Page 8 of The Breakaway

“Uh.” She took a drink of her coffee. I waited, not letting her wriggle out of this. “I was just thinking that . . . “ She tapped her fingers on the cup.

I exhaled. “Crystal?—”

“Fine, I think you’re being a baby.” I blinked, and she backpedalled. “Not a baby like this doesn’t suck, but just—you know. There are a lot of students here that don’t have a brand new townhouse to live in with a private washroom.”

I pursed my lips. “Yeah. Okay. That’s fair.”

Crystal glanced at Maddie, then back at me. “I know it’s not what you want to hear.”

It definitely wasn’t. But it didn’t mean she was wrong. “So I need to get over it.”

Maddie winced. “Maybe? It’s two months.”

“You’ll be home with your family for part of it, right?” Crystal offered.

I drew a deep breath and exhaled. Yes. They were right. I had a great place to live, and I didn’t even have to be there that often. “I could spend more time on campus.”

“There you go, girl.” Maddie leaned back in her chair and took a sip from her cup.

“And maybe . . .” Crystal gave me a look.

“Maybe what?” I braced myself.

She leaned forward, wrapping both hands around her cardboard cozy. “I know you and Rob have this thing?—”

“A thing?” I scowled.

“Where you bicker and try to get under each other’s skin.”

I scoffed. “I don’t try. Rob is the one who goes on the offensive. I try to ignore him most of the time.”

Crystal waved a hand. “Whatever, all I’m saying is, Rob isn’t, like, scary or anything. He’s an asshole sometimes, but he’s also funny and?—”

“Funny?” I reacted like she’d just said Rob was a patron saint. “He’s not funny. He thinks he’s funny. He thinks he’s God’s gift to?—”

“Okay, forget I said anything. I only meant that you wouldn’t need to be . . . you know. Worried.”

I took off the lid of my coffee cup and tested the temperature with my pinky finger, then took a drink. “Yeah.” Surprisingly, I hadn’t even thought about that. About being in a townhouse alone with a guy who wasn’t my boyfriend in general.

I didn’t trust men, but Crystal was right. Rob was a dick, but he didn’t make me feel unsafe. At least not physically. No, unsafe wasn’t the right word at all. He made me feel on edge. Like I needed a shield up. But why? Plenty of other people in the world didn’t like me. Plenty who pressed my buttons. So why did I go from zero to a hundred when it was him getting in the digs?

I forced a smile. "Enough about my dramatic descent into roommate anxiety hell. What's new with you guys?"

Crystal groaned, slouching back in her chair. "Don't even get me started. This music theory class is kicking my ass. I swear, Professor Gant is out to get me."

Maddie patted her arm sympathetically. "Aww. He probably is.”

Crystal laughed and slapped her hand away. Maddie and Crystal were like yin and yang—complete opposites. Crystal was full artist, and Maddie was straight math and science. I was the hybrid brain that bridged the gap.

We'd all met in a required sociology class our first year and bonded over our mutual hatred for the professor's monotone lectures. Now, two years later, they were my besties. The Thelma and Louise to my . . . Well, whoever the third wheel in that movie would've been. The dog? Brad Pitt? Probably the dog.

We chatted for a while longer before they both had to get to class. I walked back home and trudged up the stairs to the house, feeling oddly naked without my violin case. As I fumbled with my keys, I heard the Counting Crows filtering through the door. My heart leaped. Logan was home.

I pushed open the door and there he was, sprawled out on the couch in his post-workout glory. His blond hair was still damp from the shower, and he had a binder and textbook both opened in front of him on the coffee table. He grinned up at me. "Hey, babe. Where were you?"

I slipped off my shoes and raced to him, hopping onto his lap. “With Crystal and Maddie.”

Logan wrapped his arms around my waist. "I missed you."

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