Page 18 of Tell Me You Like It

Bree shuts the door and comes to sit on the bed next to me. I immediately notice she’s not her usual bubbly self. “I was out late, and I decided to sleep in.”

I lean against her pillows. “Well, now that I know you’re okay, I’m pissed at you for ghosting me last night. I was waiting for you on the porch of that house when I was attacked by some asshole.”

“Attacked?”

“Yeah, if Roman hadn’t jumped in, I don’t know…”

Tears well up in Bree's eyes. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Lux. I would have been there, really, but I was…kinda caught up in my own thing. Are you okay?”

Her tone is…off. I’ve known Bree long enough to know when something is wrong, and my gut is telling me something is very,verywrong. When she said “my own thing” her voice caught on the words, like she was trying not to cry. I sit up, now on full alert. “What happened last night?”

She just shakes her head and looks down at her hands. “Nothing. It’s nothing. I’m just glad we’re both okay.”

I grab her wrist and inspect her for any bruises. There’s nothing. “What happened, Bree? You can tell me.”

When she looks up at me, she smiles, pulling her wrist out of my grip. The smile is forced, and I can tell she’s trying to put on a brave face. “Nothing really happened. I’m just being stupid. Forget about it. I guess no more creepy secret society ceremonies for us, right?” She laughs a little.

I lean back against the pillows. “I hope not, but I don’t know. That Roman guy insists I belong to him now, so who knows what he’s going to make me do.”

Bree nods, but I can tell she isn’t really paying attention. She looks tired. Maybe that’s why she’s acting so unlike herself.

I stand up. “Why don’t you get some more sleep?”

She shimmies up into the spot on her bed that I just vacated. “Yeah, okay.”

“I’ll text you in a bit. Be sure to answer.”

She closes her eyes. “Mmm-hm.”

Grabbing my bag, I duck out of the room, unsettled by that entire interaction. Bree is usually an open book. A very bubbly open book, and it’s not like her to be so secretive. It’s weird. And I decide I’m going to get to the bottom ofwhatever happened last night. But first, she needs sleep. It might help her feel like herself again.

I immediately dart over to my English class. English has never been my strongest subject, but it’s one of those annoying required classes. When I’d enrolled, I’d decided to get all those pesky classes out of the way first, so I wouldn’t have to worry about them later.

This class is packed, but I manage to find a seat way up in the nosebleed section, which, unfortunately, means I need to snake past about a dozen people.

We’re about halfway through class when the girl next to me leans over, and whispers to me. “Hey, you’re the one dating Roman Rush, right?”

I glance over, and I’m actually taken aback by her beauty. Long blond wavy hair, wide blue eyes, and a pair of outy pink lips that make her look younger than I’m sure she is. But the worst part, she’s beautiful without even trying. Minimal makeup, shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops. And she smells like the beach somehow.

“Um, I…” I’m technically dating Roman, according to him, I guess. But I don’t exactly want that information spreading–even though it sounds like it already has.

I don’t know what to say, so I just side-step the question altogether. “I’m Lux.”

“Yeah, I know. You’re fucking royalty around here.” She smacks her gum and smiles. “I’m Skye.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say with an answering smile.

Royalty? How? I’ve been on campus for less than a week. Weird.

She leans in, and whispers, “Hey, do you think you could take notes for me? I gotta run.”

“Uh, sure.” I’m taking notes anyway, so why not?

“Cool, thanks. Give me your phone and I’ll add my contact info.”

I hand her my phone, and she types in her information quickly.

“Thanks, I just sent a text to my number, so I have your info. I’ll text you later.” She hands my phone back while she moves to get up, then seems to remember something and turns back to me. “Hey, our sorority is having a party tonight. You wanna come?”

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