Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“Now you can go,” Jayden said to Amanda.
“Funny you say that, because I actually do have to go. I’m meeting a friend for pizza.”
Something about the way her cheeks flushed lightly clued me in. “A guy?”
“Yeah. We’ve been on a couple of dates now.” She looked both pleased and a little embarrassed.
“Maybe we can meet for coffee sometime this week and you can tell me all the details.”
“I’d like that,” she said as she gathered up her things.
“And we’d like that,” Jayden said. “Not having to hear the details during study group,” he elaborated, and I laughed. Lucas’s head would probably explode if his studying was delayed by Amanda and I talking about a guy.
“I’ll see you all on Thursday,” Amanda said, before looking at me. “You okay?”
“Yes.”
Jayden looked at me a bit curiously as Amanda left, but I knew exactly what she’d been asking. She wanted to make sure I was okay being the only woman left. I was, but it was nice that she checked.
“Your turn, Tori,” Roger said. “Then we can get back to work.” Not the nicest thing to say, but we were all a bit on edge. The fall semester had barely started, and our professors were already piling on the work.
“I, um, moved too.” I glanced at Jayden. “Twice, actually.”
“Twice?” Lucas echoed.
“Yeah. The first place didn’t work out.” I didn’t mention the second place hadn’t, either.
“Well, I hope your new roommates aren’t as grumpy as mine.” Jayden gave me a wink and Lucas scowled.
We worked for another hour after that, and when Roger closed his laptop and said he had to go, we were all ready to wrap things up.
Lucas blinked and rubbed his eyes. “We have to set goals.”
Oh yeah, I’d forgotten that part of it. We hadn’t done it last week, but last year, at the end of every session we’d shared what we hoped to get done before next session.
I rooted through my backpack while the others stated their goals. I expected to feel the soft leather cover of my combination planner and journal, but as my fingertips brushed the seam of the bag, I remembered. It wasn’t here.
“Tori?” Jayden and the others were looking at me expectantly. “It’s your turn.”
It took me a moment to gather my thoughts. Without my journal, I felt disorganized and a little scattered. “Um, just to finish the rough draft of that paper for my English class. Oh, and I have to contact my partner for my statistics class.” There was a post-it I’d used as a bookmark in my textbook. I pulled it out and jotted down my goals.
When I finished, Lucas was staring at me. “What happened to that pink journal?”
“Oh yeah,” Jayden said. “You always kept your goals and notes in there. What happened to it? Did it get full?”
My heart sank, but I kept my tone light. “I haven’t seen it in a while. I think it got left behind when I moved.”
“It seems strange to see you without it,” Roger said.
“Yeah. It kind of feels like my right arm is missing.” I shrugged as if it didn’t matter, but it did.
“So why don’t you just get it from your old place? I can give you a ride,” Jayden asked, which was kind of him. But transportation wasn’t the issue—I had my own car.
“Thanks, but it’s fine.” I looked around. It was clear that none of them believed me. We’d spent a lot of hours together around this table, and they knew me pretty well. “The thing is, things didn’t end really great with my roommate, and I just—it’s just better to get another planner.” I sighed. What I’d just said was an understatement.
“Did you have a fight with her?” Lucas asked.
“Him,” I corrected, ignoring the way Lucas’s eyebrows shot up. “And yes, kind of. I just don’t feel comfortable going there alone.”
“So don’t,” Jayden said.
I nodded, a little glumly. The campus bookstore likely had dozens of different kinds of journals. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
“He meant don’t go there alone,” Lucas clarified. “We’ll go with you.”
“Really?” The word had come out quicker than the assurance that it didn’t matter.
“Really,” Lucas said, and his eyes met those of Jayden and Roger. They both nodded. “Let’s go.”
2
LUCAS
Jayden drove, and Roger sat up front with him. Tori and I were in the back of the SUV, just a foot and a half separating us. The occasional streetlight lit up her face, but other than that, I couldn’t see much of her.
But I saw enough to catch the tightness in her jaw, the way her fingers gripped the hems of her sleeve like she was bracing for something. I’d spent a lot of time in our study group last year studying her instead of my books, and I knew she was uneasy.
The question was why. She’d let slip that her last roommate was male. That wasn’t that uncommon these days, but had he just been her friend? Or boyfriend?