12. Hailey
12
HAILEY
It was two in the morning, the Tuesday after the big party, and I could barely keep my eyes open. Poring over my notes from class any longer tonight wouldn’t do me any good. I knew I wouldn’t retain it. I changed into my pajamas, not even having the energy to go wash my face. As I slid under the covers, my phone chimed.
For a moment I stared at the notification on the screen blankly, and then I recognized the number. It was the guy I knew only as Night Owl.
Shouldn’t you be in bed? the text said.
I am, as of two minutes ago.
Ooo, what are you wearing? He followed that with an emoji raising both eyebrows. Something sexy?
I grinned at that. Some people said that you couldn’t read someone’s tone through text, but it felt like I could. My generation had grown up communicating this way, and even though I spent far less time on my phone than my peers, it felt natural to me. I knew he was kidding.
A full-body snowsuit. It covers me from head to toe.
Sounds hot. There was a pause, and I could see he was still typing. Actually, it really does sound hot. Don’t overheat in there.
He’d said ‘in there.’ Did that mean he was also on the second floor? If it were Grant or Bennett, wouldn’t they have said ‘down there?’ Not that I thought it was either of them. Are you ever going to tell me who you are?
I’m the Night Owl. I’m like a superhero whose mission is to keep young ladies from staying up too late.
I giggled. I’d be asleep right now if it wasn’t for you.
What can I say, I’m not a very good superhero.
Keep trying, and soon you’ll be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.
I hope so.
It felt strange, typing to a stranger from my bed. In the dark. Except no, that wasn’t it. It felt strange to be chatting with a man . That hadn’t been something I’d had much time for before I moved in here. In high school, I worked nights and some weekends. The rest of my time was spent studying my ass off so I could go to college. And in my freshman year, between classes and my grandfather’s decline, I’d been insanely busy and stressed. A few guys in my class had asked me out, but I didn’t have the time or interest. I’d been barely keeping my head above water.
And now I was lying in bed chatting easily with a man I didn’t know.
Well… I did know him, presumably, unless there was a secret seventh frat bro living here that I hadn’t met yet. Where are you? I texted. You know where I am, so tell me where you are. Are you hidden in the basement, only coming out at night? Like the phantom of the opera?
Course not. I’m not a basement dweller. I climb up the tower and ring the bells every day and I have the hots for that chick… what’s her name ?
I giggled again. Esmeralda, Mr. Hunchback.
That makes me sound like a whale.
That’s a humpback.
Why did I keep smiling? If I had any brains, I’d go to sleep. But this was fun, so I decided to allow myself twenty more minutes to chat with him. Whoever this guy was, he was easy to talk to.
When was the last time I’d done anything just for fun? It had been a while, unless you counted the time I spent with the pets I watched. That was enjoyable, but it was also work, and I was always rushing from one place to another. Grant had asked me that when he’d caught me in the ritual room. He asked if I ever did anything for fun. Truthfully, the answer was not really.
We texted for a while longer, about nothing of importance, but it was a nice way to wind down at the end of a long day. When we finally said goodnight, I didn’t fall asleep right away. Chatting with him while snuggling under the covers made it almost feel like he’d been here. I’d never had a man in my bed, but now, for pretty much the first time, I wondered what that might be like.
I woke up in a good mood, either from the late-night chat or because having a private bathroom was so much nicer than sharing. Yes, I had to take the stairs to get to it, but I didn’t have to worry about anyone knocking on the door. I was able to leave my shampoo, conditioner, and soap up here. And there were never any stray beard trimmings in the sink.
I took a quick shower, since I had less than an hour before class, and I had to go check on an old and ornery cat first. But I took a minute to enjoy the way the warm water felt against my skin. It was so cold in this house that the warmth was a real luxury. The shower stall was average-sized, unlike the one in Bennett’s suite, but it was really nice. The frosted glass blocked my view of the rest of the bathroom, and for a few minutes, I imagined I was back home. Back in Janson Falls with my grandpa.
Though it was steamy in the bathroom, I’d brought my clothes since I didn’t feel comfortable wandering the halls in just my robe. I’d already learned that most of the guys had no problem walking around in robes—or less.
Once, I’d seen Ian striding down the hall with only a white towel wrapped around his waist. Though I’d quickly ducked my head, it had been a spectacular sight. I thought about it as I finished drying off and put on a pink blouse and white shorts. Ian was a funny guy. It seemed like all he did was study in his room, but after seeing his bare chest and sculpted biceps, I knew he worked out.
Of course, he was going to be a doctor, so he was probably very interested in maintaining his health. I grinned as I fixed my hair in the mirror and put on a little makeup. I could just imagine his future female patients making appointments just for a chance to see him. He was so quiet and studious that he might not have the best bedside manner, but I doubted that they’d care.
I made my way downstairs and went into my room. For some reason, I felt good this morning, and I couldn’t help smiling.
And then my smile faded.
Something was different, and when I spotted what it was, my heart sank.
The hook on the wall behind the door was where I always kept my robe. Always.
Except it wasn’t there.
A mix of emotions washed over me as I stared at the horrible little French maid costume. Anger. Alarm that someone had been in my room. Panic that the robe wasn’t there. But most of all, fury at the sight of that stupid little dress. Were Bennett and Grant ever going to give up on that?
There were some long, gauzy black things on the hook too, slung over the top. Moving closer, I saw that they were thigh high stockings. And the little black belt with clips on it must’ve been a garter belt. I’d never seen one before, but it seemed like just the kind of thing a frat boy might think was hot.
I took a calming breath and looked around. Just because someone had left that in here, that didn’t mean they’d taken my robe—except I didn’t see it anywhere.
It wasn’t among the rest of my clothes hanging up. Or in the duffel bag I’d put in the bottom of the little closet. It wasn’t under the bed. I even checked the desk drawers, even though it wouldn’t have fit. I looked under the bed. Lifted up the comforter and blanket.
The robe wasn’t here.
I was out in the hallway before I’d even made a conscious decision to do so. Bennett’s room was my first destination, and though I knocked, waited, and knocked again, there was no answer. There wasn’t one at Grant’s door, either.
Back in the stairwell, I spotted Theo coming up from downstairs. “Have you seen Bennett and Grant?” I asked, interrupting his greeting.
“They’re eating breakfast. Is everything okay?”
Muttering that it was, I hurried on down.
Bennett and Grant were the only ones in the dining room. They both had mugs of coffee and empty plates in front of them. They were discussing something as they bent over some papers.
Grant spotted me first. “Morning, sunshine.” His perpetual smirk was up early today.
Bennett looked me up and down. “That’s what you’re wearing? After we were nice enough to leave you that pretty little dress?”
Rage filled me that he’d joke about that. “Where’s my robe?”
“You have less fashion sense than anyone I’ve ever met,” Bennett continued. “That thing was?—”
“Where is it?” I moved closer, glad that they were seated so that I didn’t have to tilt my head to look them in the eye.
“It was ancient and threadbare. I threw it out.”
I blinked, staring at Bennett. “You what?”
“I threw it out. Rho Kappa Alpha is the most exclusive fraternity on the campus. We can’t have anyone who lives here, even the staff, dress in such a shoddy way.”
Grant had ceased to exist for me. All I could do was to stare at his cousin. The only thing that kept my panic away was my anger, so I went with that. “You had no r-right.” My voice trembled and I took a deep breath. “That was mine.”
“We’ll order you another one. One actually made for a woman,” Bennett said.
He was pure evil, and his audacity made my blood boil. “You’re right. It was made for a man. It was my grandfather’s. The man who raised me. The man who supported me my whole life.” I took a deep breath and managed to hold the tears back. “The man who died less than six months ago.”
Bennett didn’t even pause. “If you’re so fond of wearing senior citizen’s clothes, we can order you a new cheap terry cloth one.”
Grant stood up. “For fuck’s sake,” he muttered and left. Evidently he wasn’t going to waste any more time listening to me. Bennett would probably leave in a moment, too.
“You had no right,” I repeated, my voice strong, but I knew I couldn’t keep it that way much longer.
“I’m the president of the fraternity that owns this house. If I say we have certain standards here, then we do.” He raised his eyebrows, as if asking what I was going to do about that. “If you prefer, I can write out a dress code, but I guarantee you won’t like it.”
His threat shook me. All I wanted was to get out of here, and I knew one way to do it. Two words rose to my lips: I quit. I wanted to say them so badly. Actually, what I really wanted to do was to go back to bed and cry. But I couldn’t do either of those things. If I quit, I wouldn’t have a bed to climb into tonight.
I met Bennett’s cold gaze and tried one more time. Soon, the adrenaline would wear off and I’d collapse in a pile of tears. “This job came with room and board. It’s my room as long as I work here, so you and your cousin need to stay out of it.” There. That wasn’t as bad as saying I quit, but in the back of my mind, I knew I’d practically goaded him into firing me.
Bennett pushed his chair back and rose to his feet. I had to take a step back to maintain eye contact
“Listen, young lady?—”
That was as far as he got, because Grant strode back in, and we both turned to look at him.
“Here.”
My heart skipped a beat and then rushed to catch up as I saw what he held out to me. With shaky hands, I took the robe back. It was like finding an old friend. I looked up at Grant, not sure what to say.
Bennett huffed out an irritated breath of air and gathered up his papers. “So wonderful spending breakfast with you, Hailey. Let’s hope dinner has less drama.”
He left, and Grant followed without a backwards glance toward me.
I hugged the robe to my chest and let the tears fall.
I was late to class and gave Professor Whitmore an apologetic nod as I found a seat. It was good to be out of that house. Here, no one knew that I was a maid. And no one knew how I’d been treated today.
By the end of the two-hour class, I’d calmed down enough to actually take notes. I’d have to re-read the chapter later tonight to see what I missed.
Ten minutes later, I opened the door to the only being in the world who could cheer me up right now—Sunny. The golden retriever danced around excitedly, as if it had been twenty-four days instead of twenty-four hours since she’d seen me.
“Good girl,” I crooned, bending down to give her a hug. But she was too excited for that. She jumped around so I set down my book bag and fastened her leash.
Out on the sidewalk, we wove around students and past a little bistro with outdoor seating. I usually walked her up to the coffee shop on the corner and then back again.
And then it happened. A little gray squirrel darted across the street, narrowly avoiding a car, and crossed the sidewalk practically at Sunny’s feet. It scampered down the sidewalk and the leash was yanked from my hand.
“Sunny!” I shouted, giving chase immediately. She was already well ahead of me, the leash dangling on the ground as she ran. The squirrel was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t stop the dog.
My calls grew louder as she pulled ahead. The intersection up ahead was a fairly busy one, and my heart pounded at the thought of her dashing across it. She might not be as lucky as the squirrel.
Students and townspeople alike gaped at the running dog and me chasing after her. No one bothered to help—until someone did.
A man exited the coffee shop, looked down the sidewalk, and did a double take. He stepped forward, waited a beat, and then bent down to grab Sunny’s leash. Two young women stepped on the sidewalk in front of me, so I briefly lost sight of them. I was completely out of breath and sweat covered my forehead as I caught up.
“Thank you—” I panted, brushing my hair out of my eyes. “If you hadn’t—” I stopped short at the familiar smile.
It was Theo.