Page 119 of Unloved

“Freddy?” Carmen enters the room and pads over to hand me a coffee. “Everything okay?”

“Is that Ro?” Bennett asks.

“No,” I grit into the speaker. I hear Bennett curse before he hangs up on me. But his disappointment stays with me long after.

Her text thread taunts me on the bright screen of my phone.

PRINCESS

Call me.

Please call me back. Text me. Let me know you’re okay.

Freddy, please, answer the phone. I’m scared.

My stomach swoops at that one, but I shake my head and continue slowly. The texts are hard enough to read, but add my pounding heart and thunderous headache and they’re nearly indecipherable.

PRINCESS

Just tell me where you are and I’ll come to you.

Everything is gonna be okay, Matt. I promise. Whatever it is, I’ll fix it.

I click out of the messages, seeing mostly the same sentiments over and over. Like she was trying to soothe me while I was unreachable.

While I was drinking myself into a stupor and sleeping in Carmen Tinley’s expensive bed.

If I got rid of any of it before, the self-hatred is back in droves as I grab my jeans and shirt off the floor before calling a too-expensive Uber to take me straight to campus.

CHAPTER 43Ro

It doesn’t matter that it’s the middle of November; I’m sweating as I head back across campus toward the dorms, a longer trek than normal.

I spent the day studying in the vet school library, holed up in a private room since the building opened at 6 a.m.

Being a team player is bullshit—I practice the phrase over and over as if that will be my response to anything Dr. Tinley says to me next week. I don’t want to play on their team anymore.

I showed up at Tyler’s off-campus townhouse apartment last night with my backpack in tow, ready for hours of work with the others in our cohort. Instead, I’d been greeted by the sight of Tyler, alone, and a spaghetti dinner—complete with expensive wine—spread across his dining table.

Excusing myself to the bathroom, I’d nearly dialed Matt in my panic—only to stop when an incoming call with his goofy contact photo scrolled across my screen: the Hello Kitty tattoo selfie.

It made me smile before his panic melted my own anxiety.

“I don’t know why I called you. I’m fine. You’re busy—everyone’s busy right now with finals and no one has time for this kind of shit. Sorry, I should go.”

“Matt, please—just tell me where—”

The dial tone cuts me off. And then the knocking, which I’m sure had never stopped but I’d blocked it out.

Standing with a growl from my huddled position against the bathroom door, I rip open the door.

“What do you want from me, Tyler?”

It’s clear my sudden change in demeanor has shocked him, mouth gaping like a fish.

I roll my eyes and stalk past him, grabbing my backpack and heading toward the door.

“Wait! Ro, listen—”

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