Page 16 of The Amendment

I still have no idea why he let me hang around him back then—maybe more for amusement than anything—but I was so glad he did. I did whatever he asked: wrote his essays, paid for his books, cleaned his side of the dorm.

Anything.

Everything.

Whatever it took to fit in with him.

And in the end,everythingwas exactly what it took.

I wasn’t supposed to be in the dorm that night. I should’ve been home for fall break, but my parents had been fighting and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to get back to school.

It was the only place I felt safe.

The only place I didn’t feel five years old anymore.

When I walked into our dorm to see the two naked bodies on our floor—Jim on top of a girl I didn’t recognize—I panicked. I’d accidentally seen him having sex before, but it was something we’d mitigated with a sock on the door.

This time, because he wasn’t expecting me, there was no sock.

“Sorry,” I’d said, covering my eyes and trying to shuffle out of the room quickly.

He hadn’t responded and I’d slammed the door, feeling useless. I wasn’t wanted at home, my parents probably hadn’t even noticed I’d left, and now I wasn’t welcome there. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to do.

I walked across the dark quad, feeling miserable and alone, and found an empty bench to sit down on for a while. An hour later, my phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, spying Jim’s number on my screen.

Was he angry?

Would he yell at me?

Would he laugh it off?

Tease me about wanting to sneak a peek?

I could never tell.

I opened my phone and pressed it to my ear. “Yeah?”

“You can come back now.”

I tried to get a read on his tone, but I couldn’t.

“You sure? No rush on my end.”

“Yeah,” he said simply. “We’re done.” Before I could say anything else, he’d ended the call. I slid it back into my pocket and stood, taking my time as I made my way back to our dorm.

But when I reached it and opened the door, a joke ready on my lips, my smile fell away immediately. Jim wasdressed and on the bed, but the girl was still on our floor, still not dressed. It didn’t take long for me to realize she was unconscious.

Or…dead?

No,her chest rose with a shallow breath.

“What the hell, man?” I demanded, pointing to her. Why was he just sitting there? Why didn’t he look worried? I kneeled down next to her, touching her face and trying to ignore her bare body, no matter how hard it was. “Is she okay?”

“Not really,” he said simply, standing from the bed.

“What do you mean?” A chill ran over me as he moved to stand behind me.

“You want a turn?” he asked, laughing dryly.

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