Page 34 of Fostering Chemistry
I also had older siblings who were a lawyer, and engineer, and the CEO of a tech company. It was a lot to live up to.
Looking forward to seeing you next week, Katie wrote.Don’t forget that you’re welcome to stay here. No need to drive all the way back to Langley afterwards.
I like driving, I replied.
Through the mountains at night?
Yep.
All right. Are you bringing anyone?
Shit. How many times was my family going to ask me that?I plead the fifth.
She sent me back an emoji that was rolling its eyes, which didn’t seem very dignified for a judge, but it wasn’t really her fault. Large families were nosy. Or at least mine was.
There was, of course, someone I would’ve liked to bring as a date. Mia. But she just got here. I could only imagine what it would be like for a woman to move into a new place and have one of her roommates hit on her. This should be a safe place for her.
The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable, so I would be her friend. I would write my dumb policy letter somehow and just keep thinking about her a lot—because I couldn’t seem to do otherwise.
And the world wouldn’t end if I went to my grandparents’ wedding vow renewal ceremony by myself. Just because my older siblings all had spouses or very significant others was no reason to rock the boat.
By the time the bottom of the trash can was covered in crumpled-up paper, I was ready to give up.
It might just be easier to walk up and down the sidewalk behind the Science Center with a flashlight all night myself than to write this damn letter. In fact?—
My thought cut off as I heard a noise.
It almost sounded like a moan. A loud moan.
Did Jenna bring her boyfriend back here? Her room was down the hall, just beyond Mia’s. But that didn’t seem likely. They were always at his house, and besides, when people did hook up around here, they were usually pretty discreet.
Then I heard the sound again. Definitely female.
So if it wasn’t Jenna—who I hadn’t seen all day—could it be Mia?
Then came the scream.
I was on my feet and out the door before my ears fully processed what I was hearing. It took me less than three seconds to arrive at Mia’s room, but then I heard the scream again. It was coming from upstairs.
I raced up the steps three at a time, my eyes darting in all directions as I reached the hallway. Then I heard a sob from the left.
Without thinking about what I might be interrupting, I pushed open the door and found Mia on top of the bedspread, curled up in an almost fetal position. She was crying.
My heart pounded erratically as I looked around the room, trying to see who or what had upset her, but I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“Hey,” I said softly, trying not to startle her. I forced myself to walk slowly toward her. “Mia, what’s wrong?”
I knelt down next to the bed so that we were eye-level. Tears streamed out of her eyes, falling sideways with her head cradled under her arm.
Those gorgeous green eyes were open and staring in my direction, but I didn’t think she actually saw me.
“Mia?” I pushed her hair off her forehead without thinking. Then I withdrew my hand. I didn’t know enough about what was going on to know how to help.
“Mia, you’re okay. You’re safe. Can you tell me what happened?”
There was a heavy step in the hallway, and then Diego bounded into the room.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, eyes wide. He looked at me. “I heard the scream, but I was all the way in the basement. Is she okay?”
