Page 184 of For the Fans
I’m so stunned, I feel like Medusa just turned me to stone.
“May we help you?” the guy chirps, chewing and swallowing while I gawk at him, not breathing, not blinking.
My heart isn’t even beating anymore.
“Uh… Avi…” The words croak from inside my throat, and I clear it. “Is Avi… here?”
His lips curl and he chomps into another bite of his apple, stepping aside to call out, “Aviel, darling! Someone’s here for you.” He peeks at me and smirks. “He’ll be right out. Come in, mate. Take a load off.”
That accent… He’s Australian.
Inching my way inside the dorm, my gaze narrows in disbelief. “Ash Holloway??”
“In the flesh.” He bows, chuckling to himself. And my eye is twitching.
The dude who stole my girlfriend in high school… is here now? In Avi’s fucking dorm, half naked??
Is this some kind of sick joke?!
I feel like I might collapse, the reality of what’s going on smacking me upside the head so hard I have to grip the side of the kitchen island to keep from falling down.
Why is he here…? Why isn’t he wearing clothes??
Oh my God, is Avi in the shower?!
The panic attack is back with a vengeance, and I bend at the waist, breathing in as best I can, struggling to fend it off.
“Kyran…”
My face tips up as Avi saunters into the room, fully clothed and not appearing freshly showered. Still, it’s not exactly a comfort with emo asshole over there, crunching on fruit and staring at us.
Avi rushes up to me fast, his eyes wide. “What are you doing here??”
“Sorry…” I gasp, straightening and attempting a glare, though it still feels like my heart is being squeezed between two big hands. “Am Iinterruptingsomething?”
“No,” he whispers, pushing me farther into the kitchen for some privacy as he peeks at Ash. “It’s not what it looks like, Kyran, I swear to God…”
“Why is he here?” I growl, eyes flinging to Ash, who skips into the living room, plopping down on the couch like he owns the place. “Why is he not… clothed??”
“That’s just how he walks around, apparently.” Avi runs his hand through his hair. “He’smy roommate. He just showed up the other day… I guess he was, like, in rehab or something, andhe just got out.” He bites his lip, the foggy blue in his eyes glistening with pleading sincerity. “Please believe me, nothing happened.”
I can’t help the wave of relief that washes over me at his words, the tightness in my chest easing up a bit. I don’t think he’s lying to me…He doesn’t seem like he’s lying.
Nodding subtly, I try to remember why I came here and what I was going to say, but it’s all been smashed to bits by the fact that there’s another person in our shared space. The place that’s been justoursfor so long… is now infested with one asshole intruder.
“I… I just came to…” My voice trails when Ash gets up and trots over to us, tossing his apple core in the garbage right next to me. Lowering to a whisper, I lean in closer to Avi. “I wanted to talk to you… to apolog—”
“Holy fucking shit!” Ash gasps, and we both glare at him. “Now I remember where I know you from! We all went to high school together!” He laughs and shakes his head. “You’re Avi’s stepbrother, am I right?”
My teeth are clenched together so tightly I can almost feel them snapping. “Yea… And you fucked my girlfriend senior year.”
He brings a hand to his chest like he’s appalled. “Idid that?” I nod, seething at him through my eyes. His brows furrow. “I’m sorry, mate. I was pretty messed up senior year. It’s all a bit of a blur…”
“Her name was Becca Hansen,” I mutter, and he purses his lips.
“Ohhh, right, right. I think I remember,” he sighs, rubbing his hands together. “I decided to try girls again for a while there.” His chin tips in Avi’s direction and he winks. “Always fun to mix it up.”
Avi’s lashes flutter, his gaze shifting uncomfortably to me as he gives me a look I can’t really read. I don’t know if he’s trying to convey annoyance for this dude who just popped up out of nowhere, or if he’s tense because they’ve been hooking up… Since apparently, they’re both bi and living together, and the guy just walks around in his underwear like he’s displaying some seductive mating call.
