“No. I’m in another suite. All three of them hate me, so I don’t think Clausen is concerned about a repeat of what happened in Birchwood.”
“Does he still think I’m mad at you?”
Daniel nods. “I should go, though. If someone catches me near you, all of this was for nothing.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t play my part as well as I should have. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
“You didn’t know.”
“No, but I should have trusted that you did.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself. We may have ended up here anyway.” His face darkens. “Stop. You can’t think like that.”
I bite my lip. “I know it seems impossible, but I have to do something.”
He shakes his head. “There’s nothing you can do. I told you, there’s only one escape for me. One way to shut this place down.”
“No. I can’t accept that. There’s never only one way. You said it yourself in group yesterday. Every person is a different person with different people. Isn’t that also true of situations? You couldn’t have tried everything because you didn’t have me before.”
“Damn,” he mutters, and I grin.
“That’s all I wanted.”
“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your new suitemates?” Ben grumbles at breakfast.
“There was room in the suite, not at the table. Besides, I missed you, bro.”
I avoid Daniel’s eyes as I take my own chair. The heat of his presence causes enough problems without the intensity of his devastating gaze.
“We thought they finally did the smart thing and got rid of you, and, lo and behold, you get a freaking upgrade.”
“Dude, Oakland is not an upgrade. Don’t the Davis brothers live there?” Christopher says.
Daniel shrugs.
I stiffen. “The Davis brothers?”
Christopher leans forward in conspiracy mode. “Rumor has it they once burned down the field house in the East Lawn.”
“Not true,” Daniel mutters, but Christopher is on a roll.
“They also beat a guy to unconsciousness because he bumped into one of them.”
“That’s true, but you’re missing most of the story.”
Christopher gives his critic a look, but Daniel only shrugs again.
“Anyway, they hate you, don’t they?” he says, and my nerves flare into alarm.
Daniel glares at him. “Who doesn’t? And since when are you worried about my safety?”
Christopher holds up his hands and leans back. “Hey man, I’m just filling in Rebecca. Trust me, we all know if anyone can handle them, it’s you.”
Daniel rolls his eyes. Our classmates love to gossip behind his back, but it’s clear Daniel’s a feared entity.
I sense him tense beside me and know he’s listening to our thoughts.
Meet me later? But he doesn’t respond.
