Page 54 of Framed

He chuckled. “Never. But seriously, horrible sense of direction aside, you are cool.” His blue eyes shone bright with humor. “You’re down to earth, unlike most of the population here. And you say what you think. I appreciate that.”

“I think you’re cool too.”

He frowned. “So why are you avoiding me?”

Because you’re hot and hot guys are normally assholes. Because I don’t know how to act around you. Because this can never go anywhere, and I don’t want to lead you on.

“I’m not really,” I said. “I was just busy, and… I don’t know. Feeling a little introverted, is all. It’s not about you.”Lie.

He eyed me like he knew I was lying. “Prove it,” he said.

“Aren’t I proving it now?” I replied. “We’re talking, right?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t count. Go on date with me tonight.”

I laughed.

He didn’t. He arched his brows and tipped his head to the side, completely serious.

Oh, shit.I froze. “I, ah…”

“Let me guess. You’re mysteriously busy all of a sudden?” He laughed.

My cheeks flamed. My mind yelled at me, reciting all of the reasons this was a bad idea. I had more important things to focus on. I still had no idea who sent me that note or what they were implying by telling me about Xavier’s father’s affair.

I also had no idea if Xavier knew about it. Did he? He’d never been close with his father, but had he suspected about the affair? Did he knowwhohis father was fucking, exactly?

The last thing I needed was a distraction as handsome as Kane. And yet…

And yet, my mouth started talking anyway, without my permission. “Fine. One date,” I said.

Kane beamed like I’d just handed him a football trophy. “Great. I’ll meet you out front of the building at seven?”

What are you doing?I mentally screamed at myself. But I was tired of resisting everyone. I was tired of trying to do this all myself. Deep down, I just wanted one night to act like a normal college student, who had a cute guy interested in her.

How much harm could it do?

“Sounds great,” I heard myself say.

Kane hesitated, like he was thinking about leaning in. I had no idea what I’d do if he tried to kiss me. My mouth went dry at the thought. Thankfully, as quickly as he shifted toward me, he backed away again. “See you then.” He spun on his heel and left, leaving my short of breath, my head spinning.

If nothing else, at least Kane might be able to take my mind off all this shit for a minute.

***

I was right—it had taken my mind off things. Being with Kane felt surprisingly natural. Easy, almost. We could talk about any number of things—normal, everyday, college kid things. We discussed our favorite anime's, movies, and music. We had a lot of the same taste. Where our tastes differed, we could tease one another without the other getting offended.

I surprised myself by having actual fun, for the first time in I didn’t know how long.

We parted ways without a kiss, but I let Kane hug me, and his arms had felt strong, secure in a way I hadn’t felt before. Like he could stop anything bad from ever reaching me.

But that bubble of happiness burst the minute I stepped through my doorway. I let the front door gape open behind me, walking into the living room in a trance.

There was another note waiting for me. This one was right on the living room sofa, laid out like a mint on a pillow at a fancy hotel.

My heart plummeted deep into the pit of my stomach as my eyes caught sight of it. There was a slight breeze in the room, sending shivers down my spine. It was then I noticed the window was cracked open. The revelation was pretty strange given I was certain I locked it before I left for class this morning.

Winter’s red Ford Mustang was still parked outside of the hospital, just like it had been before I left for class that morning. I’d checked on my way home, to see if she was feeling better and maybe wanted to walk back to the dorm with me. But she was still in treatment.

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