25. Addi

TWENTY-FIVE

Flora's bedroom door clicks shut behind me as I nervously glance around her personal space. It's the mirror image of my room, but it looks completely different, exemplifying the stark contrast between us both.

Her desk is scattered with beauty products, pink curtains drape her windows, and her bed is filled with pillows and a thick throw. Pictures of her with her family hang on her wall, making my heart clench at the reminder that I have none of mine. My room is an empty shell. Hers is all warm and inviting, like she brought a little slice of home here with her.

It doesn't take much to be girlier than me, but Flora is on another level.

I mean, right now, I'm rocking my gym clothes like a sweaty mess while she's wearing a cute red summer dress that perfectly complements her auburn hair. Her makeup is natural and fresh, and she just looks way more put together than me. It must be nice, and I almost long for it, but then I'm quickly reminded that the effort she put into all this I save for surviving. It's as simple as that.

"Get comfy, we're here for a good time," she sings, grabbing her laptop from her nightstand and getting comfortable among the array of cushions on her bed. "I have snacks, what do you want?" she asks, pulling a bag out from under the side of her bed the second my butt touches the sheets, and my stomach chooses that moment to growl. Her eyes immediately narrow as she assesses me, pulling the bag of snacks out of reach. "When was the last time you ate? I haven't seen you in the dining hall since Friday at lunchtime." I look away with a grimace, which only serves to prove whatever point she's aiming for. "Oh, you're in so much trouble," she promises, launching from the bed to grab her cell phone off her desk.

"What are you doing?" My instinct is to dive up and snatch the device from her hands, but something keeps me rooted to the spot, and thankfully so.

"Calling in a favor with Arlo," she answers, not looking up as she taps out a message. It chimes a moment later, and she smiles wide as she turns my way. "He's on the hunt to grab us some cheeseburgers and fries. What do you want to snack on until then?" she offers, approaching with the treat bag again, and I dive my hand in before she changes her mind.

When I pull out my favorite chocolate, I feel like I've hit the jackpot. "Thank you," I murmur, not really sure how to handle her attentiveness, and her smile grows.

"No worries." She takes a seat beside me, getting comfortable against the headboard, and I follow suit as she places the laptop between us. "Have you seen this?" She points at the screen, and I frown.

"The Office?"

"I'll take that as a no," she replies with a snicker, clicking the first episode.

"Do I even want to know what it's about?"

"It's a human classic," she promises, but my unease only heightens.

"You're not reeling me in."

She turns to me with her jaw slack and eyes wide. "Wash your mouth. It's funny as hell, completely mundane in comparison to our hectic lives, and it's all warm, like a hug. It's exactly what you need," she promises, her excitement palpable.

Her passion for it has my argument dying on my tongue. "I'm going to take your word for it."

"You're going to find out for yourself," she states, pressing play, and the opening theme song fills the air.

"Okay." The show starts up, but I can feel her eyes on me. I try to ignore it, focusing on the screen, but after a few minutes, it's impossible to avoid. "What?"

"That feels too agreeable for you."

I cock a brow at her in confusion. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know, but I feel like you would usually put up more of a fight."

It's on the tip of my tongue to mention Nora, but I slam my lips shut. If it were my sister and me right now, we would argue for hours over what to watch together, only for me to give in eventually to make her smile.

I can sense she wants some form of explanation as to why I'm out of sorts, but she doesn't need to know about my sister. So I give her something else entirely. Something she's already semi-aware of.

"It's just Brody," I murmur. Does he have me out of sorts? For sure, but there's so much more to it.

"That went from a hot secret to ice cold real quick," she assesses, and I scoff.

"Oh, it never got hot." I stuff a piece of chocolate in my mouth to shut myself up for a moment as her eyes narrow.

"What am I missing?" she prods, and I shake my head.

"So, so much."

She clears her throat and laces her fingers together in her lap. "Well, if you want to spill, I'm here. There's no pressure, but I find it's easier to get things off your chest sometimes."

"Thanks," I breathe, slightly in shock. I was certain she was going to start peppering me with questions, but instead, she's letting me set the pace. This might be the factor that separates her and Nora. Nora would never leave me alone when there's information to be had.

A knock at the door breaks the moment and Flora rushes over to reveal Arlo on the other side of the threshold with a bag of food.

His eyes narrow for a moment, as if he's concentrating, before they widen with excitement. "Is that The Office playing?" he asks, handing the bag off to Flora.

"It is, but you're not invited," she retorts, and he frowns.

"What? Why?"

"It's girl time," she points out, like it's really that simple. I don't mind if he's here or not, but I don't want to say that in case it's her who wants some space from him.

"I can be involved with girl time," he insists, and she shakes her head with a little cackle.

"I can see the outline of your dick through your sweats. Definitely not allowed," she declares before slamming the door shut in his face. She turns to me with those familiar pink cheeks as she heads over to the bed.

"What am I missing there?" I ask, using her own words back at her.

"What do you mean?" She doesn't look at me, opting to sort out the food instead.

Shrugging, I glance back at the door, expecting another knock, but nothing comes. "I don't know. Your connection seems completely different than…step-siblings," I admit, and she sighs.

"Yeah."

Despite there being so much unspoken in the air between us, we fall into a comfortable silence as we eat our food and fixate on The Office. Admittedly, it makes me grin more than I would expect, and I almost laugh at one point, but I refuse to admit it.

"I've known Arlo since I was five," she states, looking down at the few fries she has left. "I've loved him since I was eight, or I think I loved him then. It felt like it," she admits. "I knew I was crushing hard on him when I was fourteen, and when I turned twenty…my dad married his mom."

"Well fuck," I blurt, earning a smile from the defeated redhead beside me.

"Yeah, that."

"Have you guys ever talked about it?"

She shakes her head. "No, but I'm sure it's obvious to him. He's just too nice to make things awkward."

"That's bullshit," I retort, regretting it the moment she winces, but when she looks up at me with a confused gaze, I know there's a tinge of hope in there too.

"It is?"

"If that's what he was doing, then I would say that's shady as hell, but there's a level of care there for you, too. I can't decipher either of you enough to figure out anything more than that, though. But I don't get the feeling he's purposely avoiding the elephant in the room to save your feelings, because we all know that only ends in devastation anyway."

She scoffs, looking up at the ceiling helplessly. "Tell me about it. I'm a mind fae, and I can't get a damn read on him since I taught him how to shield at twelve."

"Damn, past Flora did future Flora dirty," I state, and she chuckles.

"Right?"

We laugh for what feels like forever, the weight on my shoulders easing a little. I feel lighter, and it wasn't even my problems we were discussing. It's strange to me that she just laid all that out for me, and her words from earlier replay in my mind.

"I agreed to a date with Brody so he would strengthen the ward on my room. Apparently, the one we were taught isn't strong enough to withstand mages," I admit, and she gapes at me in surprise. "I know."

"How did the date go?" she asks, a wistful romantic glint in her eyes.

"Well, I involuntarily dueled with a wolf named Leticia. I won, but the prize…is going to be more of a mess than I was already in," I admit, looking away from her.

"A duel. Damn, Addi, they're?—"

"Serious, I know. It was more serious than I realized, but at the time, I was in the moment and desperate to defend myself."

"What were you dueling over?"

That's the worst part. Saying it out loud feels like setting off a ticking time bomb, but I take a deep breath and blurt it out before I can change my mind. "Cassian Kenner."

"Shut. Up. The most eligible wolf on campus?"

I frown at her as I shake my head. "No, he isn't."

"Yes, he is," she insists, sitting up to turn toward me. "His father is the elusive asshole who put the Kenner pack before all else, and his son left to be here."

"How did you know that?" I balk. I didn't know until I was right there watching everything unravel.

"You need to pay better attention to the gossip around us," she states, shaking her head, and I sigh.

"That sounds like more hard work than I'm willing to commit to," I say, and she chuckles.

"I'll focus on the gossip. You focus on keeping yourself out of any danger." The pointed look she gives me keeps my lips sealed shut as I nod.

She's right, that much is for sure. But why does that sound easier said than done? Since I've stepped foot on campus, all I've done is wind up in some kind of trouble.