CHAPTER 19
OPHELIA
The campus sidewalk stretched out in front of me, cracked concrete dusted with brittle leaves under the pale afternoon light. My earbuds were in, but no music was playing—I hadn’t pressed play. I just wanted the illusion of being busy, of functioning like a normal person.
But I wasn’t thinking about class. Or the people passing by. Or anything real.
I was thinking about Matty.
About waking up tangled in his sheets, his arm draped heavy across my waist, his skin still warm against mine.
About the faint smell of him, soap and sweat and something that already felt like home.
About how, when we finally dragged ourselves out of bed, he’d caught my wrist at the door, pulled me back in, and said it, soft, almost shy, but certain.
I love you.
The words had followed me out of his house, trailed me all the way across campus, looping through my head like a song I couldn’t stop replaying.
Now, everything felt dim in comparison. The sound of traffic. The chatter of other students. None of it mattered.
All I could see was him. The way he’d looked at me when he said it…like he already belonged to me.
I could still feel it, too, that dangerous flutter under my skin. It made me imagine things that would terrify him. White fabric. Soft lights. His eyes when he turned and saw me walking toward him.
It felt inevitable right now, though. Now that I’d had him, I would do anything it took not to let him go.
It was why I hadn’t said I love you back yet.
Not because I didn’t feel it. But because it didn’t feel big enough.
What I felt for him went so far beyond those words that it scared me. It wasn’t just love…it was everything. All-consuming. Boundless. Like he’d been stitched into my veins, like my heart had rewritten itself around his name.
That was why I’d stayed quiet. Because if I tried to say it out loud, it wouldn’t come out soft or simple. It would be too much.
And I wasn’t ready for him to see that part of me yet.
“There she is!”
The words came from somewhere behind me, close enough to make the hairs on my neck lift.
I spun around so fast my earbuds nearly flew out. Nothing. Just the cracked sidewalk, the half-empty quad, a few students trudging past with backpacks and coffee cups, none of them looking at me.
Then I caught movement at the edge of my vision—a flash of blonde hair catching the light before disappearing behind the brick column of the library.
I froze mid-step, squinting like maybe if I narrowed my eyes enough, I’d X-ray the wall and catch whoever it was.
No one.
“Okay…” I muttered, turning back around, forcing my legs to keep moving, even though my skin prickled with that creepy feeling of being watched.
Half a block later, it happened again.
A shuffle of sneakers against pavement. A whisper too low to make out.
I stopped dead, spinning in a full circle.
This time, I caught it clear as day. A blonde ponytail vanishing behind the student center.
I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, another voice hissed—clear, urgent, and definitely not meant for me. “Crap. She heard us.”
My eyebrows shot up. Us?
Oh, fantastic. I hadn’t just acquired one creeper. I had multiple. Like Pokémon, but worse.
I wasn’t exactly in a position to judge anyone for lurking, but still…being the one on the other side of it felt wrong. Especially when the only person I’d ever want watching me was Matty.
The wind shifted, carrying what sounded like a hushed argument from behind the building. A sharp shh. Then the unmistakable slap of a hand hitting a forehead.
I groaned under my breath. “This would be a really inconvenient time to be murdered.”
The whispers started again, fast and panicked, like middle schoolers caught playing ding-dong ditch.
“She’s looking this way—”
“I told you to stay lower—”
“Well, you’re the one who—”
Another frantic shush.
I stood there, bag slipping off one shoulder, staring at the corner where the voices had tangled themselves up.
Whoever these mystery women were, they weren’t exactly criminal masterminds.
All I could hope was that if I pretended hard enough not to care, maybe they’d get bored and slide back into whatever hole they’d crawled out of.
I tugged my bag higher on my shoulder, took a deep breath, and started walking again.
Behind me, someone hissed, “Go, go, go!” followed by the sound of running feet.
Yeah. Totally normal.
I stopped in my tracks, spun on my heel, and shouted, louder than I meant to, “Why exactly are you following me?”
The whispers went quiet for half a beat, and then…chaos.
More frantic whispering. “Shh!”
Another voice groaning, “Told you she’d catch us!”
I folded my arms, trying to look annoyed instead of anxious, my foot tapping against the concrete in quick, uneven bursts I couldn’t quite control.
Finally, three heads peeked out from behind the corner of the building.
Not the shady creeps I’d imagined. Not at all.
And I knew exactly who they were…even if I wasn’t supposed to.
Casey, Parker’s girl, stood in the middle, her glossy raven hair catching the light, tall and striking in that quietly intimidating way she had.
Beside her was Riley, Jace’s girl, all golden hair and long legs, the kind of pretty that made people stop mid-sentence.
The third one, equally as gorgeous, had a bright blonde ponytail and an expression halfway between excitement and panic. Natalie. Their best friend.
They exchanged quick looks, like deciding who was about to be sacrificed.
Natalie sighed dramatically and stepped out, marching toward me with her hands raised in mock surrender.
“Thank goodness,” she announced in a voice cheerful enough to carry across the entire quad.
“The spy life is exhausting.” She fluttered her hands like she’d just dropped invisible binoculars.
“But if you need me to look up anyone on the internet, I can definitely do that. My FBI-agent-level stalking skills are unmatched.”
My eyebrows climbed so high they were practically in my hairline. “What?”
“Don’t worry,” she chirped, stopping right in front of me, all smiles and dimples. “We’re harmless. Promise. Just…dedicated. In an admirably nosy way.”
Behind her, Casey groaned, dragging a hand down her face, while Riley mouthed something that looked a lot like oh my gosh.
Natalie just beamed at me like we were already best friends.
She tilted her head, eyes sparkling like I’d just been adopted into some secret sorority. “Can I call you FiFi? You look like a FiFi.”
I blinked. “Do I…know you?”
I mean, I did know them.
I’d watched them from afar every time they’d been near Matty…but obviously we’d never met in real life.
From behind her, Casey pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed like she’d aged ten years in ten seconds. “Don’t mind her,” she said dryly. “I’m Casey.” She gestured vaguely at herself, then nodded toward Riley, who gave a little wave.
“Riley,” Riley added warmly, like she was trying to balance out Casey’s deadpan.
“And Natalie!” Natalie chimed, beaming and practically bouncing on her toes. She jabbed her thumb toward her chest like I’d missed that she was introducing herself.
“You’re…dating Matty’s friends,” I blurted, my voice pitching awkwardly high.
The words tumbled out before I could reel them back, and the second they landed, I wished the ground would just split open and swallow me whole.
I’d said that too fast.
Normal people wouldn’t just know that. I could practically feel the panic creeping up my throat as I scrambled to think of something, anything, that would make it sound less like I’d been watching them for months.
I was so screwed.
All three of them exchanged glances.
“Aw, Adler does love us! He talked about us!” Natalie squealed, clapping her hands together before looping her arm through mine.
Relief crashed through me so hard my knees nearly gave out. They thought he’d told me about them. Not that I already knew…every name, every face, every photo I’d memorized like it was gospel.
Warm, bubbly, and impossible to resist, Natalie started steering me across the quad before I could even form a protest.
“It’s so nice to meet you!” she said, dragging her words out like they had been centuries in the making.
“We’ve been begging him all morning to let us meet you!
Any girl who can keep Adler in his room for twenty-four hours and convince him to skip practice…
You have powers, woman. But nooo, he’s been all growly and possessive.
‘Stay away from her, don’t scare her off, she’s mine, grumble grumble.
’ So we took matters into our own hands. ”
My brain short-circuited halfway through that sentence. “I—Wait—What?”
“Growly,” Natalie repeated cheerfully. “You know, all protective and territorial, like some giant caveman. It’s kind of hot, honestly. Very mate-for-life energy. Which, obviously, you’re into.”
I opened my mouth, closed it again, and managed a strangled, “I…”
Casey muttered something under her breath that sounded like you’re going to scare her away, while Riley smiled kindly, the same way you would at a skittish animal you don’t want to spook.
Meanwhile, Natalie squeezed my arm tighter, grinning like she’d just declared us blood sisters. “Don’t worry, FiFi. We’re totally normal.”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. Nothing. Just a faint, useless squeak like I’d swallowed a kazoo.
I wasn’t used to this. Girls. Normal—or maybe not-so-normal—girls wanting me around.
High school had been a battlefield I’d lost before I even stepped onto it.
After everything with Nico, the sideways stares, the whispers in the hall, the rumors that followed me like shadows…
well, I hadn’t exactly walked out of there with a thriving girl gang and a collection of friendship bracelets.
Standing here with three beautiful, confident women like them made something deep inside me ache. Yearn, even. I wanted to belong. I wanted them to like me so freaking much.