Page 24 of The Spider Queen
I felt haunted.
“Hey, Spider Girl, mind if I sit down?” Hunter asked, jarring me out of my reverie.
I looked up from my computer screen and smiled. “Of all the tables in the library, you had to sit at mine.”
Taking that as an invitation, Hunter set down his navy blue backpack and pulled out a chair next to me. “What are you working on?”
“Just finishing up a paper I have due at the end of the week.” I found a grammatical error, fixed it, and then pressed save. The program loved to freeze and lose work. I did some of my best cursing at it.
Once Hunter got settled, he remarked, “Haven’t heard from you for a few days.”
“I was sick.”
“Hmm.”
I frowned. “What?”
“Were you really sick?” His blue eyes didn’t waver, and he didn’t mince words. “Or were you avoiding me?”
“Why would I be avoiding you?” I evaded.
“Because you like me. Because I like you. Because you don’t know how to handle all this.” He shrugged. “I’m not really sure, but Anita says you’ve been acting weird.”
My spine straightened. “You’ve talked to my cousin about me?” I asked, raising my voice.
Students turned their heads and glared at me. I lowered my register and took a moment to get myself under control. “You guys have been talking about me behind my back?”
“No—well, yes, but only because she’s been at our apartment the last three nights and she was in the living room talking to Jonah about it. And then I might have…”
“Yes?”
“Asked her if you were sick. She said no.”
Taking off my glasses, I sighed and then rubbed the bridge of my nose. “I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“I’m sorry. I thought—”
“This was all about you? Us? This hasnothingto do with you.” I shook my head and stood up. I shut my laptop and slid it into my messenger bag. Hoisting the bag onto my shoulder, I raked Hunter with a scathing look.
“Poppy, wait!”
I ran from the library as tears formed in my eyes. This was about so much more than avoiding Hunter. Sweet, solicitous Hunter, who wasn’t freaked out by my love for spiders, my fascination with them. All that would change if he knew what I’d been dealing with the last few nights. The endless dreams of the dark-haired man with dark eyes, waking up bathed in sweat, my legs tangled in the sheets.
And the spider.
The fucking spider.
I was fairly positive the spider was communicating with me. But that was just insane.
Right?
Because spiders couldn’t communicate with humans.
So the logical conclusion was that I was losing my mind. And if I was losing my mind, there was no time for a boyfriend. Besides, I wouldn’t ask Hunter to take care of me or try and help me keep the pieces together. That wasn’t his job.
It was easier to run from Hunter than to stay and face him.
Raindrops sprinkled my head as I left the library. Tucking my book bag under my arm, I began to jog. If the sky opened up I’d get wet—the computer had to be spared. I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket but didn’t reach for it. It was probably Hunter. How was I supposed to blow him off when our roommates were dating?
