Falling in the Dark | ✓

22 | Hope

"What's wrong?" Liam mumbles, seemingly oblivious to the sound of the door being opened.

"Shh!" I say under my breath, pressing the tips of my fingers to his lips. Quietly but as quickly as possible, I disentangle myself from him. My foot lands on the edge of the spiral-bound notebook lying on the floor, evoking a groan that I struggle to suppress.

Liam's head snaps up when a shrill feminine laugh emanates from somewhere dangerously close by. Vera.

"Yeah, I know," she says, presumably into her phone because hers is the only voice I hear. "I'll be there the night before."

I pull my hand away from Liam as he turns to me, wide-eyed. I'm caught in a deer-in-the-headlights kind of panic, my blood running cold and my limbs freezing. All it takes to destroy my friendship with Vera is for her to open the closet door. That's all it will take for her to see . . .

I look down at myself. Gritting my teeth, I reach up to fix the sleeve of my t-shirt before smoothing down my messy hair, knowing full well that this futile exercise isn't going to cushion the blow in any way. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I hold my breath and pray I'm the only one that can hear my thunderous heartbeat.

My attention snaps back to Vera's conversation when she says, "Christmas break can't come soon enough."

The volume of her voice rises and falls systematically, as though she's walking around the room as she speaks. I shift my gaze to Liam to find him standing straight, the top of his head brushing the wooden ceiling. His arms are behind his back, his shoulder muscles pulled taut from where he supports himself against the side of the closet. Eyes lowered, mouth turned down, he appears lost in thought.

"No, I haven't told my roommate yet. I will later, it's no big deal."

I turn back to the long slits of light peeking through the space in between the closet doors. There's something about the way Vera refers to me as her roommate — not 'Carmen', not 'my best friend' — that is disappointing. Hurtful. But I don't have the privilege of indignation, not when I'm in this compromising position of betrayal.

"I'm so burned out," she says with a small grunt as though she's bending to sit down. The bed to the far right creaks softly, almost as if to confirm my thought. "I came to my dorm for a nap. Where are you?"

A nap?! The knot in my stomach grows tighter as I turn to Liam again, panic-stricken and slack-jawed. To my annoyance, he's still staring down at his feet. I swat his arm with the back of my hand softly, mouthing 'what're you doing?' when he finally looks up at me.

Liam shrugs defensively just as Vera says in a covetous tone, "Pizza? Please don't tempt me. I haven't eaten since last night."

I furrow my eyebrows. She told me she would get breakfast at The Blacktop this morning before heading to class.

"If you're paying, yeah," she adds a moment later, laughing shortly. There's a beat of silence as she listens to whoever is on the other end of the line before I hear her climbing to a stand.

"Cool. I'll be there in ten," she calls into her phone.

I have to strain my ears to hear Vera's next movements. What follows next transpires in mere seconds, but feels like a gut-wrenching eternity.

My heart leaps into my throat when the unmistakable sound of Vera's palm closing over the closet door's metallic handle echoes through the small space between us. Holding my breath, I glance up to find Liam staring at the door. His eyes are just as wide as mine, but there's something different about the intensity in them. While my eyes are brimming with guilt, fear and dread, Liam's aren't.