Page 90 of Unloved

I turn to say something to Oliver, but a loud, incessant knock on the door interrupts me.

“Probably the RA?” I say to Oliver, who has hiked his shoulders up in response to the abrupt sound. It shouldn’t be the RA, though, because I tutored her all last year for free in exchange for “no questions asked” about Sadie’s brothers’ frequent stays.

“Ro.” A low moan echoes through the door as I approach. A voice I know well enough for my stomach to bottom out.

Oliver is at my shoulder, hand on my upper arm to stop me. “Maybe we shouldn’t open it.”

The banging starts up again, and I try to plaster on a convincing smile for Oliver’s sake.

“It’s fine, Oliver. Promise. Why don’t you go check on your brother?”

He shakes his head firmly. “I’ll just be right here.”

God. I nearly swallow my tongue.Maybe I don’t open it and just let him knock all night.That feels even more disruptive to the two kids here that need security and safety, and this little dorm is one of the only places they have that all the time.

So I pull open the door slightly.

Tyler nearly falls into me, pushing over the threshold. He’s drunk, eyes glassy and face red, reeking of alcohol.

“Ro,” he sneers, grabbing my arms to keep himself up. I struggle a little but freeze when I remember we have an audience.

“Hey, back off,” Oliver shouts, shoving forward to defend me.

But before he can, Freddy grabs Oliver’s shoulder and pulls him back gently. Freddy steps forward, shielding Oliver and wrenching Tyler away from me and up against the now-closed door easily. Like he weighs nothing in the face of Freddy’s ire.

“Want another fight with me, huh, Donaldson?” He sighs a little, pulling at Tyler’s polo collar.

“Fuck off,” Tyler snarls, words slurring. “I’m here to talk to Ro.”

“For a smart guy, you’re really fucking stupid,” Freddy laughs before his voice turns razor sharp. “Stay away from Ro. Stop calling her, stop using fake numbers. Leave. Her. Alone. Am I clear?”

“Or what?”

Freddy pulls him forward and slams him back against the wall again, a little harder.

“Or I’m going to get a transcript of Ro’s call and text log to send to Adam Reiner for a favor.”

The mention of Bennett’s dad makes Tyler pale. “I didn’t do anything—”

“It’s called harassment, asshole. You areharassingher. I think a restraining order in this situation means you’d have to leave Waterfell altogether.”

Freddy takes Tyler’s silence as him acquiescing, guiding him by the collar like an animal to shove him out the door.

“Don’t drive, but go the fuck home. Don’t make me call campus security.” He grips his collar one more time and Tyler nearly yelps, flinching away. “I’m serious, Donaldson. Get behind the wheel of a car this drunk and I’ll kill you myself.”

He lets him go and slams the door closed within a breath. My entire body feels like it’s paralyzed—or shaking, I’m not sure. Steeling my spine, I turn to Oliver, who looks a little red-faced and can’t tear his eyes away from the door.

“You okay?” Freddy asks us both, eyes flickering between Oliver and myself. I nod quickly, letting his eyes settle on the fearsome twelve-year-old with his shoulder angled in front of me, protective as always.

“Oliver?” he asks again, stepping a little closer. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” the kid mutters.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

His brow only furrows further, looking so much like the angry roommate I adore so much that my heart aches. “None of your business.”

“Okay.” Freddy nods before ducking down to get closer to Oliver’s level. “But if you need to talk about something, Rhys is a really,reallygood listener. And a great protector. He’ll always watch out for you guys.”

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