Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Sitting at my favorite spot in the library, I continued to doodle in my notebook.
Adan was sitting across from me, typing on his laptop, completely in the zone.
Meanwhile, I was having trouble concentrating.
Thoughts of Rowan bombarded me. On one side of the page, I kept drawing hearts.
On the other, the letter “x” over and over, each one touching.
Should I date Rowan? It was probably a bad idea to get involved with someone like him.
My initial thought was absolutely not. Which was why I was seriously considering it.
I was trying to convince myself this was one of those times where I needed to turn my no into a yes.
But deep down, I wanted to. The chemistry between us was so powerful, I couldn’t stay away from him.
“Earth to Laney,” Adan said, waving his hand in front of my face.
I shook my head. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me. You’re the one who was all I need to study. No talking. Focus. And now you’re the one breaking your own rules.”
I was. And I did need to focus because I had a ton of studying to do.
But Rowan had kissed me. It had been short and brief.
But holy hell, it had been incredible. I definitely wanted to do it again.
And when I’d asked where he’d take me on a date, and he chose a unique camp-like date, I’d almost melted right there on the spot.
Adan chuckled. “What is it? Did your date with Clayton go that well?”
I’d completely forgotten about Clayton. He’d called a few times, but I’d ignored him. I texted him that I was busy. He was just coming on too strong, and I wasn’t interested.
Adan’s phone vibrated, and he glanced down at it. “Hey, Rowan is looking for you. I’m gonna let him know you’re here.”
“Okay.” I chewed on the top of my pen for a minute. “You can share my contact info with him. That way he can text me himself.”
“You got it.”
A few minutes later, the elevator pinged and Rowan stepped out, his eyes immediately locking on mine.
I sucked in my breath at the sight of him.
As he strode across the room toward me, he seemed different somehow.
His muscles looked tense, his mouth tight, his eyes hard.
He didn’t radiate the normal warmth I felt around him.
I don’t know how I knew it, but something was wrong.
When he reached our table, Adan looked at him, as if waiting for instructions.
“Out,” Rowan said, making my skin prickle. “I want to speak to Laney alone.” He folded his arms, not looking my way.
I didn’t like the way he spoke to Adan. He was supposed to be Adan’s friend, not his parent. He had no right to be ordering him around.
Without a word, Adan shut his laptop, slid it into his backpack, and stood.
“You’re leaving?” I asked, surprised he was listening to Rowan. Adan didn’t have to go.
He nodded. “I’ll catch you later.” Without looking at Rowan, he strode from the room.
I flipped my notebook over so Rowan wouldn’t see what I’d been doodling in it. “Are you just going to stand there?” I asked, my irritation growing. If he wanted to date me, this was not the way to behave and not the way to treat people.
He glanced about the room, as if seeing who was here, before taking a seat across from me.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, setting my pen down so I wouldn’t chuck it at his head.
Rowan was staring at me with narrowed eyes, making me uncomfortable.
“Let’s talk about this.” He pulled out an insulin container, setting it on the table between us.
Shock rolled through me. “Is this mine?” I picked it up, examining it.
It had the unique marking on the side that indicated it was from my mom’s lab.
“Where’d you get this?” I demanded. Some of the liquid was gone, but not all of it.
I had no idea when he’d stolen this from me or what he’d done with it.
My heartbeat increased, and fear coated my skin.
I tried to stay calm to hear what he had to say.
However, I couldn’t think of a single reason for him to have taken my medicine.
The man sitting before me was a total stranger.
I’d been a fool to let him in my room, to trust him.
This was exactly what my mom always warned me about.
“That, Laney Lake, is yours. I got it from your fridge.” He folded his arms, still staring at me.
He’d stolen my medicine? If I’d needed that and didn’t have it, I could have died. He could have been responsible for my death. My hands began to sweat, and I felt lightheaded. “Why would you take that?” I’d told him I had diabetes.
“That’s not insulin.” The lines around his eyes became more prominent. His pupils shifted, frightening me. “Tell me what’s in that and why you take it.” It sounded like a command meant to be obeyed.
Something brushed against my skin, and I automatically answered, “That’s my insulin. I take it for my diabetes.” I hadn’t meant to say that. It was as if I’d been compelled to answer.
He leaned forward against the table, his eyes locked on me. “Don’t lie.”
“Why would I lie about something like this?” I didn’t understand why he was interrogating me. I wanted him to leave.
“Why isn’t your name or the drug listed on this?”
I kept my mouth shut this time. He didn’t need to know that my mother made my medicine in her lab to not only monitor my insulin and make adjustments as needed, but to cut down on cost. My stomach cramped, and I leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table.
My hands were shaking. “I don’t have it in me to argue with you right now. ” Screw dating him. He was too much.
“Laney.” He reached forward, pulling my hands away from my face. “This isn’t insulin.” His eyes shone with sincerity. He honestly believed my medication wasn’t insulin.
Instead of bothering to argue with him, I simply picked up my notebook and slid it into my bag, zipping it closed.
“Do you know what’s in those injections?” His voice was soft, and his face had lost the hard edge it had only moments ago.
I ignored him. This was an entirely different level of crazy that I didn’t want to deal with.
“I think you know what’s in there.” He placed his hand on my arm, trying to keep me there. “I want you to know that I know. I know what you are. I know what you’re trying to do. Whoever you’re working for, it’s not going to work. I won’t let you destroy us.”
I stood. “I don’t know what the actual fuck you’re talking about,” I said, not bothering to keep my voice down. “But I want you to leave me the hell alone. You’re psychotic.” I grabbed my bag and practically ran across the room to the elevator, needing to get far away from Rowan.
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside, not breathing until they closed.
Maybe there was something wrong with him, because whoever that man was I’d just spoken to, he wasn’t the same person who’d been with me in my room a few nights ago.
For the rest of the week, I avoided Rowan.
If I saw him across the quad or in the library, I’d turn and walk the other way.
The situation still irritated me beyond belief.
If he’d changed his mind and no longer wanted to date me, fine.
All he had to do was say so. Concocting a ridiculous lie was not only unnecessary, it was cruel.
Every time I thought back to him sitting there with my insulin vial, I wanted to cry.
Who did that sort of thing? He’d stolen my medicine.
I couldn’t believe I’d almost dated him.
On Friday, I entered my genetics lab class and took my seat.
Adan was already there, but I ignored him.
Somehow knowing he was friends with Rowan made me mad.
Adan had to know about Rowan’s lie. If anything, he should be on my side, defending me.
Him not doing anything irked me because it made him complicit.
During the lab, Adan didn’t even try talking to me. We simply did the lab, all business. After, when I was walking out, he trailed me.
“Can we talk?” he asked, his voice low.
I kept walking, exiting the building and heading around the side of it to a quiet spot shaded by a large tree. “What?”
“Please don’t be mad at me,” he said, his eyes pleading. “I had nothing to do with it.”
But he knew about it and understood that I was upset. “I don’t want to talk about Rowan and his delusions.”
Adan adjusted the straps of his backpack and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “What if he’s right?” He scrunched his nose.
I rolled my eyes. “If it’s not insulin, then what have I been injecting myself with? And how come when I don’t take it right on time, I start to feel off?”
“Off how?”
I rarely took my medication late, but when I had, I noticed a few things.
“My body starts to shake, and I’ll get a fever.
” I didn’t know why we were talking about this.
“Look, I’m mad at Rowan. Why would he come up with such a ridiculous story?
” Irritation coursed through me. “All he had to do was say he didn’t want to date me or he wasn’t interested.
He didn’t have to go to such extreme lengths to scare me off.
” I rubbed my forehead. “He stole my medicine. How fucked up is that?”
“I know it’s not right that he took one of your injections and had it tested.”
“No, it’s definitely not okay. How’d you find out about it?” I wondered if Rowan had told his rugby friends and if they were all laughing at me.
“Rowan was worried about you. He talked to me about it.”
I hadn’t expected that. “Why?” I demanded. If Adan knew more than he was letting on, he needed to tell me. We were friends, and friends were honest with each other.
“Promise you’ll listen to me and you won’t get mad, okay?”
This meant that whatever he was going to say would make me mad.
“Please?” he asked, his voice soft and urgent.
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll listen and hear you out.” It was the least I could do.