Page 28 of Carnival

Rose

TWO YEARS LATER

A soft groan escapes me. My hair falls over my face, and I brush it backward with my hands, getting it greasier than it already was. The bags under my eyes are massive, and I don’t remember the last time I’d gotten a full night’s sleep without interruption.

“Would you focus?’’ Danica, a Serbian exchange student whose accent I grew to adore over the time I’ve known her, smacks the back of my head with the thick economics textbook. “You will fail all of the exams if you continue to doze off.’’

My eyes fall on the rest of our study group.

Chase and Danica are the two I’m the closest with, as we share all of our classes. Chase and I met a while ago, and Danica came not too long after. We just clicked, our interests aligned, and we enjoyed the same things.

Asher and Ella are just our classmates, and we’ve always been friendly, though we rarely interacted off campus. When they asked if they could join us to study together, there was no reason to say no; hence, we’ve been studying together for the past two months, three times a week.

“Why am I the only one being scolded? Chase is playing poker on his phone!” I whine, but Danica isn’t impressed. I think she just gave up on Chase as a whole, since we’ve known that he’s an S-class procrastinator.

“And Ella is breaking things off with her boyfriend for the millionth time this week,’’ Danica snorts. “So, what’s your point?”

“You’re just scolding me.’’

“That’s because you’re my favorite study buddy,’’ she explains, flopping her head against my shoulder. “And you’re the only one actually grasping the logistics of this all, so it’s the easiest to just ask you.’’

“Ah,’’ I chuckle. “So, I’m your free-of-charge tutor?”

“I pay you in coffee and cigarettes, so it’s not entirely free. Have you seen the nicotine prices go up? It’s insane; no wonder most people are smoking weed.’’

Asher clears his throat, fixing his glasses. He snatches Chase and Ella’s phones away, then tucks them in his bag, confiscating them for the night. Chase starts to protest, but Danica simply pulls his elbow, begging him not to start anything.

“Now,’’ Asher clears his throat. “It’s best if we actually start working. It’s getting late, and our exams start next week. We need to hurry up before Aria gets home and starts screaming at us again.’’

I wince.

I moved in with Aria not too long ago because all of the money I had saved up went to James’ attorneys.

It’s an entire team, and although Aria and Hudson offered to pay for everything, I couldn’t do that.

I dipped into my savings, moved out of my apartment, and started renting it out because that fucking bastard was supposed to be out soon.

But no, he killed an inmate and just worsened the situation for himself.

After that night when Casper snuck me in, James refused to see me. The very next day, I tried not to think about the revelation he bestowed upon me and focused on finding an elite team of attorneys. No wonder I’m fucking broke; every penny goes to them.

Vivian’s connections ran too deep for the attorneys to get an actual, fair trial, but they managed to completely toss away any possibility of a death sentence, much to my relief. But it doesn’t help that he won’t see me.

He doesn’t want to speak to me, and I’ve written too many letters over the past two years and haven’t received a single letter back. If it weren’t for the attorneys and Casper, who’s been able to see James every once in a while, I wouldn’t even know if he was alive.

It’s eating me alive. These past two years were the hardest I’ve had to endure. It didn’t help that I couldn’t go to James, since he refused to see me, and asked more questions about what he told me.

I tried digging into that information myself, but aside from Willow’s death certificate, I couldn’t find a damn thing. I couldn’t even find Gabe, despite remembering James telling me that he worked in law enforcement. Nothing.

The possibility of James lying just to spite me one last time did cross my mind a few times, but somehow, I doubt it was that. He wouldn’t make up something like that — at least that’s what I’d like to think.

It’s killing me on the inside. It’s infuriating that he wants nothing to do with me now, yet he was the first one to pursue me.

It’s infuriating that I haven’t stopped thinking about him since everything happened, and it’s downright insane that my feelings haven’t gone away.

If anything, they’re stronger than they were.

“Hello?” Danica waves her hand in front of my face. “Earth to Rosalie.’’

I blink, returning my attention to our study group. Asher pulled out his textbooks, opened a page, and is busy trying to teach Ella and Chase the basics that they should’ve learned ages ago. Somehow, I wonder how they managed to last until now without dropping out.

“Sorry,’’ I mumble. “I’ll go grab some snacks.’’

Chase stands up, stretching. “I’ll help. Anything to get rid of Asher for a while.’’

A small snort slips from me, and Asher isn’t amused, throwing a deadly glare at me. Chase follows me into the kitchen, and I groan, seeing that the only snacks available are Aria’s. She’ll lose her fucking mind.

Chase grabs a bag of chips, opens it, and dumps the entire thing into the big bowl, and I start slicing up some apples and add strawberries and any fruit I have available.

“So, Rose,’’ Chase leans against the kitchen counter. “Any plans for spring break?”

I shrug. “None yet. Aria wants to go to Europe for a weeklong getaway.”

“Ah, the lifestyle of the rich,’’ he chuckles. “Remind me again, how many times did she change her major and drop out?”

A laugh slips from me. “I honestly stopped counting. But hey, university isn’t for everyone, and she already has a blooming business, so why would she waste her time.’’

“Eh, true,’’ he smiles. “So, Europe, huh? Where in particular?”

“We were thinking probably Italy or Spain. She’s been to both places already but loves to revisit.’’

He hums. “That sounds great.’’

“It is,’’ I smile, finishing the plate of fruit. “What about you? Any plans?”

“None yet, but I was thinking,’’ he pushes off the counter and steps closer, a warm smile on his face as he looks down at me.

He has gorgeous brown eyes, yet whenever I look at them, all I see are the cold brown in James’ gaze.

“I know it’s exam season, and I don’t want to overwhelm you, but I would really like to get to know you better. ’’

I blink. “Oh. Are you asking me out on a date?”

“Well, yes. I’d like to take you out, if you’d let me.’’

Momentarily, I’m at a loss for words. It takes me a while to process it and then to start wondering.

I don’t think I’ve ever been asked out on a date, and I never actually wanted to date anyone.

Despite not being official with James, I’m aware that his threat of letting another man near me and killing him if he gets out wasn’t an empty one.

“Really?” I frown. “You… want to go out with me?”

He tilts his head to the side. “Is that really surprising? You’re funny, insanely gorgeous, with a brilliant mind.’’

“James will kill you.’’

Something I can’t quite place flashes in his eyes before a look of confusion overtakes his features. He frowns, trying to understand what I’m talking about, and it’s only then that I realize that I let inner thoughts out.

“Who?”

“Ah,’’ I chuckle nervously. “Uh, my boyfriend.’’

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were taken. You never mentioned a boyfriend, so…’’

“Yeah, it’s not your fault.’’

A beat of silence passes us.

“So, where is he?” Chase asks, curiosity lacing his tongue.

“Prison.’’

He blinks, taken aback. “Prison,’’ he repeats. “Let me guess, the threat of him killing me isn’t an empty one.’’

I smile sheepishly. “I did mean it figuratively.’’ I lie with ease, something I’ve learned to do as of late.

“Ah, so you’re waiting for him to get out.’’

“Yes,’’ I say, not missing a beat. “He’ll be out soon.’’

Chase takes the bowl with the chips, then heads back to the living room. He casts a glance over his shoulder, a look on his face that I can’t quite recognize. I’ve never seen it before, either.

“You’re too young to waste your time waiting on a criminal.’’

◆◆◆

The first week of exams wrecked me. The bag on my shoulder is heavy, and I seriously need to pay someone to give me a good, thorough massage once this is over. I push the key into the hole, unlock the door, and step inside.

“Jesus Christ!” I yell out, immediately covering my eyes.

Aria and Cove are naked, and I don’t want to see what they’ve been getting up to. Aria is mumbling something about me cock-blocking her, but I can thankfully hear the rustling of clothes as the two get dressed.

“You can look now,’’ she mumbles, grumpily.

I peel my eyes open, and Cove’s sitting on the couch, equally as pissed as Aria, though he doesn’t voice it out. He’s never been the most communicative man, and I appreciate that. Aria’s glaring at me, sitting next to Cove, lifting her feet on the small coffee table.

“How were your exams?”

“At this point, even praying won’t help me,’’ I snort and toss the bag aside, the weight immediately being lifted off my shoulder. “What are you two up to?”

“Well, I was going to get an orgasm before you interrupted,’’ she glares. “But overall, I did want to talk to you.’’

I ignore the first comment and slowly approach them, keeping a respectful distance as the two are still trying to catch their breaths, which I do my best to ignore. Aria looks at me, all previous banter vanishing.

“I just… want you to know that I’m very grateful for everything you’ve done to help me… with Wyatt mainly, but having you around means the world to me, Rose.’’

My brows narrow, and I’m momentarily caught off guard. Aria isn’t someone who wears her heart on her sleeve, and her being this open about her feelings is a rare moment of vulnerability for her.