CHAPTER NINE
ANNA’S POV
“But seriously, that guy really likes you.
That was Sasha, my new friend, the girl I met on my second day of school. We were walking out of class, finally done with our last lecture for the day, and it was already 6 p.m. The sun was starting to dip, but I wasn’t really thinking about the time. I was still replaying Ryan’s words from this morning over and over in my head like a broken record.
Sasha nudged me as we walked. “Are you even listening?
I blinked. “What?”
She laughed. “That guy, Leo or Liam or whatever his name is, the one who’s always offering to carry your bog. I’m telling you, he really likes you.”
I shrugged, not even trying to hide the blank look on my face. “Well, I don’t like him.”
She gasped. “Girl, you’re hot. And you make most guys trip just by existing. They’re all over you. Literally. Like flies on sugar. Pick one already.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t want them.”
And I didn’t. I just didn’t. None of them mattered. None of them could make me feel a damn thing. I kept trying, kept smiling politely, kept pretending I was open to something new, but I wasn’t. My mind, my heart, my entire being was still stuck in that damn house, with him.
Sasha sighed, linking her arm with mine as we kept walking. She was this super outgoing, loud type of girl who somehow mode everyone want to be around her. We clicked from the moment we sat next to each other during our first lecture. Since then, we’d been walking to classes together, hanging out during lunch breaks, sharing notes. She stayed at the dorm, though. I didn’t.
I stayed at Ryan’s house.
Well… not for long.
Spsha suddenly lit up, as if she’d just remembered something exciting. “Oh! There’s this bar having a thing tonight. College night. Girls from all the campuses are going. Hot guys. Great music. And it’s like twenty minutes from here. You should come. We could go together. It’d be fun.”
My first instinct was to say no. I opened my mouth to tell her I wasn’t interested, that I didn’t do stuff like that, that I wasn’t in the mood, but then I remembered the way Ryan looked at me this morning.
Like he couldn’t even bear to be in the same room as me.
Like I was a mistake he couldn’t undo fast enough.
I hadn’t even packed my things. He told me to. Told me he’d gotten me a new apartment near school, that I should move out by the weekend. And even though I tried not to let it hurt, it did. It really did.
I didn’t want to leave his house. I didn’t want to stop seeing him or how he looked at me like I was some kind of fucking temptation he couldn’t stand. As messed up as it was, I’d rather be ignored under the same roof than not
see him at all.
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So maybe staying out late tonight wasn’t a bad idea.
“Yes,” I said.
Sasha blinked, then gasped. “Wait–really?!”
I nodded. “Yeah. Why not.”
She squealed, bouncing like a kid. “Yes! Girl, you’re gonna love it. You’ve never been to a bar before, have you?”
I hesitated. “No. Never.”
“Good. Even better. We’re popping your bar cherry. This is gonna be fun. Just trust me. I’ve got you. We’re going to my dorm right now to get ready. And don’t worry, I’ve got outfits. What size are you again? You know what, doesn’t matter, I’ve seen your body. I’ll find something.”
1 laughed a little, despite myself. Her energy was insane, but I kind of liked it. It was a distraction. And maybe that’s exactly what I needed right now. Something, anything, to stop me from going home and packing my life. into a stupid suitcase. Something to stop me from crying again like I did this morning
Sasha pulled me along, chatting the whole way as we walked across campus toward the dorms. She kept talking about which heels to wear, which top would make me look hotter, which guys would be there, and how we were absolutely getting drunk tonight.
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