Maybe telling her wasn’t such a good idea. I couldn’t really explain that whatever was after me was a badass evil spirit from myth. I stood up straight and shook my head with a forced laugh.
“Sounds dumb when you say it out loud,” I said. “I’m probably imagining things.”
She snorted and turned back to our apartment. I caught up with her after a few feet, sticking my hands in my pockets as we walked across the cracked asphalt to the stairs. I’d wanted a chance to make up with her, and here we were with no doors between us.
“So, how are things?” I reached for anything to restart the conversation. “How is the project coming?”
“It’ll be a lot better if James shows up today,” she said. “He’s ditched all weekend, and we were supposed to catch up.”
“I saw him yesterday,” I said. “He was acting weird.”
“You’re saying he wasn’t an ass?”
“It would take the end of the world or something for him not to be an ass to me.” I crossed my arms. “More like he was depressed and upset you were better than him.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m so tired of their whining. They need to get over it or get better. Whatever.”
I touched her arm as we reached our door. “Hey … I’m sorry for before. I am here for you, and I’m not taking anyone’s side over yours.”
She sighed and pushed a lock of her brown hair behind her ear. “I know that you don’t intend to. It’s just he has a habit of turning people to his side.”
I lower my head as heat rose to my cheeks. “Yeah … he’s just got that magnetic personality.”
“You have no idea.” She shook her head. “Look, I’m not going to tell you who to date, but I’ve seen what happens after he’s moved on. And trust me, he will move on.”
I bit my lip as my heart constricted. Serenity had always been my voice of reason, but this time she may have been too late. Either way, this would hurt. I leaned my forehead on her shoulder.
“Already?” she asked. “Oh babe, I’m sorry.”
I gave her a sad smile. “Not completely. It’ll probably hurt worse if I let things go on.”
She patted me on the back. “I’ll buy some ice cream, and we’ll spend tonight playing video games.”
“What about the project?”
She shrugged and opened the door. “Screw it. I’ve done most of the work. If it’s late, it’s late.”
I chuckled. “I’m sure your teammates will be panicking. All right, it’s a date.”
She grinned. “Dibs on the shower.”
“Ugh! Sneak.”
I kept my mock outrage up as she raced to the bathroom and shut the door. After several minutes, the water started. Now was my only chance before more people started coming out. I grabbed a Ziploc baggie and a pair of tongs and headed back downstairs.
The parking lot remained empty in the early morning as I strode to the bushes. Trying not to gag, I snatched the clump of hair from the bushes and sealed it in the bag. The tongs landed in the dumpster with a thunk. Serenity probably wouldn’t even notice they were missing. I flipped open my phone and dialed Aunt Jo’s number. It rang once and switched to voicemail.
“This is payback for ignoring your calls, isn’t it?” I said after the beep. “I think there’s a daimon following me. I found something … completely gross near my apartment. Call me.”
I raced up the stairs. Serenity was still in the shower. I dug around the kitchen until I found the mini cooler we’d bought for a road trip last summer. In went the bag of gross followed by most of the ice in our freezer. I stood with my hands on my hips and admired my work. This wasn’t going to last. Even though it was late September, the heat would melt that ice within a few hours.
What the hell was I going to do with this thing? I couldn’t leave it in the car, and the fridge and freezer was right out. I could just see Serenity opening it up. The running water stopped, and I stiffened. I grabbed the handle of the cooler and shut myself in my room.
I needed to get it to Aunt Jo. She would figure out what we were dealing with. Screw it. I would take it with me and slip over to her hotel during the break between my first and second class. I slipped a sundress with red and pink roses, ran a brush through my hair, and headed out the door with the cooler. Today was a no makeup day.
I tapped on the steering wheel as I waiting on the light near the university, glancing in the review mirror for the twentieth time. Was that a cop car? Little pricks traveled up my spine, and my heart raced. I pulled into the college’s lot and let out the long breath I had trapped in my chest. I grabbed my backpack and hurried onto the quad.
“Cassi.” Mercer’s voice traveled across the lawn.
I stopped, gripping my backpack and blinking in the bright morning light that blazed behind him. The first few buttons of his shirt were open, hinting at the hard lines of his pectorals, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He sprinted in my direction with a wide smile on his face. I licked my lips as my stomach fluttered.
“Hi.” Did that sound squeaky?
He grinned. “Hey. Long time no see.”