“Well . . .” He backed off, appearing startled. “I guess I’m . . .”
“Happy for us?” I suggested, tossing the bag of ice up and catching it. “Because I could really focus on the happy stuff right about now.”
Cam looked at me, his features softening, even as Jase returned to the bed and placed a hand on my thigh, squeezing gently. “Shit, Teresa, sorry. I’m just—”
“Overprotective,” Avery suggested, smiling when he looked at her. “And a bit of a douche canoe sometimes?”
I grinned. “Sounds about right.”
“Yeah, okay, I might’ve overreacted, but it’s just because I care about you. You’re my sister and I’m supposed to act like a douche when it comes to guys you’re with.”
“You got that part down to a science,” Jase muttered.
Cam flipped him off, and the tension in my muscles started to ease. If they were flipping the bird to each other, they were back to normal.
“Anyway, the reason why we’re back so early is because we started receiving texts this morning about Debbie,” Avery explained, veering the topic into a less-happy subject, but a necessary one. “We needed to come home.”
“I wish you hadn’t,” I murmured, thinking of Cam’s plans.
“There was no way we wouldn’t,” my brother replied, crouching down in front of me. “Please tell me the rumors aren’t true. That you didn’t find her like that.”
I wrapped my arms around my chest, as if I could ward off the memory of her. “It’s true.”
Cam swore.
“Oh, my God . . .” Avery pressed her hand to her mouth. “That’s horrible.”
It was, but not as horrific as what Debbie had done. As Jase explained that I needed to go to the police today to give a statement, I tried to figure out why she would’ve done it. She’d been upset the night before, but she’d also been so full of hope. I didn’t know her extremely well, but there were no signs that she was that depressed or that she would consider doing something so final.
“You can’t stay in that dorm,” Cam decided as he stood. “You can stay here.”
Jase dropped his arm over my shoulders. “I agree with this idea.”
Part of me jumped at the idea, because there was no way I could go back to the dorm, but it was asking a lot. “I don’t want to be a pain in the ass.”
“Cam pretty much lives in my apartment as it is,” Avery interjected. “You’d probably have this place to yourself for the most part.”
“But—”
“And it’s a great offer,” Jase said, drawing my attention. “I don’t want you back in that dorm. So it’s either staying here or you’re coming to live in the frat house with me.”
The idea of being under the same roof as Erik turned my stomach. “I want to pay rent or something. I’ll get a job once my leg gets better.”
Cam waved me off. “If that’s what you want to do, have at it. No rush. Rent’s paid up till summer.”
Once the decision was made for me to stay at Cam’s, a lot of the dread faded like smoke in the wind. I’d sleep on the streets before I slept in that dorm room. Some people might think it was weird, but I wasn’t sure I could even step foot in the dorm again. Bad enough, I doubted I’d ever get rid of the memory of her . . . of her hanging from the ceiling light.
“Cam and I will go get most of your stuff,” Jase announced. “Tell me what you want and I’ll get it.”
I glanced between the two, a bit concerned about them spending an immediate one-on-one time together. Jase caught my look and winked.
“We’ll be fine,” he said.
Cam smiled tightly as he cracked his knuckles. “Yeah, we’ll be just perfect.”
Sitting beside me on the couch, Avery cringed as she glanced at the wall clock. “They’ve been gone an awful long time.”
I nodded slowly. “Yep.”
Calla had returned from visiting family that morning. Upon hearing the news, she’d texted and made her way over from the dorms not too long after the boys left. She sat in the recliner, brows knitted. “Why are you guys worried about how long it’s taking?”
“Well, there’s a good chance they might kill each other. Cam is not happy about me and Jase being together—”
“Wait. What?” She sat forward, eyes popping wide. “You and Jase are together? When in the holy hell did this happen?”
I picked up the glass of sweet tea. “Uh, it happened last week.”
“But I saw you on Wednesday! Did you not think about telling me?”
Cheeks burning, I glanced at Avery. She focused on the wall. Totally unhelpful. “It just didn’t come up and it had just happened, so I was still feeling the, uh, freshness.”
“Freshness?” Avery murmured.
“Wow.” Calla curled her legs up. “Way to go, Teresa. He’s a hottie-mc-hotters.”
I laughed. “Yes, he is.”
“I love your brother with all my heart,” Avery said, twisting the ends of her hair around her slender fingers. Her cheeks flushed, blending the freckles. “But Jase is . . . he’s something else. I mean, I’ve always been a little intimidated by him.”