Chapter 5 Annie #2
I leave out any other details. She is eyeing him suspiciously, and I think the less I say, the better.
I don’t see any reason why Neveah shouldn’t think that Josh is with me.
He doesn’t look that much older than me, and the last thing I want is for her to suspect I’ve been having trouble that I didn’t let her in on.
“Josh, hmmm? Haven’t heard anything about a Josh before. And this?” She motions wildly with her hand, her temper firing up with every passing second. “What in the goddamn holy hell is this? Did you trash this room?”
“Annie lost her keys for a time this morning. It looks like whoever found them decided to ransack her room before turning them in.”
Neveah’s mouth drops open. “Are you fucking kidding me? That’s what this is?” She grows quiet for a minute and sounds a lot less accusatory. “I’m going to need to call campus security.”
“Please do.” Josh’s voice is clear and calm. “And the local police. I’m not sure this is something campus police can handle.”
Neveah crosses her arms over her chest. “You have a hell of a lot to say for a guy I didn’t know existed until two minutes ago.”
Josh tightens his hold on me. “Look, Neveah, is it? I’m not here to cause any problems. Annie and I just walked in and found the place like this. I checked to make sure there was no one still in here. We had about a two-minute head start, or I would already have dialed the cops myself.”
“Well, I work for the school,” she blurts out, “and protocol is to call campus security first. They make the determination whether to involve local PD.”
“I understand that.” Josh’s voice is patient, but I can tell by the slight tension in his hand against my skin that it’s taking an effort. “But this is a matter for the police. This room was broken in to—unlawfully entered—and…”
He’s gathering steam, and if I know Neveah, she’ll meet his passion with her own. As much as I appreciate these two wanting to help, I want to get this over with and get the hell out of this room. I need to think. I need to clear my head.
Maybe because I’m not thinking right, I turn to Josh, chest-to-chest, and lean in to the lie that Josh and I are dating in a way I will probably regret later.
I lift a hand to his cheek. “Hey,” I say softly.
“Neveah’s a friend. Let’s let her handle this the way she needs to.
I don’t want her getting into any kind of trouble because of this. Okay?”
I hope I’m blocking Neveah from seeing the look on my face and the blush I can feel storming across my cheeks and chest.
She’s the only real friend I’ve made at this school so far. And I’ve even hidden everything from her because I was in denial that it was any big deal. I’ve been so, so wrong. About so many things. But still, I don’t want her to get hurt in any way because of me.
Josh swallows, and I watch his throat bob up and down. Even his neck, sprinkled with bristles, is sexy.
“Okay?” I ask again, trailing my hand down the side of his face. I plead with him with my eyes—at least I hope I am, but I very well could be looking like an idiot.
Josh clears his throat and nods. “Yeah, right. Whatever she needs to do.”
Neveah crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m going to my room to get my phone.
I have to ask both of you to stay here so the campus police can talk to you.
” She turns to leave but then turns back and points at me, a sly half smile on her lips.
“And you and I are going to have a talk later, girl. You’ve been holding out. And I thought we were friends.”
She gives me a grin that lets me know she’s forgiven me and then heads off down the hall for her phone.
As soon as we’re alone, I turn to Josh. “I’m so, so sorry,” I breathe. “That was so inappropriate, I just…I didn’t want her thinking you’d kidnapped me or something.”
Josh isn’t smiling, but he doesn’t look angry. He’s looking lost in thought as if he’s replaying something in his head. “What do you know about Neveah?” he asks. “How old is she?”
I shrug. “I assume around my age. Twenty-five or so. Why?”
He’s quiet. “Nothing. How close are you two?”
“She’s the only friend I’ve made here so far.”
“All right, then. Here’s our story,” he says, leaning close. “I’m twenty-nine, and we met just a few weeks before you came here. It started off casual at first, but you left for school and I want to get serious, but I am trying to respect your space here at art school. That work?”
“How did we meet?” I ask quietly.
“I think we should be honest about what I do,” he says, but I can tell he’s holding something back. “Try to avoid bringing it up if you can. Definitely don’t mention that you hired me. Your dad does real estate law? Closings and stuff?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“I bought a condo a year ago. Let’s just say I met you when I hired your dad to handle the closing. Low-key on the details and timeline. If she asks, give her just enough that it sounds plausible. That work?”
“It’s perfect, actually. You’re brilliant.” I can’t believe he thinks so fast on his feet. I mean, I guess I’m the one who thought to give Neveah the impression that we are together, but he makes the story work.
I’m not sure whether to be worried that he can so easily lie or be impressed. He is smart, and I feel like he is really looking out for what is best for me. I feel good about this story even if I don’t feel good about this entire situation.
“Give me your number,” I tell him, pulling my cell phone from my backpack. “I need you in my contacts.”
He tells me his number, and I quickly punch it in then send him a text so he has mine. I hear the buzz of the notification coming from his back pocket just as Neveah returns to my room.
“Babe,” Josh says loud enough for her to overhear. “Pick up your backpack. You don’t want anything in there to get mixed up with this mess.”
I’m curious what he means by that… Is he trying to say something about the letters?
“Thanks, hon,” I say, throwing in the endearment to play along. It feels weird rolling off my tongue, and I practically giggle. But then I think about the letters in my backpack and wonder what to do.
Should I mention them when campus security gets here? Then they’re going to ask why I never reported them before. My stomach does another death spiral.
“Annie?” I feel Josh’s eyes searching mine, and I meet his gaze. “When the officer gets here,” he tells me slowly, “can you tell them if anything’s missing?”
“I can try,” I say.
My laptop should be in my studio. I only had books and the letters in my backpack. The only things of value in my room are my personal items. It’s not like I’ll be able to tell if a pair of underwear is missing. Not with everything like this.
When the campus police officer arrives, the whole thing is a lot less scary than I expect.
The officer looks like he’s about ready for the grave.
He is unarmed but has a radio. He widens his eyes at the mess and asks me what happened.
If we’re both students. He takes our names and asks how long we’ve been dating.
It’s clear at first that he thinks there’s been a fight between Josh and me and that one of us lost our temper and trashed my room.
“No, no,” I say. “Nothing like that.”
“Annie came to my office to meet for lunch,” Josh says.
“She decided she wanted to grab some supplies and work in my spare office for the afternoon.” He looks at me with a look so sultry, I actually feel myself melt a little.
“My fault,” Josh continues, his lie so enticing I half want to believe it.
“She’s been spending so much time on campus, I wanted a little time with her.
I was trying to convince her to get dinner and maybe stay off campus for the night. If you know what I mean, sir.”
The officer writes down everything we’re saying on a piece of paper and gives Josh a look at that last part, while my face burns at the mere suggestion that I’d spend the night with Josh.
I hope Neveah thinks it’s because I’m embarrassed to mention that to a strange, old guy—not because the idea is thrilling in the weirdest way.
The campus police officer is making notes, but he hardly comes inside the room. He inspects the door, and when he doesn’t see any damage to it, he seems to make his mind up about what happened here since I explained how I lost my keys.
“Well, young lady, this is quite a mess to clean up. I’m going to guess somebody found your keys and decided to ransack the room while they had the chance.” He narrows his eyes at me. “You got any drugs in here? Anything of value that someone might want?”
I shake my head. “No, nothing like drugs,” I say. “Just my clothes and art supplies.” I meet Josh’s eyes, and he gives me an encouraging nod.
“Well, if nothing’s missing, there’s no cause to call the local police,” he says. “No theft, no crime. Looks like some mischief to me. Keep a better hold of your keys, Miss Hancock,” he says. “College is an opportunity to have fun. But let’s not forget not everyone is trustworthy.”
I’m suddenly furious at this campus cop’s reaction. Keep better hold of my keys? No crime here? What if I had never received any letters and something like this had happened? They’d tell me to be more responsible with my shit and walk away? That’s it?
I open my mouth to say something, and I look to Josh.
He doesn’t give me any cues. Doesn’t tell me to calm down.
He looks as furious as I am, but he doesn’t say anything.
I take a hint from him and do the same, even though I’m surprised at my own sense of justice.
Maybe I’m more of a fighter than I thought.
I don’t want to believe that something this scary could happen and for it not to be taken seriously by the very people who are supposed to investigate.
The officer and Neveah talk quietly for a minute about filing an incident report and her getting him to sign off on it.
Josh stands beside me, his arms crossed over his chest. He’s glaring, so I set a hand on his arm and he seems to soften. We’re developing a weird little way of communicating without speaking. And while it feels intimate for someone I’ve only known a few hours, it also feels natural.
As if I’ve known him much, much longer. I can trust Josh, and even more than that, I want him by my side through this.
Before the officer leaves, Josh addresses him in a quiet and respectful voice.
“Sir? Are there, by any chance, any surveillance cameras in the building? Maybe there’s a way to see who entered Annie’s room.
This may not be a police matter, but I would think it’s an issue of public safety.
Anyone willing to break in to a student’s room like this—” He waves his tattoo-covered hand around the room.
“It may be nothing more than criminal mischief and trespassing, but I think I’d feel better knowing who it was who did this. ”
“No cameras in the building,” the guy says, narrowing his eyes at Josh. “Privacy issues. It was probably just some student looking for a laptop or some cash. I’m sorry you have to clean up this mess, Miss Hancock.”
Then Neveah and the officer head out down the hall, leaving Josh and me alone.
“You did good,” he says, and that same warmth floods my body at his praise. He shakes his head and looks pissed. “That cop-in-a-box clearly isn’t taking this seriously. At least we know the camera situation now.”
Josh looks down at the mess. “Can you grab some clothes and whatever supplies you need? You know you can’t stay here tonight.”
I’d already started thinking about that. The mess alone is going to take me days to clean. I have classes and projects to think about. And how the hell am I going to sleep here? I mean, forget the fact that my pillows have been gutted. I’m gutted by what this means.
I have to think about what’s next and what I need to do to be safe. I mentally calculate the balance in my bank account. I can’t call my dad. I can’t tell him about this. I can’t go home right now.
“I need to get my laptop,” I say. “You wanted to see my studio, right? Then, I’ll take you back to your office and figure out what to do for the night.”
Josh is quiet. “Do you want a minute? Need some privacy to pack?”
I see him staring at a sheer red bra, its underwire curving like a bloody grin. “What’s the point,” I mutter.
I know he’s trying to be nice, and I should be more thankful.
I should be more gracious. Right now, I’m defeated.
I don’t have the money, the means, the support to face this.
I’ve already used up how many hours of Josh’s time.
That ten hours isn’t going to get me answers.
And now I need to spend money on a hotel I can’t afford.
I don’t know what I did to get into this situation, but the sooner Josh figures it out, the sooner I can get my life back on track.
If he can’t, I won’t be able to stay in school. I won’t be able to get my degree and make the art that could change the course of my future. My dreams, like all of my belongings, will be wrecked. The thought of that brings the tears back to my eyes.
“Actually,” I say, sniffling, “Would you mind? I’ll just be a minute.”
He studies my face, and again I get the sense that there are things he’s thinking that he’s not saying. But he doesn’t say anything and heads out to the hallway. As he pulls the door closed, he says, “I’ll be right here, Annie. I’m not going anywhere.”
For now, I think. Too bad that doesn’t feel like nearly long enough.