I glanced at Matilda, who was standing a few feet behind Laura and watching the exchange. Her dark eyes were strangely unreadable. “Were you under the impression we were waiting?”
Matilda looked surprised to be put on the spot. “I can’t remember exactly what we said.”
Kelsey turned to her. “Are you upset we didn’t wait?”
“Well,” Matilda hedged. “I don’t think upset is the right word. I guess I was just surprised that you two went without us.”
“I didn’t mean to just ditch you,” I said honestly, searching Laura’s face for clues. “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”
Laura must have realized that everyone in the immediate area was watching us, because she wiped the hurt look off her face and replaced it with a half-hearted smile. “It’s not a big deal,” she said quickly. “It’s just ... we just got our wires crossed.”
Laura plopped her tray down on the table and slid into an open chair. I was still watching her worriedly when she glanced up.
“Really, it’s fine. I probably just have PMS or something.”
“Probably.” I glanced over at Kelsey, only she wasn’t looking my way. Instead, she was focused on Matilda, and the look she was shooting our fourth roommate was not one of friendship but suspicion.
What now?
Nine
“Well, that was weird.”
“It was weird, right?”
Kelsey, Paris and I were seated in our dorm room watching television about an hour later. Matilda and Laura had managed to sit through a pouty dinner, but they had both seemed “off.” After dinner, they excused themselves to return to campus to study. On a Friday night. That wasn’t suspicious at all.
“It was definitely weird,” Kelsey agreed, although she seemed somewhat lost in thought.
“I could have sworn we all agreed to split up into two different groups,” I mused.
“We did,” Kelsey agreed. “That’s how I remember it, too. It’s not just you.”
“Then why would Laura freak out like that?”
“Laura’s always been a little needy,” Paris offered.
I shot her a hard look.
“It’s true. When we were in middle school, she would call me every day to make sure I approved of the outfit she was going to wear – including the socks.”
“That’s middle school stuff,” I countered.
“She did it in high school, too.”
“That’s annoying,” Kelsey grumbled.
That was annoying. Still, I didn’t want to attack Laura when she wasn’t there to stand up for herself. “Maybe she really did have PMS.”
“That doesn’t explain her practically crying because we didn’t wait for them for dinner,” Kelsey replied. “And that doesn’t explain why Matilda was so upset, too. I honestly thought there might be some actual tears there for a minute.”
That was a really good point.
“They acted like we betrayed them or something,” I said. “It was really weird.”
“What was weird?”
I glanced up with a smile when I saw Aric’s strong frame step into the open doorway between the common room and the hallway. He looked just good enough to ... wait, what is he doing here?
“Why is this door open?”
“Why not?” I shrugged, making room for him to sit with me on the small couch. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, dropping a quick kiss on my lips before returning to the conversation at hand.
“Because just anyone could walk in.”
“Like you?”
“Or perverts or something,” Aric countered.
“So, exactly like you,” I teased.
Aric growled, but he didn’t put a lot of effort into the menace behind it. “I’m just saying, it’s not exactly safe for you three to leave the door open like that.”
“There are three of us,” Paris pointed out.
“And it’s eight o’clock at night,” Kelsey added. “It’s not like we’re leaving it open while we’re sleeping or anything.”
“Fine,” Aric conceded the point. “It just took me by surprise. I forgot what dorm living was like.”
“What are you even doing here?” I asked. “I thought you had some fraternity thing.”
“I skipped it,” Aric replied. “I didn’t feel like going. I figured I’d come over here and see what you were doing. I wasn’t sure I was actually going to find you here. It’s a
Friday night. Why aren’t you guys out at a party or something?”
“We decided to stay in tonight and go out tomorrow,” I replied. “Kelsey had some studying to do and I’m just feeling lazy.”
Aric glanced over at Kelsey dubiously. “Studying hard?”
“We had a weird encounter at dinner and we were just gossiping about it,” I informed him.
“Weird? Did Jessica show up again?”
“Huh? No. It wasn’t Jessica. She is the devil, though.”
“You’ve told me,” Aric smirked. “So, did you have it out with Brittany about the Will situation?” Now he was fishing for information.
“No. I’m still not speaking to her.”
Aric looked mildly troubled by my assertion.
“And it’s not just because of the Will thing,” I continued. “It’s also because I find her really grating.”
“Fair enough,” Aric sighed. He obviously didn’t want to argue. “So what was the weird situation?”
I recounted our dinner adventure and then waited for him to respond. When he started laughing uncontrollably, I came to the conclusion that he wasn’t seeing the big picture. “It’s not funny.” I pinched him for emphasis.
“I’m not discounting it,” Aric said, still fighting to hold down his chuckles. “It’s just that girls have such weird problems compared to guys.”
“How so?” Kelsey asked curiously.
“Girls are worried about someone going to dinner without them and guys are just worried about actually going to dinner,” Aric replied. “It’s just a different world.
Girls have all these feelings about how the meal is presented and guys just care about the food.”
“It was weird, though,” I continued. “They were acting like we committed some major transgression.”
“Both of them?” Aric looked momentarily flummoxed.
“Both of them,” I confirmed.
Aric turned to Kelsey. “You’ve been friends with Matilda for a longer time than these two,” he said. “Is this normal for her?”
Kelsey looked uncomfortable with the question. “She’s always been a little ... .”
“Crazy?”
“Not crazy,” Kelsey shook her head. “She’s just a little high strung.”
“So why do you think she was acting that way?”
“It was more like she was letting Laura act that way and waiting to see how things would go,” I said thoughtfully, running the conversation through my mind again.
Paris looked surprised. “You’re right,” she said. “It’s like she agreed with Laura but she didn’t want to be the one to say that she agreed with Laura.”
“That’s definitely like her,” Kelsey said.
“What is?”
“She probably got Laura all riled up over it and then when it came time to confront us, she let Laura climb out on the limb alone to see what would happen.”
That was an odd thing to say – and an odd way to look at it. “The question is, why would she do it?”
“She likes to stir up trouble,” Kelsey shrugged.
“Why?”
“I think she just likes the drama.” Kelsey looked like she wanted to say more, but snapped her mouth shut instead and turned her attention back to the television. “I wouldn’t get all worked up about it. It’s not like it turned out to be some huge deal.”
“So you think she was just being dramatic?” Aric asked.
“It would be just like her,” Kelsey said. “She’s got a theatrical side to her.”
&n
bsp; She was right. I had witnessed that theatrical side. Still, something about this situation seemed off. Apparently Aric had grown bored with the topic, though. “So,” he said, running his hand up and down my arm enticingly. “I was thinking that maybe you’d let me take you to my place?”
“Really?”
“Why not?” Aric looked momentarily crestfallen.
“Why don’t you just stay here?” I countered.
Aric looked both intrigued and freaked out by the concept. “You want me to stay here? In the dorms? In a room you share with another chick? That’s going to seriously cut down on what I had in mind for you.”
“Laura says she’s going to be gone at the computer lab until at least 2 a.m.,” I pointed out. “That’s plenty of time to do whatever freaky thing you have in mind.”
Aric glanced at my bedroom thoughtfully. “I suppose it wouldn’t be so terrible,” he said. “That bed is really small, though.”
“You afraid you’re not going to fit in it?”
“I’m afraid we’re not going to fit into it together,” Aric admitted. “Still, it could be cozy.”
“So, you’ll stay?” I was surprised he was giving in so easily.
“You had me at freaky,” Aric admitted.
Kelsey sighed. “I’m sleeping with headphones on tonight.”
Paris couldn’t help but smile. “I’m going back to my room. This is just dirty enough to make Brittany’s head implode.”
Aric had lost interest in both of them, though. His gaze was fixed on me. “So, when you say freaky, just how freaky are we talking about?”
I tried to keep the smile from my face, but I wasn’t entirely successful. It was going to be an interesting night.
Ten
“You might have been right about us not fitting into this bed together,” I grumbled the next morning, trying to shift so I wasn’t actually in danger of falling off the bed and onto the cold linoleum.
“I slept fine,” Aric murmured sleepily, pulling me closer to his warm body as he attempted to drift back off to dreamland. “You didn’t?”
“No, I did for most of the night. This bed is just a little narrow compared to yours.”
Aric’s bare chest rumbled. “So, I’m guessing most of our sleepovers are going to be at my place from now on?”
A thought suddenly occurred to me. “That’s why you agreed to stay,” I accused him. “You knew this would happen.”
“I did live in the dorms at one time,” Aric replied. “I learned this lesson a long time ago.”
I elbowed Aric in his stomach sharply. “It’s probably not a good idea to talk about learning lessons from sharing a bed with other girls when you’re in bed with me,” I suggested.
“Another lesson learned,” Aric teased, rolling over on top of me and pinning me beneath him. “I’m a fast learner.”
He pressed his lips to mine and, just when I was sinking into the kiss, he pulled up short. He adjusted his body so he could look to the other side of the room before sighing in relief. I followed his gaze to Laura’s empty bed. “Laura didn’t come home last night?”
“I guess not.” Aric climbed off of me and stood next to the bed. I took the opportunity to enjoy the view, every hard-muscled angle of it. “You don’t think anything happened to her, do you?”
I snapped back to reality – mostly – and stood beside him. “Maybe she came home and saw you were here and was too uncomfortable to sleep in here?” I suggested guiltily.
Aric cocked his head to the right before shaking it. “I don’t think so.”
“Why?”
“Because I can hear Kelsey getting dressed in the other bedroom, and I think I would have heard if the front door opened in the middle of night.”
“You can hear Kelsey getting dressed? Is that a werewolf thing?”
“Pretty much.”
“You can’t see her getting dressed, right?”
“I’m a werewolf, not Superman.”
“That’s not what you said last night.”
“That’s not what you said last night,” Aric countered. It was a flirtatious moment, but neither of us had the inclination to act on it. Worry about Laura was permeating the room.
I slipped into a pair of track pants and pulled a T-shirt over my head – watching as Aric climbed back into his clothes from the night before – and then went out into the common room. Kelsey walked out of her bedroom at the same time, and she looked as alarmed as I felt.
“Matilda didn’t come home last night.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure. Our room is really small. I would have heard her.”
She still wasn’t over me stealing the big room. At least she wasn’t being overtly hostile about it anymore.
“Do you think they’re together?” Aric asked, running a hand through his disheveled black hair.
“That would be my guess,” Kelsey answered. “It would be too much of a coincidence for them both to decide to study all night. On a Friday.”
“Are you sure they were really studying?” Aric asked the question that had been nagging me since Matilda and Laura announced they were going out the previous night.
“I’m not sure,” Kelsey hedged. “I’ve never known Matilda to do a lot of studying on the weekends. Actually, she’s not much for studying during the week either.”
“And how did you two hook up?”
“Luck of the lottery,” Kelsey shrugged.
Just then, the door to the common room opened and Matilda and Laura tumbled in, giggling hysterically. They both straightened when they saw the three of us watching them suspiciously.
“What are you guys doing up?” Laura asked, struggling to pretend she wasn’t completely hammered. Even if she had been a better actress, I still would have been able to smell it on her from ten feet away.
“It’s morning,” Kelsey said, glaring at Matilda. “In case you two haven’t noticed – which you obviously haven’t.”
“We noticed,” Matilda scoffed. “That’s what that big ball of fire in the sky symbolizes.”
Laura started giggling again. I looked her over. She was wearing the same outfit from the night before, although her makeup was smudged around her eyes and there was something weird floating around her. It was like a dark cloud that emanated from her body and followed her like an angry shadow. On closer inspection, Matilda was displaying the same weird affliction. Did anyone else see that?
“So, how was studying?” Kelsey asked pointedly.
“Oh, well, we ended up getting sidetracked,” Matilda replied, brushing past Kelsey and moving toward the bathroom. “We ended up going to a party.”
“With who?” Kelsey asked.
“Um, oh, Laura’s friend Jessica invited us to her sorority and we ended up going over there.”
Aric jerked his head in surprise. “Delta Omicron? You went to the house?”
“Yeah,” Laura said, struggling to remain standing upright. “They’re really cool and the house is really big. So much bigger than this place.”
“The house is really cool, right?” Matilda giggled.
I was having trouble focusing on what the two of them were saying because those weird shadows were still hovering around the two of them. It was really distracting.
“Zoe,” Aric said suddenly, moving his gaze to me. “You want to walk me downstairs?”
“Um, sure,” I replied, confusion etched on my face.
“I’m just going to go to bed,” Laura said wearily. “I need some sleep.”
“Me, too,” Matilda said, closing the door of the bathroom behind her.
I exchanged a concerned look with Kelsey, but followed Aric into the hall. Once the door was safely shut behind us, I waited for him to unload, which took only a few seconds.
“You need to warn them about staying away from Delta Omicron.”
“Why? I mean, other than the fact that it’s a sorority and that’s all kinds of icky all on its own?”
“Just
... those aren’t the type of girls they should be hanging around with,” Aric said forcefully.
“But you could sleep with one of them?” I shot back tartly.
“I am not going to fight with you,” Aric warned.
“Fine,” I sighed. “That was a cheap shot. I don’t understand why you’re all worked up about this, though. As annoying as I find Jessica – and she is the devil – it was a sorority party. Do you think they’re going to try to take over the world with nail polish and lip gloss?”
“No,” Aric said. “I just ... I just think you need to direct them to other people to hang out with. If they want to rush a sorority, I can give you a list of better ones.”
He was hiding something from me. “First, that’s an oxymoron. Second, … .”
“What’s an oxymoron?” Aric interrupted what was sure to be a righteous diatribe.
“Better sorority,” I grumbled.
“You need to get over your Greek hate. It’s a part of college life.”
“You don’t seem to like the Greek life any more than I do,” I pointed out.
“That’s not true ... well, that’s not entirely true. How did we get on this subject?” Aric looked frustrated.
“You were telling me why this sorority is evil but others aren’t.”
“Can’t you just take my word for it?” Aric asked, exasperated.
“Why don’t you just tell me what’s really going on,” I pressed.
“I just don’t like that sorority.”
“Why?”
“You’ve met Jessica,” Aric said. “They’re all like that.”
“They’re all evil?”
“Yes,” Aric said. “Just try to keep them away from Delta Omicron.”
This argument was getting me nowhere. “Fine.”
Aric blew out a frustrated sigh and then pulled me toward him, planting a heavy kiss on my mouth. “I’ll call you in a couple of hours.”
“Okay.” I had to think of a better way to trick the truth out of him. He wasn’t going to tell me now, so it was better to just agree with him and move on – for the time being, at least.
Once he was gone, I headed toward Paris’ room. I was happy to find her sitting on the couch alone in her common room and watching television. “Hey, you’re up early.”
3 Conjuring Page 7