do anything without solid evidence. Right now there’s nothing for us to go on besides your ‘gut feeling,’” he says, putting air quotes around the phrase. “Come back when you have proof.”

Matteo looks like he wants to protest but I stop him, shaking my head. Sometimes it’s not worth arguing.

Still, what can we do now?

29

ALEC

Now that the semester is over, the campus is a ghost town. The usual hum of students rushing between classes, the chatter, the laughter—it’s all disappeared under a blanket of snow. It’s the kind of quiet you don’t realize you miss until you’re sitting in the common room with nothing but the sound of video game explosions and the occasional crackle from the fireplace.

“Dude, come on!” Jace groans next to me as his character takes another hit on screen. “Stop camping in the corner like a little?—”

I grin, barely paying attention as I send his character flying. “If you didn’t keep falling for it, I wouldn’t do it.”

It’s weird. We’ve been playing games, baking cookies, and watching every cheesy holiday movie we can find. But no matter how much we fill up our time, there’s this lingering ache, like something is missing.

Tessa.

I looked around for her after the break started, but I found out she went home for the holidays. The place feels different without her around. Things got kinda ugly between us, but thefire she brought to our lives, the banter, the way she challenged us—it kind of made everything more interesting.

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