Page 26 of Fragile

“Outside your dorm.”

I run my slightly sweaty palm down the side of my face at his answer. “Is Seb with you?”

He doesn’t say anything for a little while, and the silence feels like its heavily resting on my chest, like I’m waiting for a bomb to explode. If only he could tell me where he is.

“Quinn?” he breathes.

“I’m here,” I whisper, my heart racing.

“I need you.”

Chapter eleven

Quinn

“Sorry, Alex, but Ireally need to go. My friend needs me,” I say, trying to mask the anxiety in my voice. Alex's eyebrows pinch with concern, and I wonder if he can tell how worried I am. I managed to get Miles to tell me he’s outside my dorm. Why, I have no idea, but that’s where I need to go.

“Okay, let’s go.” He nods, already reaching for his keys.

The drive back to campus is quiet, the kind that makes my thoughts louder. I can't stop thinking about Miles.

I need you.

His words play on a loop in my head. I’m helpless. Lost in those three words. Like a dagger to my heart, I couldn’t ignore him.

When we pull up to my dorm, I immediately spot him slumped on the steps, looking completely out of it, his head lolled to the side of the wall, his arms slack by his sides. My breath hitches at the sight.

Flinging open the car door, I rush over to him. “Miles, what happened?”

His eyes open and they light up slightly when he realizes it’s me. “Queenie, you came.”

“Of course I came,” I whisper.

“Come on, let's get him inside,” Alex says, taking charge. I’m grateful, because I don’t think I’d manage it myself. Together, we lift Miles to his feet and, let me tell you, lifting a six-foot-five guy who has muscles upon muscles, that’s no easy feat for a lanky cellist and a cheerleader. Yet somehow, we manage to get him to my room. He’s babbling the entire way, sometimes coherent and sometimes not.

Miles slurs, leaning heavily on Alex. “Hold up. Who is you? I mean, why are you? Wait, I’m Miles. Do you have gum? I’d kill for some gum,” he mumbles, squinting at Alex.

Alex grunts, turning away as Miles leans closer to him. “He could probably do with gum, and a shower.”

“Alex is a friend, Miles. He’s helping me get you inside,” I reply without looking at either of them. Grabbing my keycard from my back pocket, I swipe it, awkwardly pushing the door to my dorm room open. We fumble inside, and let Miles flop onto my bed, where he rolls over with a grumble.

Sweat coats my skin. That was harder than getting to the top of the pyramid at a game.

I glance at Alex, feeling another rush of appreciation. “Thanks for helping. I know this isn’t an ideal date activity.”

“No problem,” he replies, giving me a small smile and looking down at a snoring football player in my bed. “You sure you're okay with this?”

I realize it doesn’t look great, the guy I just met, who has been nothing but nice to me, just helped me get a friend back to my dorm without questions. It’s a mess of a situation, but not one I’m willing to think about too much. “Yeah, I'll manage. He's just had a rough night,” I say, looking at Miles and feeling a pang of worry.

Alex chuckles softly. “Yeah, but you're a good friend. Not everyone would do this.”

We stand there for a moment, not saying anything, only listening to the quiet purr of Miles. I can't help but wonder what might've happened between us tonight if Miles hadn't interrupted. I know I wasn’t feeling it, but I don’t know how he felt and that makes things really awkward. I’m not about to kiss him when the love of my life lies unconscious on my bed.

“Listen,” Alex says, breaking the silence and taking my hand in his. I’m not surprised to find that his hands aren’t sweaty at all like he worried about earlier. “Call me sometime, okay?”

I smile and nod, though my mind is still spinning. “Thanks, Alex. Really.”

He leaves, and I feel awful that my first thought is how relieved I am he didn’t try to kiss me. I focus back on the football player in my bed and sigh, running a hand over my hair. I notice his phone on the bed, having fallen from his pocket, so I pick it up and put it on the charger. A notification from Levi Saunders lights up the screen, but I can’t see the message. What does he want with Miles?

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