Page 97 of The Ruse

None of the real dirt, anyway.

Because the real stuff was what made me isolate myself from everyone else in the past. And for once…with meeting Elyse…I hadn’t wanted to be judged by my baggage. I’d wanted Elyse to get to know just me the way I was today.

But I guess it was hard to get to know someone without understanding the things from their past that shaped them into who they were today.

I lifted my gaze to where she stood a few feet away, wondering if she’d even be willing to hear me out. If she’d listen with an open mind and be able to understand why I’d done the things that I’d done…even if they weren’t always necessarilygood.

She pulled the chair out from under her desk and sat down. Leaning forward, she asked in a whisper, “Do I even know you, Asher?”

When I saw the hurt reflected in her beautiful eyes, my stomach churned.

“I’d like to think that you know about the important parts,” I said carefully, knowing I was currently sitting on very thin ice. “I may have pretended my relationship with Bailee was more serious than it actually was. But everything else was real.” I lifted a shoulder. “And even then, I did—I stilldomiss Bailee. She might not have been in love with me like everyone thought,but she was the closest friend I had.”

Elyse sighed, as if trying to decide whether she wanted to hear me out or not. She leaned back in her chair and was opening her mouth to say something when there was a soft knock on the door, followed by what sounded like Heather’s voice. “Elyse? Are you in there?”

Crap!

I looked at Elyse with wide eyes, wondering what I was supposed to do. If I got caught in the girls’ dorm after curfew, we’d both be in huge trouble.

Elyse looked around the room, and then pointing to her closet, she mouthed, “Climb in there.”

I didn’t say anything. I just crawled away from the door, got myself to a standing position as quietly as I could, and then pushed myself into her closet between the clothes that smelled like Elyse.

“Yes, I’m in here,” Elyse called out to Heather as she slid the closet door shut for me. “Just a sec.”

Darkness enveloped me, my heartbeat thudding in my ears as I waited for her to open the door and hopefully not rat me out to Heather.

I heard her door creak open a second later. “Sorry about that,” Elyse said, somewhat breathlessly. “I was just about to change into my pajamas.”

Did she sound guilty? Like there was a boy hiding in her closet?

“Okay, good.” Heather’s muffled voice drifted through the crack in the door. “Sorry to bug you so late, but you didn’t check in, and I just wanted to make sure you made it back from your date.”

“Oh yeah, sorry. I was a little distracted when I got back and completely forgot.”

Had she been distracted because I’d followed after her? Or was it because she’d been in dreamland after her magical date with Nash?

She’d said the date was good, but I still didn’t know exactly what that meant.

“That’s okay,” Heather said. “I’m just glad you made it back safely.” There was a pause, and I wondered if Heather was peeking her head around the room.

Had I left anything on the floor?

Heather spoke again. “Anyway, it’s after midnight, so if you could turn the lights out soon that would be great.”

“Of course,” Elyse said. “It’s been a big day, and I’m definitely ready to get some sleep.”

My phone vibrated in my pocket, making my already hammering heart skip a beat.

Had Heather just heard that?

I held my breath and waited for my hiding place to be discovered, but then it sounded like Heather and Elyse were saying goodbye so maybe they hadn’t heard it.

Or maybe Heather just assumed it was Elyse’s phone since Elyse’s reputation for being a rule follower didn’t exactly put off the “I’m secretly hiding a boy in my closet” vibe.

The door clicked shut, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

“She’s gone,” Elyse said, opening the closet door a little. “But, um, if you could actually just stay in there for another minute, I’m going to try to make at least some of what I just told Heather true and change into my pajamas.”

---