Page 37 of Look What You Made Me Do

I hurriedly shove my laptop into my backpack, then book it across campus to the coffee shop. Lux is already at the head of the line, ordering. I take my place at the back of the line. It’s early afternoon, so every single person on campus is getting their caffeine fix.

When Lux finishes ordering, she glances back and spots me. “Oh, Wyn! Hey! I ordered for us,” she calls out, waving me over.

I leave the line and pull her into a hug. “Thanks, babe.”

“Let’s go find a seat.”

We go in search of a table, and as we approach, a group miraculously disburses, leaving a table open. It’s not a coincidence. Up until recently, Lux was Burning Crown royalty, and that never really goes away. Her boyfriend is Roman Rush, for God’s sake. And even though he left the society, he still has an insane amount of power and influence on campus.

Lux takes the seat across from me, leaning back in her chair.

“God, I hate you,” I laugh.

That makes her laugh, too. “Why? What’d I do?” she asks incredulously.

“You look so damn happy,” I tease. “It’s gross.”

She presses her lips together in a smile, and looks away briefly, before meeting my gaze again. “It’s pretty disgusting, right?” She laughs again. “Sorry, not sorry.”

We laugh about all the sex she’s getting and how Roman is still the controlling prick he’s always been, but now, with a softer edge. And I’m so happy for her, honestly. She’s been to hell and back. If anyone deserves peace and a fuck-ton of amazing sex, it’s Lux.

But, if I’m being honest, her happiness just highlights how royally fucked up my life has become.

Someone brings our coffee and pastries over. I grab the chocolate croissant and immediately devour it. Buttery flakes of pastry litter my side of the table. I haven’t been eating very well lately, so I feel like I’m constantly hungry. I’ve been so stressed out that I’m usually too exhausted to grab or make anything to eat, so I just end up drinking tea or coffee instead.

“So how are you holding up?” Lux asks, sipping her coffee.

I know Lux pretty well by now, and I can tell she’s studying me. After Gabriel’s death, she’s been by my side every step of the way. She’s been dealing with her own grief, so she knows better than anyone what I’m going through.

I shrug one shoulder. “I’m okay.”

There’sonething I can’t tell her though—any mention of my stalker will have her enrolling me in the witness protection program. Honestly. She has her own past trauma and knowing there’s some guy skulking around my apartment would be too much for her. She’s so happy now, I can’t risk sending her into a tailspin of anxiety all over again.

“You seem…” She pauses to scrutinize me. “...off. Something is off.”

I take a sip of my coffee. “There’s an initiation ceremony tonight,” I say, deflecting.

Lux nods. She knows I hate attending the initiations. “Can you skip it?”

“I’ve already missed three official Burning Crown events. I went to the Founder’s Day thing, but that’s not enough to spare me from tonight.”

“Ah.” She sinks back against her chair, still watching me closely. “So what happened the other night, when you wanted me to call 911? We never really talked about it.”

I shrug one shoulder and glance down at my coffee cup, twisting it. “Nothing happened. I was just freaked out, I guess. I’ve never lived alone, so every little bump in the night is making me jump,” I say with a laugh in my voice to set her at ease.

“Hmmm, okay.” She narrows her eyes at me like she doesn’t believe a word out of my mouth. “I’m also hearing through the grapevine that something went down between Kai and you a few nights ago. But I said that couldn’t possibly be true, because you would have told me about it.”

Oh, yikes. Her voice is soft but stern like she’s confronting a small child about lying. She’s clearly annoyed that I haven’t been as open as I usually am with her.

I shift in the wooden chair and clear my throat, suddenly feeling like I’ve been pulled into the principal's office. “Um, yeah, that…I didn’t want to worry you. And, honestly, it really wasn’t a big deal anyway…”

“Someone said you called the police and accused him of raping you…” she says, but I can tell by her tone that she doesn’t believe a word of it. “Apparently, Kai is confirming that, and taking full responsibility.”

Yeah, I have a feeling that change of tune has something to do with his “meeting” with Lucas in the basement.

“...AndI’ve heard things are getting weird with you and Lucas,” she says. “Like, sexually weird.”

“Sexuallyweird?” I laugh and shake my head. “You are surprisingly well informed for someone who quit the society.”

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