Chapter 35
I’d been secretly crushing on my best friend Antonio Kaufman for three years, but he started dating my roommate instead.
He ditched me in the woods for her birthday.
When I confronted him later, he mumbled, “Sorry, I was just worried. about her.”
Exhausted and heartbroken, I figured I should give up.
So I started seeing Antonio’s roommate, Reese Spraggins.
But Antonio cornered me outside the dorm building, eyes blazing. “Reese’s an iceberg. He’s not the one for you.”
“Since when did you get so close with Reese?” Antonio snarled.
I just mentioned catching a ride home with Reese, and he looked ready to strangle me–like I betrayed him somehow.
I shot back, “Remember last month? You left me stranded on that mountain. Reese’s the one who got me down.”
Bad move bringing that up.
Now, I was really pissed.
Antonio invited me to go hiking.
But when I showed up, I saw my roommate I una
The mountain wind was biting cold
Antonio had packed hand warmers and cocoa–only for Luna.
My heart sank as I gazed at him. “What about me?”
But he just snapped, “Stop being unreasonable.”
He leaned in, whispering like it was some secret, “Luna only agreed to come because I said you’d be here. So…”
Then he added, “How about you make an excuse and leave in a bit?”
The wind cut through my jacket like knives, but it was nothing compared. to my heartbreak.
I fell behind them, watching Antonio crack jokes that made Luna giggle.
My foot caught a root, so they turned.
Luna sipped her cocoa, smirk intact. “No way! Antonio bet you’d trip because you never watch your step.”
So I was the butt of their joke?
I scrambled up, dirt staining my jeans.
Just then, my phone buzzed.
Antonio stood behind Luna, texting, “Stop looking like a kicked puppy When she talks to you, respond. Don’t embarrass her.”
The grievance, sourness, and stark contrast in Antonio’s treatment choked
- me.
But I didn’t know the trail, so I had to follow them until I could slip away.
Antonio couldn’t even wait that long
When I stopped to tie my shoes, they vanished into the pines.
Alone on the mountain, I called him.
I wanted to ask him where they were, but he declined the call.
Minutes later, his text flashed, “Grace. Do you ever read the room?”
Tears splattered the screen.
I was properly lost now.
Then boots crunched dead leaves. When I was nearly desperate, a tall man loomed through the mist. He was dressed in black.
“Why are you crying?” Reese asked, yanking off his gloves.
I knew him.
He was Reese–Antonio’s roommate, permanently parked at the top of the campus hot list.
Every girl worshipped his stupidly perfect face, but his ice prince vibes kept them all at bay.
Antonio warned me a thousand times, “Reese’s got two modes–ignoring you, or glaring at you. Trust me, that guy’s trouble.”
Now Trouble himself was scowling at my hiccupping sobs.
The wind howled. My nose ran.
My shoulders were shaking like some pathetic Lifetime movie heroine
Reese didn’t move from his spot ten feet away. “Hoar that?”
“Hear what?” I sniffled.
He spun his flashlight, his boots snapping twigs.
The beam sliced through dancing shadows.
His voice could’ve frozen hell when he finally spoke, “…Ghosts.”
