Page 136 of What Are The Odds?
“Why?”
“Out of all the places on campus, she chose to hide here.” He held my gaze. “I think it’s pretty clear who she was hoping would find her.”
I drummed my fingers on the timber railing. As much as I wanted him to be right, I wasn’t sure. She wasn’t anywhere to be found. Maybe she wasn’t here anymore. Maybe she’d made Ryker and I run around all night as revenge for our bet.
“How did you know she was here?”
“One of my guys tipped me off,” Ryker answered. He dragged his hands through his hair. “I haven’t seen her though. Heck, maybe this was all some ploy to get back at us for playing her.”
“We deserve it.”
“Yeah.” He laughed drily. “We do.”
I turned at the sound of a familiar accent. My face fell when I realised it was just Ava. She was in the arms of Morrison. That was new. I’d need to unpack that later. Her rosy cheeks told me she was drunk. Very drunk. She narrowed her glassy eyes at me.
“You know, I was rooting for you, Holloway.”
I allowed a bit of hope to return. If she was here, there was a high chance Grace still was too.
“Sixty seconds,” Tripp shouted.
Those that were straggling on the landing, including Ava and Morrison, hurried down the stairs. It was one hell of a party. Too bad I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the countdown.
“I’m going to join the party,” Ryker said. He held out his hand to me. “No hard feelings?”
I placed my hand in his and shook. Starting this, I hadn’t expected things to turn out the way they did. Despite fighting over the same girl, I had a newfound respect for Ryker. He wasn’t a total dick. In fact, he was a pretty good guy. I couldn’t say the same for his team though. With no intention to join the party without Grace, I continued up the second set of stairs to my room. Either she’d made it impossible to find her, or she didn’t want to be found. And that realisation was harder than any two-hundred-pound guy slamming me into the boards. The music became more and more subdued each step I climbed. I reached into my pocket to unlock my door, but there was no point. It was ajar. Groaning, I threw it open. If someone was using my room as a spot to hook-up, they were about to get thrown down the stairs.
“Ten,”a unanimous scream came from downstairs.
I flicked on my bedroom light.
“Nine.”
I jumped, holding a hand to my chest.
“Eight.”
Grace stood from where she was laying on my bed.
“Seven.”
She made a step towards me.
“Six.”
I held up my hand.
“Five.”
“Who did you want to find you tonight, Hughesy?”
“Four.”
“You.”
“Three.”
“Thank god,” I exhaled.
