Keefe sank onto his bed. Scraps of paper fluttered to the floor and Sophie checked the messages: Door on level thirty-three——where does it go?
Why so many books in her office——she never reads!
Did she ever wear the necklace I gave her?
“Please,” she whispered. “Working alone is so much harder—it’s what I used to do, remember? Until someone forced me to include them.”
One side of his mouth twitched with the hint of a smile. “Sounds like that person is a genius. Probably shockingly good-looking, too.”
“Eh.” She laughed when he actually looked wounded. “Oh please, you know you’re a heartbreaker. You don’t need me to tell you that.”
“Hey, I have never broken any hearts.”
“Maybe not intentionally. But come on. When you or Fitz start dating, there will be crying in the Foxfire halls. I bet there are girls crying now, wishing you guys hadn’t left.”
“Not if they’ve heard how awesome my mom is.”
“There are still just as many Keefe fangirls, trust me. Everyone loves the bad boys.”
She expected some epic Keefe teasing about her use of the word “everyone.” Instead, his shoulders dropped and he asked, “So . . . you think I’m bad?”
She grabbed a note that said “The Great Gulon Incident” and handed it to him.
His half smile returned. “Point taken.”
She brushed more notes off the bed and sat next to him. “You haven’t answered my question, by the way. Will you let me help?”
Keefe stared at his ceiling. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Let’s just say my head is not an awesome place right now.”
“So? I’ve been in Prentice’s head, remember? And Fintan’s. And Brant’s!”
“Great. So you think I’m the same as a bunch of psychos.”
“I never said that. And Prentice isn’t psycho.”
“Close enough. For right now.”
Sophie hated that he was right. “All I meant was that nothing could shock me.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
“I don’t. I’ve also been in Alden’s mind after it shattered, remember? Shoot, I’ve been in an ogre’s mind—though that was surprisingly soft and calm. But still. An ogre brain! And I’ve been in Lady Galvin’s head too, when I stole the Alchemy midterm questions.”
“I forgot about that. Who knew you were such a rebel?”
“I have my moments.”
He almost looked proud. “But . . . now you’re used to spending your days trading secrets with Captain Perfect. And I guarantee you, my mind is nothing like his.”
“Who said it should be? And Fitz isn’t perfect, by the way.”
“He’s close enough.” He moved to the one wall in his room not covered in paper scraps. “I hate watching it,” he whispered. “Them and Della. It’s all so happy and easy.”
Sophie moved to his side.
He didn’t look at her as he added, “I used to wish I was a Vacker. I’d be over at their house, dreading the moment I had to go home. But nope. I’m a Sencen. And it just keeps getting worse and worse.”
No words existed to make anything better. So she reached for his hand.
On the wall in front of them was a particularly small note with only three words: Who am I?
“Easy question,” she said, taking it down. “You’re Keefe Sencen. Master mischief-maker. Tormenter of principals. Frequenter of Detention. And one of the best guys I know.”
He raised one eyebrow as he turned to study her. “I’m not the best?”
“It’s a three-way tie. And you’re also always there when your friends need you. So how about you let one of us be there for you for a change?”
He looked away again. “You really think you can handle it?”
“Psh, I can handle anything.” She usually didn’t feel comfortable making such bold, confident statements. But for once it actually felt right. “Please? Don’t keep doing this alone.”
Keefe sighed. “Okay . . . but remember—you promised you wouldn’t hate me.”
“I did. And that’s one promise I’ll have no problem keeping.”
“We’ll see . . .” He looked like he wanted to say something else. Instead he turned away.
“So do you want to get started now?” she asked.
“Not really.” He rubbed his eyes, and the dark circles seemed to sink deeper into his skin. “I’ve been up all night the last few days. And the one time I did sleep was with the fathomlethe. Dex was right about the dreams.” He tangled his arms around himself and shuddered. “But I don’t know if I can fall asleep.”
“Well, you’re never going to relax in this hive-of-crazy!”
She grabbed a handful of notes and pulled them off the nearest wall.
“Don’t—”
“I’m just getting them out of sight so we can organize them. This was you working alone. Now you have me.”
“I do.”
Sophie couldn’t tell if that was a statement or a question.
“Try to rest,” she told him. “I’ll be out of here as soon as I’m done cleaning up.”