Page 16 of Trust Again

Spencer stared at me, confused. “Lapsus?”

“Latin for mistake. My dad always says it, but with him it’s more like a curse.”

His eyes softened. “I think it sounds like a little animal. With long floppy ears.”

I smiled weakly, though I wanted to cry. Spencer returned my gaze for what felt like a small eternity. We looked at each other until I couldn’t bear the silence and dared to take a step in his direction.

“I’m sorry,” I offered. I didn’t know what to say that would make him look at me like he had before.

He nodded slowly, took another deep breath, and then something in his face changed. I knew what he was doing. He was hiding his feelings, locking them behind his carefree exterior. The amused sparkle returned to his eyes.

“I’m sorry, too, little lapsus.” He rubbed the back of his head. “And sorry I yelled at you. I’m even more sorry about that than about kicking that disgusting dirty laundry on the floor.”

“Oh, that’s no big deal,” I mumbled and bent down to pick up Brix’s clothing, stuffing it back in the basket.

Spencer squatted across from me and joined in. “Admit it. You liked my little tantrum.”

I chuckled, appreciating his attempt to lighten the mood—even if we were just pretending. “It was very masculine.”

“So did it boost my sex appeal? Just a little?”

“Well, I was a little worried that you’d broken your foot.”

“I have steel feet.”

“Like your nose?”

“My nose is the only soft part of my body.”

I let out a relieved laugh. We were back in the swing of things. Everything would be fine.

I picked up another of Brix’s shirts and saw a flash of gold under it on the carpet. Carefully, I reached for it.

“Look at this,” I said, dangling the necklace in front of him. “Unbelievable.”

The locket gleamed under the overhead light. I’d never seen Sawyer wearing it. Turning it over, I saw two ornate letters engraved on the back.

E. D.

D as in Dixon?

“Is that Sawyer’s?”

“It must be. She said it was a locket. Mission accomplished.”

“That was surprisingly easy,” said Spencer. “We’d make great detectives.”

“Actually, it was your steel foot that did the work.”

He didn’t smile and his movements seemed rushed as he stuffed the laundry back into the basket. “Let’s get out of here before Brix comes up with some even dumber ideas.”

He held out his hand. I took it and let him help me up. With a painful twist in my stomach, I realized that the tables had turned: instead of me trying to look away, now it was Spencer.

Chapter 6

The saga with Brix and the necklace seemed to weigh on Sawyer, even days after the fiasco. She hardly left the dorm, and sometimes I’d find her sitting at the window just staring into space. She dismissed my attempts to help her snap out of it, and she didn’t want to talk, either. After a few days, I gave up trying and started just leaving chocolates for her, which she didn’t even touch.

I was ready to call it quits on even that small gesture when she came home from class one afternoon, tossed her backpack in the corner, and faced me, arms folded.