“To Birchwood? Wow.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ve been with Matthew for three years and all of a sudden they decide to move me. Is it true this was Daniel’s room?”
I manage a nod. “Yes. They moved him too.”
“I heard. Something about the Davis brothers.”
“Actually, I think they’re going to move him again if they haven’t already.” Connor seems more interested in his boxes, which is totally fine with me. “Where’s Matthew, anyway? Shouldn’t he be helping you?”
He drops the stack by the bed. “Yeah, who knows. He was right behind me with another load and got lost halfway here.”
“That sounds about right.”
Connor dusts off his jeans. “Tell me about it. Meanwhile my sheets are sitting in a hallway somewhere while he interrogates a random stranger about their unusual belt.”
“At least they’re closer to their destination than when they started.”
“Maybe not. He’s the only person I know who can go from the dining hall to the gym and pass the library three times.”
I laugh and follow him back to the door.
“Do you need a hand? I have some time.”
“Really?” He turns to me, and I smile. “That would be great. They give you an army of assistants when you move into this place and only dire warnings to get your shit out when you leave.”
“Dire warnings, huh? Well, we don’t want that. Maybe we can track down more help on the way. Who knows, we might even find Matthew.”
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
“Do you ever worry he just flat out won’t make it home one night?”
“I used to. But I guess that’ll be someone else’s problem now.”
I can’t read his expression when I peek up at him. He and Matthew are close, so I imagine such an unexpected move would be painful for him. Yet, if he feels any resentment, he’s hiding it well. He seems fine; it’s my own guilty conscience that has to fight the urge to blurt a confusing apology. He may not understand his sudden transfer, but I do.
Reason says that Ben and Laura should welcome Connor into the Birchwood family, but reason has nothing to do with my two roommates. Instead, I sense they miss Daniel’s divisive presence. Ben and Laura feed on animosity, and Connor’s easy smile doesn’t allow for much drama.
For the second time since his arrival yesterday, I find myself trying to explain their irrational behavior.
“I just don’t get it,” he says, dropping to his bed. He turns toward me, and I have to swallow the intense memories of this room. “What did I do?”
“You’ll never understand, because you’re a nice person.” I sigh at his confusion. “Look, they lived with Daniel for along time. They hated him, but they loved to hate him. They had a dysfunctional, parasitic relationship that got ripped out from under them. They lost their host, and you’re not a good replacement because you’re not easy to hate.”
A skeptical smile slips over his lips. “Thanks?”
“That didn’t sound right. I know it probably doesn’t help much, but it’s a compliment that they ignore you, believe me.”
“Do they like you?”
I huff a breath. “Not really. They only like the masses they control.” I pick up the photo on his nightstand. “Is this your family?”
He nods and tucks an arm under his head. “It was hard to leave them, but we all agreed we had to see if Madison could help me. I was tired of being labeled as slow because I couldn’t take a standardized test. C’mon, can you imagine what a standardized test looks like to me? Try filling out a job application or doing any of the things that should be easy for a twenty-year-old.”
“I hadn’t thought of that. Can you read at all?”
“I couldn’t for a long time, but it’s one of the things we’re working on in my private sessions. It’s exhausting trying to separate the letters and numbers. I used to get so frustrated that I started to believe they were right about me and I was stupid.”
“You’re clearly not stupid,” I say, and he snorts a laugh.
