Chapter 6
Sunday flew by, and while I spent most of my time at the house, it felt like something shifted.
Roderick didn’t let me help with dinner, instead urging me to do homework, go work out at the gym, or even take a nap.
And while all of those things were fine, necessary even, it didn’t feel right to me.
Something was off, but I let it go after everything that went down on Saturday. Maybe they just needed time to adjust.
Surprisingly, Spencer no longer looks at me like he wants to kill me.
Instead, he hardly looks at me at all. Sunday morning, I took my coffee to the library to read.
When he came in about an hour later, instead of leaving as he used to when I was anywhere he was, he sat at a table and worked on his laptop.
He didn’t say a word to me, and the silence was almost worse than the shouting matches we used to have.
A few times, I looked up from my book to find him glancing my way, but the moment I caught his eye, he’d look away.
It was beyond frustrating, and after the fourth or fifth time I’d had enough, I wanted to yell at him and make him fight back.
But something told me that wouldn’t work, so instead, I took my coffee back to my room to read alone.
Zander was the only one who didn’t seem any different, but I really couldn’t be sure, seeing as he was gone most of the day.
Apparently, he and Trent spent the day at his garage working on Trent’s dad's motorcycle. I was a bit confused by that, but I liked Trent, and I wasn’t going to question it if they were going to find a way to get along.
Sunday night, Zander came home super excited they had gotten it running.
He went on and on about a lot of things I didn’t understand, but I was more than happy to listen and nod along, unwilling to dampen his mood.
After he showered off all the grime and grease from the shop, we sat in my bed as he gave me a play-by-play of the entire process they went through to get the bike running.
He didn’t make it far before he passed out right there, clearly getting the bike running was a lot of work.
I didn’t have the heart to wake him. He looked so tired when he was telling me, and then once he was asleep, he looked so adorable.
So instead, I just curled up next to him and let his even breaths lull me to sleep, hoping this would be okay with him.
When I woke up this morning, he was gone.
I found him ready and down in the kitchen after I got ready and went down for coffee.
He was all smiles and his usual playful self, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something just wasn’t the same with any of them.
The ride to school wasn’t uncomfortable exactly, but it wasn’t the same as last week.
The minute we parked and got out of the car, I headed to class.
Zander caught up with me long enough to let me know I could text him if I needed anything before he dropped a kiss on the top of my head and headed off to his own class.
He was there and gone so quickly I didn't even get the chance to talk to him before I stood alone again.
Feeling silly just standing around, I headed to class.
I’d hoped to find Hazel and walk with her, but after a few glances around, I still hadn’t seen her. I walked to class alone, letting my thoughts run away from me since I had a moment to myself.
Movement to my right pulls me from my thoughts as I watch Trent drop into the chair next to me.
Trent smiles at before he begins pulling things from his bag, and I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about the possibility of scaring him off, but it looks like I might have been worried about nothing.
“Morning,” he says as he turns on his laptop and stores his bag under his chair.
“Hazel wasn’t sure if you were here this morning.
She was looking to walk with you but said she didn’t see you, so I wasn’t sure if you would be here or not,” he says, turning to face me.
“Not that I would blame you after the weekend you had. Shit.” He’s rambling now, and I feel the smile on my face grow as I watch him purse his lips in annoyance.
He takes a deep breath before he tries again. “I just meant it’s good to see you.”
“Wow, that was hard to watch.”
I lean back further in my chair to look around Trent, finding Leo in the chair next to him, just like he was last week, and I give him a smile in greeting. Leo smiles back for a moment before he winces as Trent punches his shoulder.
“Shut it,” Trent hisses, but Leo laughs.
“Well, I thought it was adorable,” I tell them both. Turning on my own computer, which I still have about zero idea how to use. At least I know how to turn it on now.
Trent turns away from Leo and back to me with a smile that could light a dark room. It’s so intense it catches me off guard, and I have to fight the urge to look away.
He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can, our professor walks in and calls for quiet in the room. I turn my attention to her, but I can still feel Trent’s eyes on me; he looks at me for so long that I have to fight the urge to squirm in my seat.
Finally, I can’t take it anymore. I turn to face him, expecting him to look away now that I’ve caught him staring, but he doesn’t.
Instead, he smirks, “What?” I whisper-shout at him, trying not to draw attention to us but feeling heat slowly creep up my cheeks under his gaze.
“You really can’t handle attention, huh?” he asks, and his question throws me off. He phrased it like a question, but his tone says he already knew this.
“Zander told me you don’t handle attention very well,” he explains, and fuck, is he getting closer? “But I would have to disagree. I think you handle it adorably.” He’s definitely closer now, almost entirely in my face. I open my mouth to respond, but no words come out.
Did he just call me adorable?
Is this how he felt when I said it to him earlier?
“Oh God, her cheeks are so red!” Leo exclaims with a chuckle. I swear I could kill him, if only I could pull my eyes away from Trent. He’s right, though. My cheeks feel like they’re on fire.
Fuck, I wish there was a fire so that I could get away right now.
A throat clears at the front of the room, pulling Trent's gaze away, and he leans back into his seat. The moment he does, I feel like I’ve broken out of a trance, my brain slowly starting to function again.
I hear the professor ask Trent something, but I can’t focus on the conversation as I turn my attention back to my laptop. Trent says something in response, and she goes back to her lecture.
I spend the rest of the class with my eyes forward, hoping I look like I’m paying attention.
Of course, I don’t understand a damn thing she went over since I missed our study session on Saturday, but I’d rather stare at math than try to figure out what the hell that was or risk looking at Trent and having it happen again.
It feels like I’ve been in the classroom for days when the bell finally rings to dismiss us.
I’d packed up my computer a while ago, opting to figure out today’s math in my notebook instead.
I didn’t even finish one problem, and I refuse to ask Trent for help right now.
Even the thought of asking him makes my cheeks heat again.
No. Nope, can’t do it.
I’ll message Hazel about it later.
I scoop up my notebook, not even bothering to put it in my bag, and bolt for the door. I’m one of the first ones up, but since we sit about halfway up the rows, I still get stopped by a few people in the front who are leaving at a much slower pace.
I choke down a groan of frustration.
“Where’s the fire?” Trent asks as he comes up behind me. I can hear the humor in his words even though I refuse to turn and see the smirk I’m sure is plastered on his face.
Why does the world hate me?
“No fire,” I tell him, squeezing around a couple of girls that stopped to ogle and talk to Trent, hoping to get past them and leave him behind.
It doesn't work. He sidesteps them the same way I did and is back at my side in an instant, as if the girls hadn’t even been there.
As I walk away with Trent, I steal a glance back at the girls and see both of their eyes locked on me. Neither of them looks happy.
Great. Just what I need, more jealous girls who hate me.
Not that I can’t handle them, but man, does college have to be so cliché?
I’ve heard stories of mean girls, not many, honestly, but enough.
My time as an escort showed me plenty of mean girls in everyday life, galas, dinners, and charity auctions.
Nothing is safe from women who think they deserve something you have, and so far, I can’t say I disagree.
But if all they do is throw mean looks and rumors around, they’re no concern of mine.
These girls couldn’t hurt me if I handed them a knife to do it with.
“What’s with the wicked smile?” Trent asks, startling me from my thoughts and reminding me I’m not alone.
Shit, that’s the second time today I let myself get distracted in a very public place.
“Oh, nothing,” I say too quickly for it to be believable as I attempt to school my features, hoping to look less murderous. “Where’s Leo?” I ask him to change the subject.
The smile on his face dims a bit but doesn’t fall away. “He said he left his gym bag in Jake’s car and had to go grab it before weight training.” He raises a brow at me when I glance in his direction. “But you would know that if you hadn’t run out of class so quickly.”
“I didn’t run.” I shoot back because I didn’t. I may have walked very quickly, but I didn’t run.
“I’m just excited to go to weight training.” It’s not a lie. I am excited, but it still feels lame when I say it out loud, and I huff a sigh of frustration.
“I thought you had kickboxing today?”