Hate To Love You

I could only shake my head at the end. “I don’t get how she can go to school and live across the hall from me. I mean, it sounds like she’s dangerous.”

“She can be if she isn’t on the right meds.” The detective brought the advisor into our room, and she was answering our questions. She was choosing her words carefully. “She never hurt the other victims, and it’d been a few years since the last incident. I really and truly had no idea her connection to Shay.” She looked at him. “I’m so sorry. If I’d known, I never would’ve let Kennedy move to our floor. You have to believe me. I feel awful that something could’ve happened.”

He glanced to me, worry lines forming around his mouth and bags under his eyes. “Just move into the house. For now, anyway.”

I shared a look with him, but that wasn’t going to be a problem.

“I’m so sorry again, Kennedy.” My RA extended a hand toward me, laying it on the desk.

I ignored it. “Is she going to stay there? Or is she going to get kicked out?”

“Uh . . .” She glanced to Shay before clearing her throat and pulling her hand back to her lap. “She will be removed from campus. Her parents are already on the way. She will be suspended for at least a semester.”

“A semester?” I’d have to see her again?

“I can’t speak for what the administration will do, but—”

Shay added, “Her parents are wealthy.”

A flicker of anger surged in me. I schooled it down, locking away all of my emotions. “What do you mean?” I looked from her to the RA. “They’ll fight it?”

She nodded, a flash of apology in her eyes. “My guess is that they will. They’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to have her attend college as a normal student. I doubt they’ll stop, even with this incident.”

“What if we can prove she came here under false pretenses?”

She and the detective both frowned at him. The detective leaned forward. “What are you talking about?”

He held up his cell. It wasn’t the one he’d been holding in his hand before. “Kennedy did call me, and the call does go in and out, but I recorded it. I heard it. She admitted that she came to this college under the pretense of watching me.”

“How’d you call the other phone?”

“My roommate’s phone. I kept this one on.” He looked to me. “There was no way I was leaving her alone, even on that line.”

The detective took the phone. “That’s helpful. We’ll take this, then?”

He nodded.

She said further, “That recording, as long as it says what you say it says, will come in handy. We’ll see how much weight we can put behind the university expelling her.”

She stood, and it was an unspoken message to the rest of us. We followed behind her toward the front lobby.

Casey, Kristina, and Linde were all waiting.

They weren’t alone.

Sabrina was also there, pale and haggard.

She stood and started to cross to me. “Oh, my gosh, Kennedy—”

I stepped back from her. “Get away.”

Her hands had lifted for a hug, but she jerked to a stop. Her body swayed forward from the abrupt motion, and I watched, waiting. Guilt filled her eyes, darkening them before her hands crossed back in front of her.

“Kennedy.” Her voice was so soft. “I didn’t know.”

“Bullshit.” She had to have. “You should’ve warned me.” I shook my head, feeling . . . I didn’t even know anymore. I turned it all off, but it was still there. Still pressing into my chest, my stomach, flipping all around and reminding me too much of worse memories. “I thought you were so nice, Sabrina. I felt bad for you, and I thought—” I stopped, feeling the tears in my throat. I shoved them down. “I thought if Shay didn’t love you, then what chance did I have with him?”

“Kennedy.” It was just my name, but I still heard the plea from her.

I shook my head again, stepping farther away from her. “No matter what you say, you knew deep down. You might not have known the extent of her crazy, but you knew she was dangerous.”

“I didn’t—”

“You knew in your gut.”

As I said those words, I saw the truth. She did, and she was admitting it to herself. I didn’t care if it was the first time or the last time. She knew, and she stood by and let it happen. As far as I was concerned, that was worse in some ways.

“Maybe.”

“You knew.”

I let my disdain drip from those two words before I left. At this point, I didn’t care who walked behind me.

I was fed up with being attacked. I was fed up with being scared. I was fed up with being a target.

Shay followed behind, calling my name.

I ignored him, walking to his Jeep in a fast clip. I waited, my hand on the handle, and he paused behind me. He stood there, watching me, but I kept staring forward. I saw his gaze in the window. After a second, he went to his side and unlocked the doors.

I opened mine, but looked back.

Kristina, Casey, and Linde were leaving the station, too.

“You okay?” Kristina asked.

I wasn’t. “I’ll be fine.” I forced a smile.

Kristina narrowed her eyes. “You sure?”

Casey snorted. “Well, fuck that. I’m not okay. Can we all stay at the house?”

Linde grinned. “Hell yeah. We’re not going to kick out two chicks, especially hot ones like you ladies.”

Kristina smiled her thanks but edged closer to me.

Casey turned to give him crap, and the two were soon engaged in whatever they were doing. Flirting. Sparring. Tic-tac-toe. I didn’t know, and I didn’t care at that moment.

“You sure you’re okay?”

Kristina wasn’t one to be fooled easily, but I lied through my fucking teeth. “I’ll be fine. I just need to get away for a bit. That’s all.”

“Okay.” She looked past my shoulders to Shay. Her smile faded a bit before she stepped back.

Shay called out, “Linde, you’re okay?”

“Yep!” His roommate looked over, saluting him. “See you guys in a few.” His gaze fell to me, and the joking surface faded a bit. He sobered and nodded. I knew what he was saying. He had stayed in the background, but he cared. Same with Casey. She might’ve been flirting with Linde at the moment, but she came to protect me.

She’d been in my shoes.

“Ready?”

I got in, closed the door, and leaned back.

One giant breath of air left me, and along with it, my last semblance of control.





“Hey.”

Shay’s hand came down on my back. He meant it in a comforting manner, but I knocked it away. I flared up. “You didn’t know? You had no idea?”

I couldn’t believe that.

She was there for him.

She came for him.

She was watching him!

“How can you have a stalker and have no clue? She’s been here a year and a half.” Then again, a bitter laugh left me. There was so much about Shay I didn’t know.

“I had no clue.”

“Yeah,” I bit out. “That’s apparent. No clue. You have all these friends and had no idea. This”—I motioned between us—“has been going on for a full semester, and I still don’t feel like I know you. You know me. You know I was attacked. You know my brothers. You know my mom is weird. You know my friends. You know almost everything there is to know about me, but I have no clue about you!”