Page 53 of Kings of the Campus

I glance over at Devin and there’s a softness in his eyes as he looks at Tessa. “We couldn’t either,” I tell her. “Everything got so screwed up last semester. We should have never tried to keep hurting you.”

“I’m sorry too,” Tessa says, voice soft. “We both made mistakes.”

“Maybe we can start fresh?” Devin offers, a hopeful look on his face. “A new semester, a new start?”

Alec chimes in. “Yeah. No more games, no more grudges. Just…starting over,” he says, voice softer than usual, more vulnerable.

I can see the hesitation in her eyes, but there’s a glimmer of something else too—maybe hope, or at least curiosity. I lean forward, my elbows on my knees. “What do you think?” I ask her quietly. “Can we start fresh?”

The silence stretches between us, but I hold her gaze, hoping like hell that we haven’t blown it completely.

“I’d like that,” she says. “As long as you guys promise we’ll talk to each other if something happens instead of this constant retaliation cycle.”

“We promise,” Alec says, lifting his hand, his pinky held out to her. Tessa stares at it. “Pinky promise,” he adds and Tessa reaches out, letting their pinkies interlock.

Tessa smiles and I feel my heart lift, lighter than it’s felt in ages.

We sit together for a while, some silly horror movie about a summer camp playing in the background, but none of us are paying attention, too busy catching up and enjoying each other’s company.

After a while though, Tessa gets an odd expression on her face.

“Everything good?” I ask, turning toward her.

“Things have been a bit stressful actually,” she says slowly. “I wasn’t sure how to bring this up but there’s something I need to tell you guys.”

“We’re here to listen,” Alec assures her. “Whatever is going on, whatever you’re dealing with, we can help you. We’ll handle it together.”

Tessa relaxes a little, releasing some of the tension in her shoulders. “Thank you,” she mumbles. “So…remember the party that I came to that one time when I suggested we all go upstairs and have fun together?”

It feels like ages ago that it happened, but I remember the night as clearly as if it were yesterday. The look on Tessa’s face, the weight of the tension between us that threatened to break right there in the foyer—it was the first of many incredible encounters with her.

“Yeah,” Devin says. “You were wearing that green dress that made you look like a starlet from old Hollywood.”

Tessa smiles and opens her mouth to speak again but her phone rings, cutting her off. She glances down at it and her face goes pale.

“Hang on, I need to take this,” she says, voice soft, a frown on her face. She steps outside to take the call, shutting the door so we can’t hear what might be going on.

When she returns a few minutes later, she’s visibly pale and shaking. “I have to go,” she says. “I’m sorry, I have to go. I’ll explain everything when I come back but it’s an emergency.”

I stand, reaching out for her. “Do you want one of us to come with you?”

“No, I need to take care of this on my own,” Tessa insists. “I’ll be back, I swear. Just…wait for me?”

“As long as you need us to,” Devin tells her. “We’ll be here when you get back.”

She shakes her head, sadness in her eyes as she grabs her coat and bag and takes off.

The three of us sit back down, the atmosphere changed now that Tessa is gone. None of us feel like watching the movie anymore so Alec switches it off.

“I hope everything is okay,” Devin says, staring at the door.

“I wish she’d have let one of us go with her,” I mutter.

Alec leans back in his chair. “I mean, can you blame her? We haven’t exactly been the biggest help for her so far. If something’s going on now, and she doesn’t feel like she can come to us for help…I wouldn’t blame her.”

Devin sits up, his hands on his knees. “We’re trying to do better now, though. Maybe she’ll come around. She did agree to a fresh start.”

I nod, but something’s gnawing at the back of my mind. “Okay, but what if…we’re not just talking about helping her? What if we’re talking about something more?”

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