Page 182 of Let You Love Me

Graham:

You’re hurting anyway, and you have to face this at some point. So sit down and ask her why. Maybe her answer will surprise you and you’ll find a way around it?

Me:

And if I can’t?

Graham:

Are you really ready to lose her?

Chris:

I just want you all to know that I resent all these references to things I know nothing about. It’s rude.

Chapter 50

LANE

The air seemingly turnedcool overnight as if autumn waited until this exact moment to make its presence known, so when I step out of my car beside the athlete dormitories, I’m unsure whether it’s my nerves holding my lungs in a vise or the cold.

I exhale, clutching the messenger bag to my side as I remind myself that no matter the outcome, I can do hard things. I’ll be okay.

A girl with long blonde braids steps out of the building in leggings and a Wildcats jacket. She glances around her as if looking for something and I know that’s my cue. She’s just as Gabby described, so I swallow the tangle of nerves in the back of my throat, close the car door, and cross the remainder of the parking lot toward the front of the building.

“Are you Stacy?” I ask as I grow closer.

She smiles. “Lane?”

I nod. “That’s me.”

Gesturing to the building, she says, “Come on,” then turns and swipes her student ID in the card reader, holding the heavy oak door out for me as I step in behind her.

Once we’re inside, there’s another set of doors that leads to either wing of the dormitories. If I’d sat in the parking lot long enough, I could’ve followed someone in, but my nerves are frazzled as it is. I didn’t want to be left waiting. Or worse, denied access. So instead, I’d asked Gabby for a favor.

She phoned up one of her friends and in seconds, I had a way into the athlete dorms and a babysitter for Sophie.

I have no idea how this will go. Teagan’s silence speaks volumes. I can only assume he’s not ready to talk to me, and maybe he’ll never be ready, but the way I see it, my best chance of getting him to listen is by coming to him. Besides, I’m not letting another day go by without seeing for myself that he’s okay.

Stacy pauses at the front desk, talking to the resident adviser as she signs me in on a clipboard, then turns to me and says, “They need an ID.”

I startle. “Oh, right.” Digging in my bag, I pull out my student ID and slide it across the desk.

The RA glances at it, confirms my name, and then sets it on the desk. “When you leave, just sign out and you can pick it back up then.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Ready?” Stacy says from behind.

I turn and nod, too nervous to speak. In seconds, I’ll be standing in front of Teagan’s dorm room, praying he won’t slam the door on my face.

We push through the glass doors and bypass a small lobby. “The boys’ wing is the left,” Stacy says, walking toward it. Turning, she waits for me to catch up. “Do you know what floor your boyfriend lives on?”

Boyfriend.

I wonder if I still have rights to that word.

“Um, the second?”