You’re the Reason, стр. 11
“Why aren’t you dressed?” Valerie’s roommate Tina asked me.
I leaned against my desk. “I’m staying in tonight.”
“Why?” another girl asked as if I’d lost my mind.
Valerie leaned against the desk beside me. “Please come.”
“I’m just not feeling it. Next time.”
Her lips twisted regrettably. I was starting to see she liked having me around. I’d become a sort of buffer between her and the others. “Text if you change your mind.”
I nodded, feeling guilty for not being there for her.
Within minutes, the girls were up and heading out. Valerie looked over her shoulder. “You sure?”
I nodded. “Have fun.”
Once the room had emptied out and silence filled the small space again, I switched on the television and chose a movie to stream. I climbed under my blankets and settled in, watching my movie in peace. Once it ended, I contemplated beginning a new one.
My phone pinged beside me, pulling my attention to it. I grabbed it and checked the screen. It came from an unknown caller. Didn’t take you for someone who followed orders.
I typed a reply. Who is this?
The text appeared almost immediately. How many people give you orders?
My heart rate quickened. I knew there was only one person who’d send that text. And by now, he would’ve realized I followed that order and hadn’t shown up with the others. I stared at my screen, waiting for another text. But another one didn’t come.
What had his text meant? Was he challenging me? Taunting me? Laughing at me?
For a minute, I considered going to the party. But as much as staying away from Kappa Sigma had given Chase what he wanted, showing up would’ve been doing the same. He was making this a challenge. He was testing me. But why?
And, why had he followed me home from the library? Was he really just worried about my safety?
I checked the time. Eleven-fifteen.
Hmmm.
I rolled off my bed and moved to my closet, looking for something to wear—if I decided to go.
I could just show my face, check on Valerie, then get the hell out to prove I did what I wanted? Or, I could just stay home and forget the text ever came.
Dammit.
I grabbed a pair of jeans from the stack on the top shelf of the closet and a sleeveless black shirt with sparkles along the bottom and pulled them on. For someone who didn’t want me walking on campus alone, he had to know he was forcing my hand and making me do it.
After pulling my hair up into a high ponytail, I stepped outside. For a Saturday night, campus was dead. I looked around, knowing I was about to do something incredibly stupid.
A car idled by the curb with a man in the driver’s seat. “Sophia?” he called through the open passenger window.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I ducked my head to speak to him. “Who’s asking?”
“Your Uber driver.”
“I didn’t order an Uber,” I challenged.
“Your friend did.”
My friend? Right. “Where are you supposed to take me?”
“Kappa Sigma.”
I scoffed. “Of course you are.”
Was this his idea of an olive branch? Or, was I just that predictable?
I pulled the door open and slipped into the backseat of the car, cursing every move I made. As we drove, I stared out the window at the deserted campus, wondering why I was doing this. Was I proving I didn’t take orders? Or was I doing the complete opposite and proving I did?
The car stopped in front of Kappa Sigma a few minutes later. Light poured out of the windows. I pushed open the car door and stepped out, glancing back at my driver. “Thanks.”
I made my way up the sidewalk to the pounding of bass beneath my feet, hating every step I took. I steered clear of stupidity. So why was I there?
I climbed the front steps and paused. I didn’t need to do this. I had nothing to prove.
I turned back around.
“Where are you going?” a deep voice asked.
I inhaled sharply. My eyes shifted to the side of the front porch where the voice had come from. Ryan sat there, his phone in his hand. A relieved breath rushed out of me. “You scared me.”
He laughed. “Sorry. You just looked unsure if you wanted to go in or leave.”
I walked over and sat beside him on a glider chair. “Why are you all alone out here?”
He shrugged. “Sometimes it gets to be too much in there.”
“I bet.”
We sat in silence for a long time. Crickets chirped in the dark and a passing car sped by.
“Thanks for making me feel welcome last time I was here,” I said.
“I could tell you were uncomfortable.” He looked to me and grinned. “And it was clear you weren’t like the Alpha Phis. They can be a little…”
“Extra?”
He chuckled. “Intimidating.”
I shrugged. “I think they’re all just trying to figure out where they fit in. Isn’t that what we’re all just trying to do, really?”
He thought about it for a minute, then nodded. “I think you’re right.”
I bumped him with my shoulder. “I’m always right. You best remember that.”
He laughed as he pushed himself to his feet. He turned to me and extended his hand. “Come on, Maine. Let’s go fit in.”
I smiled as I grabbed hold of his hand and walked inside the crowded house. Music echoed from below as we made our way through the packed hallway toward the basement door. He didn’t release my hand as he led me downstairs. We stopped on the second to last step, taking