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)
“Nice house,” Jayden said. “How long have you lived here?”
Tori led me down the hall, and while it wasn't a long distance, her steps grew slower. I felt the urge to take her hand again. Maybe if I hadn’t spent the majority of my time worrying about my grade point average last year, we’d be closer. And the kind of friends who could do that.
She pushed open the bedroom door cautiously, as if it might bite, and stepped into a room with a full-size bed, a bookshelf, a dresser, and a desk. Her pink journal was on the top of the dresser. She looked relieved to see it, and she grabbed it and hugged it to her chest like a long-lost friend.
“Do you want to look around and see if you left anything else here?”
“I probably should,” she said. “I packed up pretty quickly.”
I nodded with understanding. She checked the closet and came out with a sweatshirt and a couple of empty hangers.
“These are mine,” she said.
I smiled. “I didn’t suspect you of stealing. And even if you did, it kind of looks like that guy deserves it.”
She gave me a faint smile before looking around the rest of the room.
“Anything under the bed?” I asked.
“I don't think so, but...”
I knelt and lifted the dust ruffle so I could see under the bed. A moment later, I straightened up, holding out a pair of lavender slippers to her. But Tori wasn't looking at me. She was staring at the bookcase, and I saw a shelf near the top where it seemed she had kept her books, judging by the shapes in the dust. Her fingers curled so tightly around the journal that her knuckles paled. She wasn’t breathing. I moved closer. “What is it?”
She lifted a shaky finger and gestured to the shelf. “That's where I found the camera.” Her voice was brittle, and so quiet I could barely hear.
“What camera?” I asked, confused.
“The one he put right here.”
Her meaning hit me like a ton of bricks. Her roommate had planted a camera in her room? A camera. Pointed at her bed. That fucking asshole.
I put my arm around her shoulder, something I never would have dared to do under any other circumstance.
“God, I'm sorry, Tori. I can’t even imagine how you must’ve felt when you found it. Do you want to contact the police?”
“No,” she said immediately. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like she leaned closer against my side. “I don’t think he—I think I found it right away, but… I just want to get out of here.”
“Understood.”
But as we turned toward the door, Todd appeared. His eyes darkened when he saw my arm around his former roommate.
“Tori, can we talk for a minute? Alone,” he had the nerve to say.
“Not a chance,” I snapped.
“What? This doesn't concern you.”
“Get out of her way.”
I’d never been what you'd consider a tough guy. My high school years were spent as president of the debate club and the chess club, and I’d even taken Latin, for God's sake. But if Todd put a single finger on Tori, he would regret it.
“Get out of our way,” I repeated.
“Look, pal, I don't know who you are, but this is my house.”
Jayden stepped up behind him. “Get this asshole away from her,” I growled, and Jayden’s eyes narrowed. He grabbed Todd's arm and hauled him back into the hallway. Roger stepped up, and they both blocked Todd's path as I ushered Tori out of there.
“This is my home,” Todd sputtered again. But we didn't pause. Tori’s shoulders trembled as we stepped onto the porch, her breath coming in uneven bursts. Not until we were fully in the cool night air did she inhale deeply. Jayden and Roger caught up to us.
“What the hell was that?” Roger asked. But Jayden said nothing. He'd seen the look on Tori's face, and he trusted me not to pick a fight with some random guy without good reason.
“It's nothing,” Tori said, but we all knew it wasn't true. Still, this had happened to her, not us, and she was the one who got to decide how to deal with it. “Can we just go?” she asked.
“Sure.” I opened her door and waited until she climbed inside before handing her slippers. Then I walked around to the other side of the car, where Jayden was waiting by the driver's door.
“What happened?” he said in a low voice.
“I'll tell you later,” I said just as low.
We drove off, and Roger requested that we drop him off a couple streets ahead. When Jayden had pulled in front of his apartment building, Roger turned a little awkwardly in his seat.
“Hope you have a good night, Tori.” His tone was gentler than I’d ever heard it.
After he was gone, I offered Tori the front seat, but she said she was fine where she was.