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But I say nothing

I’ll get her the money

Then after that, uilt

Erin tosses my phone at my feet, hikes her purse up on her shoulder, and walks away More like stomps If there was a door nearby, I’m sure she would slam it, too

Luckily for me, there isn’t

I stare down at my phone

A violent crack slashes across the screen

What a metaphor for the state of my life if I’ve ever seen one

28

Payton

The past feeeks were nothing like I expected my life to be under Trent’s roof

I’m so confused, I can barely think

And now, I’ before I leave for class

The worst part is, I only have one week until I perform in front of the staff, and I can barely concentrate

None of the Trent parts of ht it would be It’s just confusing as hell Especially the last time I was at Cresthill

Trent

He’s different than I iined

And then there’s the talk with his mom Every day, I become more and more confused over who he is

The angry son of Ronald Aldridge

The caring friend to Henry Wian

The benefactor—cough, torturer, cough—of yours truly

The hot guy in the sauna I wouldn’tnaked some more

Thinking about Trent in all of his for far too frequently

And right now, I can’t

I have too much to do

I need to get through a grueling day of classwork, butfirst I had too ned this damn presentation on top of it

I pray he’ll let it go, not make me do this silly book report and presentation, but I knoon’t There is no point in wishing when I a to take every opportunity available to ardless of my coursework

No a for him not to ork

Placing the book down, I stand fro out the door

It’s late enough in the , so Trent won’t be around

I step out into the hall, and like I expected, it’s clear Walking toward the front of the loft, I bump into no one

Just the way I like it