Page 18 of Blades of Obsession

“I’ll drop you off. I won’t be back until late tomorrow night. So the day after tomorrow, I’ll pick you up for lunch.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have a paddle brush?”

Her brows knit together. “Hm?”

“So I can do your hair. Unless you rather leave it messed up.”

“Uh…” She hesitates, caught off guard. “Um, yeah. It’s in the bathroom, should be in the top drawer of the cabinet.”

I know she’s weird about her hair, so I learned everything I could about wavy hair maintenance, even brought a mannequin and practiced on it.

“Do you have a spray bottle?” I ask.

“Of what?”

“Water.”

“Why would I need a spray bottle of water for my hair?”

I blink at her a few times. Is she playing a joke on me? “Just stay there. I’ll get everything I need, and you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

Chapter 8

AMELIA

After my classes for the day, I spend the evening in the dorm with Skye, having a mini spa session and trying to relax. I have a feeling once Blade gets back, it’ll be anything other than relaxing, so I’ll take it while I can. He said he’d be back for lunch today, but that was a lie because he was nowhere to be found. I can’t decide if that makes me feel bad or relieved.

I’ve been running through ways to potentially avoid him in my head, but it seems like a lost cause.

What, am I supposed to pretend I’m into someone I barely know? Just let him take whatever he wants from me? My dad said the only thing I can do is brace myself—what the hell does that mean? I guess I should stop worrying and cross that bridge when I get to it.

Skye and I are currently painting our toenails, and of course, I’m using my signature blush pink polish from OPI.

“Oh my God, Blade?!” Skye yells loud enough I’m sure the whole dorm hears.

I’ve spent the past half hour giving her the rundown of everything that’s happened, starting with the fight at cheer practice. I held off on telling her until now, but I knew I couldn’t avoid it much longer. Besides, who else can you vent to if not your best friend?

I sigh. “Yes. And I have no idea what to do.”

“Wow, he’s hot. Even hotter than Rhett, and that’s saying something. Score.”

“I wouldn’t care if he were the hottest guy on earth, he’s bad news! You said it yourself, he’s in agang.”

“And so what? It’s not like he’s asking you to commit crimes for him. He’s rich and hot and popular—just focus on that.” She waves her hand dismissively.

“You can’t just ignore every red flag because a guy is hot and rich. Remember all that bad stuff you told me about him?”

“Those were just rumors and I—”

My phone rings loudly in the air, cutting her off. I put it on speaker so I can finish painting my toenails without smudging them.

“Hey dad, what’s up?”

“Amelia, this is our chance.”

“What are you talking about?”

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