Suz jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "Yes! After tonight, Tay will be mine!" she shouted over the thumping music, twirled in place, and gave me a mischievous look. "That means we can finally finish The K2 and then we can start watching Crash Landing on You. I've been dying to see that."
"We don't know for sure it was him," the familiar voice sounded from behind me.
A hand stroked my back, and I relaxed as it lingered before Killian stepped to the side. He stayed close. He always did. So close, that his body heat radiated onto my skin, and I had to consciously focus not to move closer. He had to be doing this on purpose...
"Please," Suz scoffed. "There was legit no other suspect. You just want to keep her."
"I still don't like it," Killian remarked with a frown.
My eyes slid to his already waiting ones. "Did you talk to your dad?"
"Yeah. The doctors put him in an artificial coma, due to the extent of his injuries. They didn't really get anything out of him before that. So, you're not going back until the cameras are installed."
I had gotten the call that Michael Zipler, the asylum escapee, had been found close to campus two weeks ago. After he was recognized, he ran into an intersection during rush hour and an incoming car stopped his escape. The car didn't drive too fast but he'd appeared out of nowhere, giving the driver barely a chance to react. Still, Killian had insisted I stay with him just to be sure, and I hadn't protested much. Or at all.
Suz's eyes narrowed on Killian. "There haven't been any more letters ever since, and she's not going back. She's going to my place."
I promised to spend the last week of our trial month at her place. After moving out, the absence of further letters made sense as the guy responsible had been apprehended shortly after. But even with that man's history, it was still odd to think that a random person would do such a thing.
"Maybe whoever it was, wanted to get her out of the apartment in the first place," Killian said.
"You're just being overprotective," Suz said with a scoff. "It's time for some girl time, mister. I've been waiting for this ever since you two snatched her up when I wasn't looking. One moment of negligence and my best friend gets stolen from right under my grasp..."
"You could just hang at our place," he pointed out.
"We already did that and I remember that you carried her off before the episode was even finished!" she countered.
Killian shrugged and answered in a nonchalant tone, "Not my fault your shows are boring."
Suz sucked in a breath. "Boring?" she bristled, drawing to her full height. "You were distracting her!"
They entered a staring match, which looked hilarious since she was nearly two heads shorter. His arms twitched, and he shifted so that my side was pressed against him. I shivered as small tingles raced over my skin from our point of contact.
"I think it's good if I stay with Suz for a few days," I said inching closer to him. Yeah, I really had this figured out.
"Alright then," he sighed. "If that's what you want."
"See? I'm her favorite," Suz stated proudly.
"In your dreams maybe," Killian retorted.
His fingers trailed down my spine, and it was all I could do not to wrap my arms around him. I grabbed my cup more tightly, reminding myself that we agreed on testing this for a month. A month that had only one week left. Maybe it was a good idea that I would spend the last days at Suz's place because it was getting increasingly harder to resist the urge to jump his bones.
"You don't have to act all high and mighty because she spared you some attention. She only joined the holidays because of me."
"Actually," I started. "Cody asked—"
"And," Suz quickly interrupted me without so much as a glance. "The only reason she even looked your way was because I encouraged her."
This wasn't the first time those two were bickering about me as if I wasn't even in the room. Cody and I exchanged a glance, his mouth quirking. At least somebody was having fun at my cost.
"Or that's what you'd like to think," Killian snorted.
Suz shot him a smug smile. "I've known her longer, so, of course, I would know."
"Guys..." I tried. The only indication he gave that he even heard me, was his palm pressing into the small of my back.
"Yet, you two didn't get that close until she met me," Killian pointed out in a dry tone, his gaze still fixed on my best friend.
Suz gasped. "That's because I was gone before that."
"I could say the same thing," Killian said, folding his arms across his chest. Which was totally fine with me. I didn't miss his touch at all.
Okay, maybe I did.
At that moment, my phone went off with a call. To my surprise it was Jared. I could feel Killian tense ever so slightly.
I accepted and stepped to the side. I'd take anything to escape this conversation.
"Hey, Tay," Jared greeted me. "Do you have a minute? I've been meaning to talk to you?"
"Sure, just a second," I said, moving to a quieter area.
"Don't take too long," Killian called after me in an unnaturally loud voice.
The last thing I heard was Suz announcing, "Well, you know what they say, good things come to those who wait. It just made our friendship even stronger—"
Her voice cut off as I moved to the next room, which was thankfully empty. "Okay, what's up?"
"Was that Killian? You two seem pretty close now, huh?" Jared remarked, sounding a bit off.
And why was this any of his business? "Cody and Suz are also here," I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. "Did you really want to talk to me about Killian?"
"Um...no. Are you at Nick's place? I heard the news."
My stomach dropped. Did he find out about my stalker?
Before I could panic further, he clarified, "They finally released the news about who got arrested. Rick Hempson and Mick Walker. I know those guys were Chris' friends."
Oh. He was talking about the drug raid. Suddenly, I was painfully reminded of the way Chris had seemed to change, the dark circles under his eyes and all that. Maybe if I had cared a bit more, I would have noticed it wasn't just the popularity boost that made him change. Then again, I hadn't.
"There are rumors that they did some messed up stuff to some girls," Jared continued, sounding concerned. "So, I wanted to check in on you if you're okay. They never did anything to you, did they?"
Wait a second.
Hadn't Alicia said something about a reason Killian approached me in the first place? And somehow this was all related to Rick, who was friends with Chris... Slowly, the missing pieces seemed to click into place.
"Tay? Are you still there?"
"I-I'm good," I replied, distracted. "I barely even knew those guys."
"Oh, okay." Did he sound a bit disappointed? Nah. "That's good then. I'm on my way to Nick's place. I'll catch you there. Let me know if you need me, okay?"
Something burned in my chest. "Yeah, thanks."
The others had already gathered in the living room when I returned. Killian sat at one end of the couch, while Suz and Nick occupied the opposite side. Ignoring Killian's watchful eyes, I plopped down next to Suz and Nick.
Not long after, my phone lit up with a message.
Sherlock: Why r u all the way over there? What did the douche say to you?
Me: Nothing. Can't I sit next to my best friend?
Sherlock: Sure, nothing. Try again, Princess.
For some reason, this pissed me off. He always wanted to know what was going on with me, but what had he ever told me about him?
Me: You never tell me anything, so why should I?
I could feel his gaze burning into my scalp and when I looked up, I found a very pissed-off Killian staring back at me.
Sherlock: You're talking nonsense.
I was talking nonsense, huh? What a—I put my phone back into my pocket, gnashing my teeth. I could feel more incoming messages, but I didn't feel like reading them.
Killian rose to his feet and jerked his head to the door. When I didn't move his brows rose and he shrugged before starting toward me.
Shit.
I jumped up before he could do something embarrassing. Knowing him, he'd just pick me up and march outside whether I wanted to or not. Without checking if he was following, I dodged through the hallways until we ended up in the backyard.
I planted my feet, arms crossed, and lifted my chin.
He studied me carefully. "So, what did the douche say to you?"
"Who?"
"Jared. Or was it someone else?"
I glared at him. "I'm asking the questions tonight. Why did you ask me if I was doing drugs?"
"What?"
"In the forest after the party at the lake. Isn't it weird that you of all people found me? And then you asked if I was doing drugs and I thought it was just a coincidence but the guy who got arrested at school was in possession of drugs—and he was friends with Chris."
Killian drew back. "So?"
"So," I snapped. "That's why you were all over my business, right? Because you thought I was forced into drugs!"
He closed the door behind us and rested his back against the frame, just watching me.
He didn't even try to deny it. I threw my hands up. "I can't believe this."
"Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"
My voice rose. "Does it matter? Is it true or not?"
"Well, yes," he said and straightened up. "At first, I suspected you might be involved in something like that. But Tay, that was ages ago."
"Does this by any chance have something to do with your sister?"
"What?" Realization settled in his eyes. "You talked to Alicia? I'll have to have a chat about what my sister is telling other people."
"Yes. And you know what? You keep lecturing me about talking when I barely know a thing about what happened because it's"—I raised my fingers to quote—"an ongoing police investigation."
Killian's eyes widened, his jaw slightly slackening. He blinked a few times, his gaze fixed on me as if trying to process my words.
"Which reminds me," I continued. "Maybe I'd feel more inclined to share my problems if you actually talked to me about your own. If it wasn't for Cody, I wouldn't know anything." My hands went to my hips as I stared him down, breathing hard. "You're a hypocrite, Killian Foster. And you can shove your know-it-all demeanor where the sun doesn't shine."