26. Kirin #2
He would not dive into the text he’d seen as much as he wanted to, but he wasn’t supposed to see it and hadn’t meant to.
The last thing he wanted her to think was he’d been snooping on her phone while she was unconscious.
Whatever was going on with her, she needed time to process it, and he’d done everything he could to provide her with zero doubts about him.
Hopefully, it would be enough for her to tell him what was going on.
Her sister wants to know if I am going home with her for Christmas?
People usually consider that a big step, right? Meeting the family?
Though she’d met most of my family and it was fine.
He winced. Well, kind of.
Kirin
Do you want me to go home with you?
He wasn’t expecting a response since she should have been on her way to her first class. His thumb hovered over the lock button when his message moved, showing she’d read it. He watched the gray bubble of dots appear and disappear as she typed.
Rose
It might be a moot point. You might have family stuff, and you’ll probably be jam-packed with that.
Kirin
But do you want me to come? You can say no.
Those little gray dots appeared, disappeared, and reappeared. He watched, enraptured, as he stood by the elevator. This was a big step. It could show she was in the same headspace as he was.
The elevator ride down to the bottom level felt like it took forever, but he was just stepping out when he felt his phone buzz, and his whole body seemed to be focused entirely on the little piece of jumbled metal in his hand.
Rose
Yes, I want you to come.
He breathed a sigh of relief, letting his head fall back with his eyes closed. Another buzz had his eyes opening, his attention returning to his phone and the open thread.
Rose
I just don’t know that you’ll want to after we talk about those things I mentioned earlier.
Does she really think her being harassed by her ex-boyfriend is going to be the deterrent here?
Or is there something else, something larger?
Whatever it was, he’d at least listen, though he doubted there was much that would prevent him from going to meet her parents.
Smitten was nowhere near the best description of what he felt for Rose, but obsession sounded too sinister, and love far too early.
Right?
Kirin
We can discuss whatever you need to. What’s on your mind?
Saying he felt like a damn idiot for texting her so formally wasn’t an exaggeration.
Rose
Oh, I didn’t mean we had to discuss it now.
I don’t wanna be a distraction.
He chuckled under his breath. When hasn’t this woman been a distraction?
From the second he saw her sitting on that log, not giving him the time of day, he was hooked.
The best distraction in the world. Kirin tapped her avatar and called her, pressing his phone against his ear as he continued his trek across campus.
“Hey.” Rose’s quiet voice came through the phone, and he sighed. It was always so good to hear her voice, especially when she was talking straight into his ear.
“You’ve always been a distraction, Flower, the best kind, no need to pretend otherwise.” He heard her intake of breath. “Please tell me what’s going on. Everything I’m imagining is probably worse. It would calm me down.”
The silence that stretched between them was loud until he heard another bracing breath come through the phone.
His gut twisted at what she might be about to tell him.
“Like I told you the other week, Preston’s been messaging me since that first party.
There have been photos. I might have seen his car once or twice, but I’m not positive.
Then, yesterday, I came home to a box with an old, ripped pair of my panties in it.
I don’t even know why he’s still doing it other than to get in my head, but it’s working. ”
Dammit.
Kirin rubbed a hand over his face. She had been harassed by her ex for weeks, but she hadn’t mentioned it because she was spiraling.
He’d deleted comments, blocked as many people as he could, and then not mentioned it since, because why would he?
But did he really think that would solve the problem?
Goodwin was an asshole. Of course, he saw the photo and was using it to taunt Rose.
Sending those private photos of her was his claiming her again.
And now he was the asshole for thinking his misguided attempts to protect her did anything but add stress.
“I saw two of his messages when I picked up your phone after getting you into bed. I didn’t want you to think I was snooping, but I knew something was up, and that confirmed it.
” He sighed, rubbing his fingers over his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Rose. I swear I locked the screen after I got your music going and plugged it in. ”
Once again, silence through the phone and his heart rate sped up the longer it stretched between them until she answered, “I appreciate you telling me, but I never would have thought you were snooping, and even if I had, I wasn’t myself.
Your concern was justified. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.
I was trying to handle it myself. But the Homecoming game is Saturday.
He’s going to be on campus, and that’s the closest we’ve been to one another since I left Westmont, so I’m kind of freaking out. ”
Kirin glared ahead of him. What an asshole to make her dread him being on the same campus. “You don’t have to come to the game. You know that, right?”
Rose let out a soft, defeated breath. “I need to be there. Preston doesn’t get to rule my life anymore, and he can’t legally get close to me. It was just the reminder that he might see me. It’s dumb—a remote possibility with the number of people in the stadium, but it threw me for a loop.”
“He won’t be on campus until Friday night,” Kirin said, keeping his voice low. “I don’t want you alone until the game is over. Maybe that makes me an overbearing asshole, but I don’t trust that jackass. He might slip out and try to find you before the game.”
There was a beat of silence. “I want to be there, Kirin. I want to be there to cheer for you during your last Homecoming game.”
His heart squeezed. “And I want you to be safe.”
“Of course. I’ll even sit with Laurel,” she offered, and his mouth dropped a bit.
“Willingly?” he teased.
And she snorted, “We can discuss it.”
“Please don’t hide anything else from me. I’m not a stranger anymore.”
“I won’t. I promise.” She cleared her throat. “I should probably get to class.”
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Looking forward to it.” She lowered her voice, and he felt the insinuation, like a zap down his spine. He was developing a definite kink for her voice getting low like that.
“Damn,” he whispered, and she laughed, deep and throaty.
“Bye!” The call ended a second later, and he chuckled to himself, shoving his phone into his pocket as he got to his lecture hall.