Page 88 of Made of Steel (Made of Steel 1)

"You knew I liked him." She wiped her tears away with her hands. "How could you?"

"I'm so sorry." Everyone was better off without me. I wanted to comfort her. I wanted to apologize a million times. But I didn't have time. The longer I stayed, the more danger she was in. I grabbed my backpack and shoved a few articles of clothing inside.

"Are you even listening to me?" She threw her pillow at me. "I want to talk about this. You said you weren't even attracted to him. What did I ever do to you?"

"I'm sorry," I said again. I threw more things into my backpack.

"I'm gonna sleep with Eli." Her words were icy.

That was harsh. The threat would have stung more a few days ago, but now I couldn't care less who Eli slept with. "If that'll make you feel better, then do it." It was good that she was making me upset. It made it even easier to walk away.

"Why won't you even look at me?"

I looked over at her sitting on the bed. Her mascara was streaked down her cheeks. I immediately felt bad again. "I'm sorry, Kins. I'm just going to go. I know I haven't been the best roommate, and I am sorry." I pulled out my worn copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the one with my father's inscription, and stuffed it into my backpack.

"You're leaving? You can't just leave. I want to talk about this."

"I just think it's better if I go home." I tried to keep my voice even on the word "home."

"What do you mean home?" She sniffled. "It's the middle of the week. You have classes."

"I'm dropping out." It was extreme, but what did it matter? She'd have wondered why I never came back. This would make her understand.

"What are you talking about? I don't want you to do that. I just...it hurt to see him with you like that. I don't want you to leave me."

She was my first friend in a long time. And it hurt to lie to her. "I'm sorry." It seemed to be the only thing I knew how to say.

"What's going on?" She wiped away the rest of her tears. Even though she was upset, she looked more concerned about me now.

I bit the inside of my lip. "Eli broke up with me and I hate this city, so I'm leaving." Heartache always made people do stupid things. It was a good excuse.

She nodded as if she understood my sudden interest in Miles and my reason for wanting to leave. "There are so many guys in this city. You don't need Eli."

"I know." I pulled my backpack onto my shoulders. "But that doesn't mean I want to stay."

"Does this have something to do with that box?"

Why did she bring that up? Had she lied to me? I felt compelled to throw every

one under the bus tonight. Kins was the only one that had access to our dorm room. I had thought someone broke in. But there hadn't been any signs of forced entry. It was almost like they had a key. Could she be involved in this?

She just stared at me, waiting for my answer. She looked almost too innocent. Like Eli had been too nice.

"No, not at all, I just have to go."

"Just stay, we can talk about this." She slid off her bed. "You can't leave because some guy broke your heart. That's so crazy."

Crazy. It's exactly what Don wanted. My hand grabbed the handle of my door.

She took another step closer to me. "Seriously, don't go. Everything's going to be okay."

Her reassurance terrified me. It sounded fake. It sounded rehearsed. I opened up the door and ran out before she could get any closer to me.

"Sadie, stop!"

I ran down the hall and flung the doorway to the stairwell open. Was she really involved too? Or was I just losing my mind? My whole world had just come crashing down on me again. The only difference was that this time I wasn't sure I would make it out alive.

Chapter 41

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