Reborn(47)

He put the NICK bottle back and leaned into my desk, crossing his arms over his chest. I tried so hard not to look at the massive bulk of muscle on his upper arms. Tried and failed. I was not immune to the sight of a good-looking boy. In my room, of all places.

“What’s Anna like? Do you get along with her?” I asked.

“I didn’t use to. I do now. She’s… strong, and smart. And forgiving.” He ran a hand over his face, a very human gesture that I didn’t see him do often. “Like you, she’s been through a lot.”

“Are you and her, like, you know…” I trailed off, wondering why in the hell I’d broached that subject in the first place.

“No,” he said quickly. “She’s with Sam.”

I exhaled with relief. “So you’re not—”

“With anyone?” he asked, his voice laced with mirth. His eyes always seemed brighter when he was amused. “No.”

The heat returned to my cheeks. “It’s not really any of my business anyway.”

“I don’t mind you asking.” A pause. “Are you with anyone? Evan seems really protective of you.”

I brought my legs up and folded them beneath me on the bed. “I’m not with Evan. He’s just a friend. I’m not with anyone. Not a lot of people would feel like dealing with the crazy girl.”

He scoffed. “First of all, you’re not crazy. Second of all, Evan, as much as he is a jackass, does legitimately seem to like you.”

I looked away, feeling a smile tug at my lips. I’d liked Evan for the greater part of the past year. I would have given anything to know he felt the same way about me.

But now I wasn’t so sure what I wanted.

Nick changed everything.

He pushed away from the desk. “Will you be all right if I leave for a little while?”

“Yeah.” I could already feel the anxiety meds kicking in. I fought back a yawn. They always left me sleepy. “When will you be back?”

“Not for a while.”

I nodded. “Do you want me to bring breakfast again tomorrow?”

I wanted him to say yes more than I’d ever wanted anything.

“Sure. If you want.”

He started for the door, but paused halfway there and glanced at me over a shoulder. “You’re sure you’re okay? I can stay.”

“I’m fine.”

He nodded, as if relieved I’d declined. I didn’t blame him. No one wanted to take care of someone who was in a miserable mood. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

I smiled. “I’ll be there bright and early.”

“Not too early,” he said. “I’m not a morning person.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

I caught the barest hint of a smile on his face as he pulled the door closed.

I curled up on the bed, hugging a pillow close to my chest. The sooner tomorrow morning came, the better.





25

NICK



AS SOON AS I GOT BACK TO THE APARTMENT, I stripped off my shirt and tossed it in the corner. It was still wet at the chest.

I sucked at consoling people. In fact, I was terrible at it. A shirt soaked with tears was about all I could manage.

After finding a clean shirt in my bag, I tried Trev’s cell for the third time that day. It went straight to voice mail. I brought up the text screen and typed in, Call me back, asshole, then deleted asshole and hit send. The last bit was probably implied.

Now more than ever I had to get inside that lab. Chances were, it was the place Elizabeth had been held, and if so, there could be clues there as to what the program had been.

I had my suspicions, but I needed concrete proof.

As I waited for Trev to reply, I grabbed a bite to eat. After downing a turkey sandwich, I cleaned an apple and ate it as I stared out the front windows, zoning out, trying to put together a reliable theory about Elizabeth’s treatments.

When Trev didn’t immediately call me back, I went to plan B.

I called Anna.

“Hey,” she answered. “Everything all right?”

“You forgot the code,” I pointed out.

“If you’re reminding me of the code, then clearly Riley isn’t standing over your shoulder.”

I laughed. “That’s true.”

Anna was silent for a beat. “You laughed.”

I had.

“You never laugh,” she said.

“Are you going to give me shit or are you going to help me?”

She groaned. “What’s up?”

“I need you to call Trev and tell him I said sorry like seven times and that he needs to stop being such a pussy.”

“You talked to Trev?” she asked, ignoring the rest.

“Yes, and now he won’t talk to me.”

She sighed. “What did you do?”