37

Piper

You're Not Going To Believe This

When I woke up, Adam was gone.

Any other morning, I would've been overjoyed. I would've skipped out of bed and floated to the pathetic grab-and-go breakfast that was designed to be slammed in the trash. But after everything? After beating in a car's windows, after the pool situation, after the shower—

The shower.

My hand glided to my throat while I lay in bed. I could still feel his hand, locking me against him. His breath on my ear and his words whispered over each other, making the hair on the back of my neck rise. His hard cock against my—

I jerked out of bed and threw back the covers.

Everything of his had been carefully cleaned out of the room. His blankets, his toiletries, the Marrs jersey he'd hung on the back of the chair like someone would've asked him for a pick-up game, everything . I tried not to notice it while I put my stuff together.

Where is he?

Minutes passed, and I hurried downstairs. There were lines of resident assistants with their duffel bags, all waiting for our buses and vans to take us back home. And in the corner, lifelessly holding a breakfast burrito, was June.

June.

She looked like death. Her skin was blotchy, her honey blonde hair, usually so bright, looked dull. It'd been tied into a bun but most of it stuck out from the sides of her neck when it fell down. My heart ached just looking at her. Her and the nail polish on her fingers that she chipped off bit by bit after she tossed the rest of the breakfast burrito in the trash.

I approached her slowly like a wary zookeeper. "June?"

Her eyes flickered to mine.

"June?" I tried again, wringing my hands. "I'm so sorry. About everything. I really wanted this trip to work out, and I'm sorry about everything that's happened."

"We have to drive together," she mumbled.

"That's right." I winced, remembering Adam and I fighting in the backseat. "The van ride."

"All of us," she replied, her voice dead. "Xavier's car was totaled. He's driving with us to Marrs."

Oh.

"But—" I stopped myself. Of course Xavier had to drive with us. His Clemenza was totaled. We totaled it.

We ruined June's drive back to Marrs University.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but Adam and I swore each other to secrecy. How could I explain this was all our fault again? How could I apologize for another thing we messed up?

Zariah came from the side with three coffees and passed one to me before throwing an arm around June's shoulders. June shrugged her off just as quickly and nodded to the rest of the Marrs resident assistants around us.

"We're heading out now," she said at a negative volume level. "Get your bags."

I couldn't believe it. Adam and I had set out to help June and we made it ten times worse. Maybe the two of us were more alike than I thought. It seemed like we couldn't stop blundering into these situations.

My eyes narrowed when I saw who waited for us on the sidewalk.

Xavier didn't look much better than June. His eyes were puffy and an angry look curled his mouth. The moment he saw us, he thundered forward, tossing his bag to the light post. "You're not going to fucking believe this. Some freaks kicked my car in at my cousin's place. The whole reason I didn't park here was so it didn't get fucking—June?" He frowned at her. "What happened to you?"

She hasn't told him.

A strangled breath exhaled from June, and she stared at him with every bit of loathing she could muster. Zariah wrapped her arm around June's shoulders again, but I had a feeling it was more about a reminder of the witnesses we had around us than a comforting gesture. I took my place next to her. If we could keep it together and not have a catfight in front of all the other schools, we might have been able to save a shred of our dignity.

The sidewalk was packed. Everyone else was leaving the student center, but I could still feel the tension pulsing from June.

Don't hit him, June. It's not worth it.

Tires squealed against the road and I looked in surprise to see a car barreling for us.

I grabbed June and Zariah before thinking and yanked them back on the sidewalk. I didn't need to. The car came to a smooth stop along the curb, a gorgeous, dark blue Clemenza, rolling up in a perfect arc, like it was parking for an insurance commercial.

My mouth fell open. I was somewhat aware of every mouth falling open.

"What's up, motherfucking Romans?" Adam called out, letting the top of the car retract with the push of a button. His red hair was sun-kissed in the morning. With a grin, he tapped down his sunglasses. "June, Zariah, Piper. Ladies. I've got seats with your names on them."

"Marrs Manwhore!" Zariah burst into laughter. "Your timing, man! It's impeccable!"

June breathed out a huge sigh of relief and ran over. "Yes, please. "

We all hopped in with our bags. I couldn't believe it. I actually couldn't believe it. Somehow, Adam Russell had gotten a beautiful blue Clemenza and busted it out in front of everybody. But if I couldn't believe it, Xavier stood in pre-coma shock. He stumbled over to the car and touched the hood with reverence.

"Adam, you're not going to believe this," he whispered. "Someone beat in my windows. My Clemenza was totaled."

"That's tragic." Adam's grin widened, and he turned back to me. "Ice princess?"

"Just tragic," I agreed, breathless. I didn't know exactly how I was supposed to be acting. There was a wealth of our coworkers surrounding us. But I kind of felt like laughing and I kind of felt like throwing up my middle finger at Xavier.

"I had to call my insurance company this morning, it's been a mess," Xavier continued. "It's been just…you wouldn't believe it. And there's five seats in a Clemenza and I'd really appreciate it if you could just let—"

"I'd love to help, but I don't see any empty seats, Xavier." Adam shrugged. "I can't count an empty seat. Girls, can you?"

"No empty seats," Zariah confirmed, lounging in the back with her arms behind her head.

"That's our snack seat," I added.

Adam threw the car in reverse. "Snack seat! You know how much room those pretzel bags can take up. But have fun in the Predator Mobile! We'll see you back at Marrs!"

With that, the Clemenza whipped around the parking lot. With the top down, my hair flew all around my face and when I laughed, the laugh flew past me, off to the wind. Zariah and June laughed too, and it was the most beautiful sound in the world. With a quick turn off the main road, we sped away from the conference, off towards our university.

June threw her arms in the air. "Thank you, Adam!"

"Did you see that look on his face?" He chuckled as the car revved up another ten miles an hour. "Fucking hilarious!"

I laughed too. It was a gorgeous morning and so much better than anything the conference had offered. As quick as I could, I leaned towards Adam to murmur a thank you. I wasn't sure if he heard me. Not with how fast the car raced across the road and the wind whipped past our faces, but I saw the half smile on his face just the same, blinding in the sun.