Thea rolls her eyes, grabs two granola bars from her desk, and tosses one to me. We sit on the floor, backs against her bed, and eat in silence for a minute.
“So,” Thea finally says, keeping her voice low. “You really talked to him?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“And he’s terrifying.” I peel the wrapper off the granola bar, but I’m not hungry. “But I think I can work with that.”
“Work with that?” Thea stares at me. “Lex, you’re not—you can’t seriously be thinking about getting wrapped up in this shit.”
“What am I supposed to do? Just let Axel get his ass beat every day? The only reason I talked to him was because I was following Axel, and he met up with the guy this morning. Coincidence?”
“Maybe.” She looks away, picks at the wrapper in her hands. “Maybe you shouldn’t get involved. This is like really, really bad.”
“He’s the only family I have.”
“You still have your grandma.”
“That’s not what I mean.” My voice cracks. I hate how weak I sound. “I can’t just... I can’t let him do this. I should’ve been there more for him. After Mom died, after Dad left, I just—I shutdown. I focused on school, on getting out, and I didn’t care about him as much as I should have. I owe him this.”
Thea’s quiet for a long moment. Then she reaches over and squeezes my hand.
“You were a kid, Lexi. You didn’t leave him behind. You survived.”
“I left him alone with himself. I wasn’t there for him, and it eats at me every day.”
Her roommate laughs at something on her phone, and we both flinch.
Thea leans in closer, whispers, “If you’re really doing this, I’m coming with you. But if shit goes sideways, we run. Deal?”
I nod. “Deal.”
“And Lex?” She looks me dead in the eyes. “If this guy is dangerous, you need to be smart. Don’t trust him. Don’t believe a word he says. And for the love of god, don’t do anything stupid. Don’t trigger him. Don’t be rude. Dealers are bad news.”
I swallow hard. “I won’t. You know me. Nobody can get through to me when I’ve set my mind on something.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but she agrees. “Yeah.”
The rest of the day drags. Every class feels endless. Every minute is torture.
I check my phone obsessively. Axel still hasn’t texted back.
By the time the sun sets, my nerves are frayed, my stomach is in knots, and I’m second-guessing everything.
But I made a deal. And I’m not backing out now.
I pull on black jeans, a black hoodie, tie my hair back. Thea does the same.
We slip out of the dorm as the campus settles into evening—students heading to parties, couples walking hand-in-hand, groups laughing on their way to the dining hall.
We move through the shadows, silent, invisible.
The rink is dark and hulking against the night sky.
My heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my teeth.
This is it.
