Page 45 of Fighting Conviction
“His name’s Dev… or Devil, depending on who’s asking.”
“Yum-my. Sounds like I wasn’t too off then. How fittin’.”
A laugh burst from Ellie’s chest and Virginia’s smile widened before she spoke. “I think this is the first time I’ve ever gotten you to laugh.”
Ellie’s smile faltered as she climbed up to surround herself with books and sit on her bed.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Virginia entered the room and hopped into Ellie’s desk chair. “You were happy for a second and I made you that way. Let’s go back to that. It was nice.”
“What was? Me laughing at you?”
“Laughingwithme.” Virginia scowled. “But I can see the moment’s gone. I’m glad you’re okay or whatever.” Virginia got up from the chair to leave the room and Ellie immediately felt like a jerk. Virginia only ever tried to connect with her and Ellie spurned her away every chance she got.
“Virginia, wait.”
Virginia paused in the doorframe and huffed as she turned slowly, her arms crossed. Ellie wrapped a tendril from her ponytail around her finger and began to twirl. “Something crazy happened last night. Do you, um… do you wanna hear?”
Virginia’s eyes widened and she nodded slowly before taking slow steps closer and putting her hand on the back of Ellie’s seldomly used desk chair.
“Wait, can we, um… can we go to the living room?” Ellie asked.
Virginia narrowed her eyes before nodding. “Sure thing.”
Virginia led the way and as soon as Ellie exited her bedroom, her chest expanded in the open space, breathing in and exhaling the air that was always trapped inside her lungs when she was in her tiny room. Ellie collapsed opposite of Virginia on the couch, still exhausted from the ordeal. When they were settled, Virginia turned off the TV from the news channel she’d been watching. The girl was obsessed with current events.
“Okay, girl, I’m all ears.” Virginia curled up onto their couch, propping her elbow on a cushion and her chin up on her palm.
“Do you remember how I said my friend Sasha and I—” She cleared her throat. “Had a treehouse growing up?”
Ellie recounted being trapped and having to be rescued by Dev, all while Virginia sat in an eerie, raptured silence. By the end of the story, Ellie couldn’t wait for her roommate to talk again.
“Holy shit.” Virginia had moved during the story until her arms were hugging her knees. “That’s insane… so… but like… you’re okay, right? It was terrifyin’ and totally shit-your-pants crazy-dangerous, but… you’re okay?”
Ellie groaned before nodding, slightly embarrassed she’d needed to be rescuedagain. “Yep. I’m okay. No thanks to me, that’s for sure. I don’t know why the heck I keep getting myself into these crappy situations.”
Virginia tilted her head. “No thanks to you? What the hell does that mean? If it weren’t for you, you’d probably be dead meat being picked apart by a buzzard or somethin’ right now.”
“Um, did you not hear my story? I freakin’ fell asleep in a park and got caught up in a drug deal! I could’ve died if it weren’t for Dev!”
Virginia shook her head and waved her hand at Ellie like her point was total nonsense. “Nah, girl. That ain’t how I see it, anyway.”
Ellie huffed, a little annoyed she was having to convince this bimbo she’d been an idiot the night before.
“Fine, Virginia. How do you see it then.”
Virginia’s face scrunched up like she was trying to figure Ellie out. “You run yourself ragged, you know that? I hardly ever see you ‘round here. It’s like you don’t like being in your own room.”
Ellie felt heat rush to her cheeks at Virginia’s accuracy. That wasexactlywhat it was. Jason had done his darndest to get her into the biggest dorm. He’d convinced the university to make an exception and let Ellie and her BlackStone vetted freshman roommate stay in upperclassman suite-style dorms.
She only ever stayed in her room after waiting until the very last moment to go to sleep, and even then she needed constant background music or trashy TV to drown out her negative thoughts. But despite having more square footage, soft Target bedding, and cute aesthetic—thanks to pre-move-in shopping with Virginia—late at night, none of that mattered. Small was small, dark was dark, and cold was cold. Eventually she’d be reminded of the hotel bathroom she’d been locked inside for days. Her nightmares bled over into the physical realm, and she imagined the only warmth she felt was from the twisted up unconscious bodies around her. The night before was the first night she could remember sleeping soundly without music.
“I don’t really. It feels… small. I don’t… um… I don’t like small spaces… a-anymore.”
Virginia’s face softened with sympathy. “Well, the point of my observation is you’re tired, babe. You’re everywhere for everyone else, and you won’t even let yourself rest where you’re supposed to be safest. Yesterday, you fell asleep after kickin’ ninja ass, bein’ a college student, and savin’ the world with whatever that job is you go to all the time. You messed up. Big fuckin’ deal. Tons of people mess up all the time and nothin’ bad happens to them. Shoot, I should probably be dead ten times over for the stupid decisions I’ve been makin’ at house parties since I got here.”
Ellie chuckled but couldn’t stop her confused frown. “What’s your point?”
Virginia sighed and rolled her eyes. “The point is, you’re a freakin’ freshman in college. If you can’t fuck up now, when the hell can you?” She reached over the couch and patted Ellie’s sock-covered foot. “You’re doin’ good, babe. Real good. You fell asleep in a place you’ve always felt safe. Most people would’ve just been chilly. Unfortunately, your unlucky ass gets to have all the drama. You still handled it way better than I would’ve. Hell, you know what I would’ve done if I’d been up there?”
