“You sure? You want me to walk you back?”
I shake my head and he doesn’t insist. It’s still early and there are tons of people out and about. I grab my jacket and give him a nice long kiss, one that makes him grin.
“You sure you don’t want to stay? I’ve got ibuprofen.”
I stamp down my guilt. “Thanks, but I need to sleep. I’ll be back tomorrow, though.”
Out in the cold, I huddle in my jacket and occasionally smile at passers-by. When I get to the end of fraternity row where I’d normally turn off to head to the dorms, I slow down to a crawl. Maybe I should go back to my room. I feel lousy for lying. It’s just that I want to hang out with some new people, and there’s no easy way to explain that to Zander.
I take a few steps toward East Main Street. I’ll go just this once. To satisfy my curiosity. Then I won’t hang out with them again. In fact, maybe if I go tonight, Leo will stop showing up at O-Chi. He extended an invitation and I’m taking it. End of transaction.
I grasp onto this idea of closure. It’s reassuring and soothes my conscience, and by the time I reach house number 1622, I hardly feel guilty at all.
CHAPTER FOUR
As I expected,Avery’s apartment is in a Federalist Era row house—in the basement, to be exact. Even though the stairway is well lit, I grip the iron railing, kicking and crunching fallen leaves as I make my way down. Warm light welcomes me from a high, curtained window. I take a deep breath, and before I chicken out, knock on the sturdy black door.
I expect it to be answered by a perfect stranger, so I’m surprised to be greeted by a smiling Leo.
“Hi,” he says.
“Hey.”
“You made it.”
“I made it.”
He steps back and swings out an arm. “Come on in.”
Hesitantly, I step past him and into the apartment. I have a love-hate relationship with historic buildings. They either feel sacred or creepy. But to my relief, this old basement doesn’t feel either.
A hand presses on my elbow and I realize Leo is trying to usher me further into the living room. It’s a small, cozy space. Cottage-like. The furniture is your typical college contemporary, a mixture ofhand-me-downs and bargain finds. But there are artful touches around the room: unframed drawings taped to the walls, crocheted pillows, house plants. I doubt it gets much natural light during the day, but there are candles, lamps, and string lights enough to keep it cheery.
On the couch sit a Black guy and a red-haired girl, their eyes on me.
“This is Aaron and Avery,” Leo tells me. “And guys, this is Betts.”
Aaron gets to his feet. He’s tall and slender, with dark eyes that crinkle behind his glasses as he offers me his hand and a smile.
The girl beside him makes no effort to greet me. Instead, she rolls her eyes and directs a sneer at Leo. “A sorority girl? Seriously?”
“I’m not in a sorority,” I say.
She snorts. “Not yet.”
I bite my lip. I don’t seem to fit in here. Leo stands beside me wearing his trademark shades of gray, Aaron looks like he doesn’t get out much, and Avery? She’s my polar opposite. White skin and red lips, dyed red-orange hair, black clothes. The two of us together have all the makings of a bad teen movie:The Goth Girl vs. The Homecoming Queen.
Leo admonishes her, “Don’t be so quick to judge,” and Aaron laughs and tells her to “heel.”
I lower myself into the chair Leo’s offered me, feeling abandoned when he disappears into the kitchen to fetch me a drink.
Meanwhile, Aaron gets right down to business. “So, Betts, you know anything about Tarot?”
“Tarot?” I wrack my brain for any association.
When he pats the coffee table between us, I look down. I’ve been so busy cowering from Avery’s glare that I’ve barely noticed the cards spread out right in front of me. I’ve seen those cards before. In movies they’re used by wrinkly old ladies looking into crystal balls and wearing lacy black veils.
“You tell fortunes with them, right?”
