Page 17

“I can give her a ride” Colleen said.

“Great, then wait for the end of practice in the infirmary and take the opportunity to start taking care of your injury.”

Karlee was direct and really wasn't afraid to make demands on us.

I agree with my head once again and Colleen helped me walk, almost hopping on one leg, to the infirmary. Before I entered the place, I heard Karlee asking Troian, one of Veronica's roommates, to do what she had just asked me to perform.

I faced the staircase of the dorm building and I wanted to just throw myself on the floor and maybe crawl up to my room. It was two flights of stairs to my floor and my fucking ankle was dislocated.

“Do you need help?” Veronica's voice resonated behind my back.

“From you? Never.”

The sweaty body passed me, followed by Troian.

“Okay, it’s up to you” she shrugged and, for a moment, I thought about calling Colleen and apologizing after we had argued in the car with her saying that I wasn't taking myopportunity seriously. I called my cousin exaggerated and neurotic.

I huffed and leaned on the railing, but it wasn't safe enough for me to hold on and push my body up to jump to the next step.

“Torres!” I called her.

The brown eyes captured me along with a pretentious smile.

“This doesn't change anything between the two of us” I stated, seriously.

Veronica let out a sarcastic laugh.

“I'm offering you help, you dumb stupid bitch! The one who needs me right now is you. So if I were in your place, I wouldn't complain, I wouldn't shove conditions down my throat, I would just shut up and accept it.”

Her footsteps approached me and she stopped in front of me, on the step above me, letting her height almost match mine. With those fucking eyes as dark as night, glued to mine.

“Do you want my help?” She asked quietly, almost like a whisper, due to our proximity. My real desire was to spit in her face, but I didn't.

My ankle started to hurt more intensely again and I knew I would need to stretch it and put an ice pack there.

I took a deep breath and almost let the “yes” escape my lips, but I was saved when Jazmine stopped next to me.

“Hey!” Her smile was always warm, I didn't know how she did it. “Thank you for offering your help, Veronica, but I'll help Kendra.”

Veronica smiled cruelly and turned her back to us, not even bothering to say goodbye.

“Thank you, Jaz…” I whispered , letting my arm go to her shoulder for support.

“You're welcome, Ken.”

She had a bit of an Ariana Grande as Cat vibe, from the show Victorious, but something told me she wasn't at all silly or innocent.“You are from California, right?” I asked my roommate.

“Yes, I'm from Los Angeles.”

“Wow, it must be cool to live in a city full of celebrities.” And I wasn't even being ironic.

“Yeah, sort of…” she answered me as we climbed the first flight of stairs. “My father is a film director” she confessed quietly. “You must have seen some of his films.”

“Who is your father? Because the surname Doyle doesn't remind me of anyone off the top of my head.”

She laughed weakly.

“I prefer to use my mother’s surname “a silence fell for a few seconds before she continued: “August Kree, the director of Galactic Adventures and Rhys: A Dream About Freedom.”