Page 127 of Collide
Students fought to be mentored by her. Finding out that she put her selfish needs above aspiring sports psychologists makes my blood boil. I trusted her, and she stomped on my life’s work.
He pins me with a sympathetic look, and when I turn, he stops me. “Let me grab a hoodie. I’m coming with you.”
Before I can protest, he’s gone. Only to reappear in a black toque and a hoodie to match mine. I frantically shake my head. “No. Nope, sorry. You can’t.”
“Aiden would want me to.”
“Eli—”
“It’s either this or I tell him.”
He looks at me as if I’m the one who’s being dramatic.
My nerves itch at me the entire ride to campus. When we arrive, two figures stand by the building watching our approach.
“This isn’t really a plus one event, Summer.” Sampson looks annoyed, and Amara’s blush grows when she sees Eli.
“He caught me on the way out. It was either him or Aiden.”
Eli waves with an easy smile. “Hey, guys.”
Amara greets him and I’ve never seen Sampson look this vexed. He slows to match my stride. “Your overprotective boyfriend would have been preferred,” he mutters and stops in front of us. “There are cameras on the north side of the building. This is the only entrance without any. If we’re quiet, we’ll be fine.”
“Two huge hockey players are anything but inconspicuous,” Amara says, eyeing the building.
“Good to know you’re thinking about my physique, Evans.”
“Only in my nightmares.”
I break up their stare down before they bicker the entire night. “Do we have a key?” I shuffle through my coin purse and pull out my student ID. “If not we can try jamming this in there.”
Amara shakes her head. “That won’t work, it’s electronic. We’ll have to break it.” She slides a mini crowbar from her sleeve.
We all take a step back.
“We are not using weapons.” Sampson snatches her crowbar. “Unlike you three, I came prepared.” He waves an access badge.
“Where did you get that?”
“Some post-doc student. She worked for admin.” An administrative badge won’t alert the school systems like a student badge would.
“She just gave it to you?” asks Amara.
“No one is immune to my charm.”
“I must be an anomaly then.”
“Or in denial.”
The scanner flashes green, ending their back and forth. “I’ll get into her computer,” Amara whispers. “You guys search for Donny’s file to see if there’s anything in there we can use.”
Eli stands by the door. “I’ll watch for security. You guys get what you need.”
I stop him with a hand on his shoulder. “You can still bail, Eli.”
“Not a chance.” He disappears down the hall.
When I think back to my therapist's words, I realize she was right. I was missing out on having caring friends. The foreign feeling settles into the warmth of my stomach.
