“Why don’t you want to tell me?”
Kade said, “Writers don’t normally share their work until it’s published. Something about needing their privacy.”
“And how would you know that?” Nikoli asked.
“I dated a writer for about a week.” Kade popped a piece of sausage into his mouth. “She got all pissy when I peeked at what she was writing.”
“That sounds about right,” Lily agreed. “Come near mine and you’ll get hurt.”
“Come on now, Lily Bells,” Nikoli wheedled. “Let me read it.”
“No.”
“Just the first chapter?”
“No.”
“Leave it be, Nikoli,” Kade said. “She’ll hurt you. Don’t you see that gleam in her eye that says she’s ready to stab you with her fork?”
“Lily wouldn’t hurt me,” Nikoli scoffed.
“Wanna bet?” Lily asked, remembering his blasé attitude earlier.
This time it was Nikoli’s turn for his eyebrows to shoot up. Ah, he was finally getting the message of how pissed she was. He probably had no clue why, but he didn’t need to know why, only that she was.
“So, Kade, you are working on the serial killer case?” she asked so she wouldn’t have to deal with Nikoli. “Do you guys have any leads?”
“I really can’t discuss an ongoing case, Lily,” he said. “I will tell you that we just got here last night and are catching up on everything. We’ll get him. Soon.”
“I hope it’s sooner rather than later.” She shivered. “That last one was too close to campus.”
“Yes,” Kade murmured. “We are asking for the college to allow a police presence there, just in case. Make sure you never go anywhere on your own, always bring someone, walk back to your dorm with a friend. Never alone.”
“I’ll make sure of it,” Nikoli promised.
Kade’s food came, and Lily turned her eyes back to the TV. The news was still talking about the latest victim. If the FBI was here, then the situation was serious. She’d been nervous about the whole situation since she’d seen the first news broadcast over the summer.
She hoped they caught him soon.
***
When Lily returned to her dorm room, she expected to find it empty, but Adam was sitting on her bed, his face troubled. She closed the door and leaned against it. When his eyes met hers, they were dark and thoughtful. The hangover was evident from his wince when the girl in the next room slammed her door.
“You look like hell.” Lily pushed herself away from the door and plopped down in her desk chair.
He ran a hand through his hair. “I feel worse.”
“Getting shit-faced will do that to you.”
He fell back on her bed and started up at the ceiling. “Lily, we need to talk about…well…”
“What you said last night?”
“Yeah.” He still didn’t move. “I know blurting that stuff out at you when I’m drunk wasn’t the best idea.”
“Ya think?”
“I may have been drunk, but I meant every word I said, Lily.”
Lily closed her eyes and counted to ten. A month ago, this conversation would have meant the world to her, but not now. Now, it only meant she had to hurt the one person who had always been there for her through everything.
“Adam, you don’t mean that…”
“Yes, I do.” He sat and looked her in the eye. “I love you, Lils. I’ve loved you my entire life. I just didn’t think you’d ever get better…”#p#分页标题#e#
“So you’re only interested in me now that you think I’m getting better?” Anger leaked out of her voice. She couldn’t help it.
“That’s not what I meant.” Adam rolled his shoulders. “I tried, Lily, I tried so hard to help you, but I couldn’t. I don’t understand why Nikoli could, when nothing I did worked. That is what I meant.”
Either way, the outcome was the same. He hadn’t shown any interest until Nikoli. It still stung a bit, but she’d forgiven him somewhere along the way. Didn’t mean she wasn’t pissed he only told her this after Nikoli.
“Adam, I love you. God knows, for the longest time, I thought I was in love with you, but I’ve only recently discovered the difference. You’re my best friend, and you did help me more than you know. Just being there for me, never letting me push you away. That kept me from going off the deep end. You will always be my best friend, and I will always love you, but I’m not in love with you.”
“You love the campus manwhore.” Adam’s eyes dilated, his anger evident in the way his body tensed. “He’s going to break you into little pieces.”