SADIE
"I’ll wait in the car."
I look up from the half zipped suitcase on my bed to find Trey stacking two of my boxes on top of each other.
"You don’t have to carry both," I say.
"I think I’ll survive, Quiz Bowl." He lifts them like they weigh nothing. "Get the rest of your stuff."
Before I can respond, he’s already heading out of the room with the same two boxes Lola and I spent ten minutes struggling to move earlier.
I watch him disappear down the hallway, and the door hasn’t even finished swinging shut when Lola lets out a strangled little scream beside me.
I close my eyes.
"Here we go," I mutter under my breath.
Lola has been hovering near my closet the entire time Trey’s been here, pretending to help while actually watching him. Which is funny because since I told her everything last night, she hasn’t shut up about me moving in with him. She even talked about getting a picture with him, then Trey showed up at our door and one very cheerful hello was all she could manage before forgetting how to speak.
"You guys are already on a nickname basis. Oh my Goddess!" she screeches in my ear. "He actually came to help you move in!"
Honestly, that part surprised me too. I didn’t think he was serious when he offered last night, especially after all that talk about how packed his schedule is and how precious his time is.
The more I learn about Trey Mercer, the less I understand him. He acts like everything is an inconvenience, barely reacts to anything and somehow still keeps doing things I don’t expect him to do.
"Quiz Bowl is not exactly a nickname worth getting excited about," I say, giving up on the zipper for now.
Her eyes widen. "Do you know how many girls on campus would sell a kidney just to have Trey Mercer remember their names?"
I go back to checking the room for anything I might be leaving behind. "You’ve been acting weird since he got here."
"Weird?" she repeats, sounding personally offended. "Sadie, that man is basically a celebrity."
"He plays college hockey."
"For now." She drops onto the edge of my bed. "He’s going to be an NHL star, and then one day he’ll be Alpha. When that happens, I can tell everyone I knew him."
I scoff and shake my head. "You’re not even acting like your best friend is moving out to live with a guy she barely knows."
"Oh, please." Lola grabs my arm with a whine. "Of course I care. I’m going to miss having you here."
"Wow, I can tell."
"Besides, it’s not like you’re moving across the country. I’ll be at that apartment so often Trey will probably regret giving you the spare room." She grins. "I’m just excited you finally get to level up from Ezra."
I snort. "Level up? I’m his tutor."
"Yes. Major upgrade." Her grin disappears almost immediately. "And Paige? Leave her to me. I’ll make her regret everything she did to you."
Something warm settles in my chest.
For all her dramatics, Lola has been the one person I’ve never had to wonder about. She’s always on my side, even when I’m making decisions she thinks are completely stupid.
I wrap my arms around her. "Thank you."
She hugs me back immediately.
"For always having my back," I add quietly.
She pulls away just enough to look at me. "You’re my best friend. Of course I’m going to have your back."
My smile widens.
Then she smacks the top of my suitcase. "Now hurry up before you keep him waiting."
And there she goes again.
I roll my eyes and turn back to the rest of my things.
I’m technically packing light or at least, that’s what I’ve been telling myself for the past hour.
Most of my novels are staying behind, along with half my clothes and anything I know I won’t need before the end of the semester. Somehow, what’s left has still managed to fill a suitcase, two boxes and a duffel bag.
Maybe my definition of packing light needs work.
Fifteen minutes later, I finally wrestle the suitcase shut and straighten with a sigh. "That’s everything."
Lola follows me to the door as I drag it behind me, and I stop for one last look around our room.
It already looks different with half my things gone. My side of the room is bare in places it’s never been bare before, and suddenly, this whole thing feels a lot more real.
I’m really moving in with Trey Mercer. Ezra’s brother. A man I’ve already watched kill two rogues with concerning ease.
This might be the worst idea I’ve ever had and considering my recent decisions, that’s saying something.
Lola walks me all the way to the elevator, and when we stop in front of it, she pulls me into another hug.
"You better call me," she says against my shoulder. "Or I’ll blow up your phone."
I laugh and squeeze her tighter. "Then I’ll blow up yours."
The elevator doors slide open and we finally pull apart.
"Go." She waves me inside. "Bye, Quiz Bowl."
"Don’t start."
Her laugh follows me as the doors slide shut, but the second I’m alone, my smile slowly slips away.
I tighten my grip around the handle of my suitcase as the numbers above the doors tick downward.
"This is good," I whisper to myself, sucking in a deep breath.
I have a job again. I’ll keep my health coverage. I won’t turn rogue. And for the first time since Ezra rejected me, it feels like my life might actually be moving forward instead of falling apart.
So I’m going to make the best of it.
I’ve spent enough of my life keeping my head down because it was easier than making trouble, letting people say whatever they wanted because fighting back usually made things worse. Maybe that worked when I was sixteen and had nowhere else to go, but I’m twenty-one now and I’m tired of being the easiest person in the room to hurt.
Whoever wants to try next is going to have a much harder time.
The elevator dings and the doors slide open.
I grab the handle of my suitcase, ready to drag it out, but the second I look up, I stop.
A familiar head of red hair is the first thing I see.
Then Paige turns toward me.
Well, that didn’t take long. I make one brave little speech to myself and the devil immediately sends Paige to see if I meant it.
My hand tightens around the suitcase handle as our eyes meet. She looks ridiculously overdressed, as always, especially next to me in a boho skirt and plain shirt with my hair twisted into a bun.
Somehow, seeing her makes that little speech I gave myself feel much easier said than done. The hotel room flashes through my head. Her palm against my cheek. Her foot in my stomach. Her laughter.
I swallow hard as anger rises right alongside the memories, but I step out of the elevator anyway.
I’m almost past her when her voice stops me.
"Not so fast."
My jaw clenches.
"Can’t you tell?" she says behind me. "That I’m here for you."