Three Years Later | ✓

16 | Be Careful

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"SO IS HE your boyfriend?" Stacey asked as we sat in her hotel room, settling our shopping bags on the soft white carpet.

"Who?" I questioned.

"You know, Milo, that guy you're always around. Are you guys dating?" Stacey suggested with hopeful eyes.

"Oh no, he has a girlfriend," I chuckled nervously, averting my gaze to the floor as I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

She frowned, "Oh. Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She's actually one of my roommates, so he swings by pretty often," I shrugged.

"Does he love her?"

"Probably, but I think that's something you should ask him if you're curious," I answered.

"Well if he does, I don't think he should be flirting with you." She readjusted herself on the bed, lying down on her stomach as she propped her head against the palms of her hands.

"How do you know he's flirting with me? You're never around when I'm with him," I frowned, puzzled.

"I don't have to be around you up close to know what I see. Every time I look at you two, he has this look in his eyes, like he adores you."

"Okay," I sang incredulously, laughing it off as I felt a tinge of pink on my cheeks appear.

"But speaking of it, since you're not dating Milo, are you dating anyone?" Stacey asked curiously.

"Mm, not exactly," I responded as I rolled in my lips, squinting. "We're...talking, I guess."

"Who is it?" She asked eagerly with a smile, perking up. I debated for a moment if I should discreetly try to change the subject or answer her question. I've only known her for almost a week after all.

"Well, his name is James, and—"

"James Holterman?" Stacey interrupted, pushing herself up and plopping down at the edge of the bed next to me.

"Yeah," I said warily. "You know him?"

"Kind of, I used to," she said a bit solemnly. My eyebrows scrunched together as I gave her a confused expression. "Look, I know that doesn't really make sense, but...is he treating you well?"

"Of course, why wouldn't he be?" I asked with a confused smile.

"No reason, I was just curious." Her shoulders slumped slightly in relief. "It's just...look out for yourself, you never know what can happen these days." Okay, now I was getting spooked.

"See, what's the deal with James? I mean, everyone tells me to be careful with him, but I don't see what's so bad about him. I've known him since high school, and he's always been incredibly sweet and respectful," I stated, unfolding my legs as I stood up, looking down at Stacey.

"I've heard...things, and you never know. People can change in a short amount of time, and when you look at them, you wonder how did they end up like that, or how long they've been hiding their true colors," Stacey said, which sent goosebumps down my arms as I took in her serious expression.

"Stacey, you're stressing me out. What the hell are you talking about?" Panic was laced in my voice as I stressfully rubbed my eyes, pacing back and forth. Stacey sprang up and took a firm grip on my shoulders.

"Just take in a deep breath, okay?" She inhaled deeply with me. We slowly exhaled together, and she offered me a faint smile.

"Come on, it's getting late. You should go back to your room. I'll help you with your bags." She picked up a few of the shopping bags and we headed down the hallway, making a short right and hopping into the elevator where I scanned my keycard.

As I pushed the hotel door open, Milo looked up, sporting a faint smile. His eyes flickered to Stacey, who dropped my packages on my bed and smiled at me. His smile fell as he sprang off the bed, placing his phone face down.

"Stacey, what are you doing with Hadley?" Milo asked warily.

"Relax," she whispered, "I was just helping Hadley bring her shopping bags to her room," she said at a normal volume, displaying a closed-lipped smile.

"You two know each other too?" I asked, eyebrow arched.

"Yeah, we shared a few classes with each other back in freshmen year," Milo stated. Stacey nodded in agreement with a forced smile.

"Well, I should go. I'll see you later, Hadley," Stacey added, pulling at the hem of her shirt as she adjusted her white top.

"Can we talk outside, Stacey?" Milo said. Stacey looked at me warily before nodding and I watched as Milo closed the door behind him.

After a few seconds, I tiptoed to the door and pressed my ear against it. Their voices were barely audible since the wooden door was thick, but I caught a few words here and there while looking through the peephole a couple times.

"What did you tell her?" Milo asked cautiously, trying to keep his voice a low whisper.

"I didn't tell her anything. All I told her was to be careful around James. I wouldn't want the same thing to happen again," Stacey responded with a look of disgust on her face.

After that little exchange, the rest of their conversation was muffled. Giving up, I shuffled into the bathroom and took a quick shower, feeling tranquil as the warm water ran down my face.

When I stepped out, I found Milo on his bed, scrolling through his phone with his thumb. As I placed my dirty clothes in my suitcase, I asked, "How do you two know each other?"

"We had some classes tougher during freshmen class, remember? I told you about it earlier," Milo chuckled.

"Oh yeah, that's right. Is that it?" I pressed on.

"Yup, pretty much," insisted Milo. I nodded as I crawled under the covers and faced the wall, opposite of Milo's direction.

"Night, Hadley," he said.

"Goodnight," I responded, pretending to sleep, although I couldn't as I became more intrigued with their conversation, especially Stacey's words.

"I wouldn't want the same thing to happen again."

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A/N: heyyy! First, no they didn't do it. Second, I hope you have a great day and/or week! I also wanted to thank you for sticking around. The next chapter is when things get JUICY!

-Karlee 💛