Page 11 of Connor

Busy.

That word sat heavy in my chest, even though I had no right to be upset. I was the one who left. I was the one who walked out of his apartment, knowing it was over.

I shouldn’t care.

But I did.

“Why, are you missing home already ?” Vic nudged my foot with his.

I forced a smirk. “Just a new place, new rules. I guess I’m struggling to fit into a normal life now that I left you all back in Reverence.”

Vic chuckled, shaking his head. “You’re impossible.”

I hummed in response, but my mind was spinning.

I should be relieved that he bought that. Instead, it just made the apartment feel a little colder.

Vic polished off his last slice and stretched out with a satisfied groan. “God, I needed that.”

I nodded, but my mind was still stuck on Connor.He hasn’t said much.

That shouldn’t bother me. I shouldn’t care that he wasn’t talking, or that he hadn’t even answered the message I sent him that night I got to my apartment feeling like I’d left a piece of my heart back home. This was exactly what I’d wanted, right? A clean break.

Then why did it feel like I’d been the only one who actually had to suffer through it?

I swallowed hard and forced myself to focus back on Vic, who was now eyeing me with a look that made me uneasy. “What?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“You tell me,” he shot back, tilting his head. “Something’s up with you.”

Shit. That was exactly what I needed, Vic getting suspicious the one weekend he was here just to visit.

God, now I had to figure out something to say that wouldn’t make his protective instincts that much worse.

I shrugged, reaching for my soda to buy myself a second to think. “Just tired. A lot on my mind.”

Vic didn’t look convinced. “You sure?”

“Positive.” I took a sip, hoping he’d drop it. “So, tell me more about what I should expect. Any horror stories from your freshman year?”

That did the trick. Vic relaxed back into the couch, launching into some story about a guy from his dorm who almost set the fire alarms off making grilled cheese with an iron. I let him talk, nodding in all the right places, laughing at his ridiculous descriptions.

But even as I smiled, my thoughts drifted.Connor. What was he doing right now? Was he with someone now? Another girl he could bury his dick into just to forget he had a heart?Did he ever think about me at all?I hated that I even wanted to know. I hated that it still hurt.

“…and then the RA walked in, and this guy justbolts, leaving the iron in the middle of the room,” Vic was saying, shaking his head. “Dumbass got written up, but honestly? Worth it.”

I snorted. “You really met thebestpeople in college, huh?”

“Oh, for sure,” he said, grinning. “And don’t even get me started on group projects. Hope you like doing 90% of the work, because—”

Ding.

My phone lit up on the table, cutting him off.

I didn’t know why my stomach flipped, why my stupid heart jumped for just a second before my brain caught up. It wouldn’t be him. It wouldn’t—

Vic leaned over and glanced at my screen. “Who’s texting you this late?”

I grabbed my phone before he could see, turning it over. “Just an email from school,” I lied. “Probably about class.”

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