Page 99 of I Don't Need Your Love

Chapter Thirty-One

Carly

It’s after dinner and I’m doing my homework. I asked my friends to fetch food for me because I didn’t want to see a certain guy in the dining hall. They understand that I need some time alone now and I love them for that. They’re hanging out in Raven and Sophie’s room. Addie will be back later when it’s time to go to sleep. But for now, I have the entire room to myself.

It helps that my room is completely silent because there’s no way I can concentrate on my advanced English work in a noisy room.

Just as I’m about to finish, there’s a noise outside. I ignore it, since there are always strange noises outside. But it sounds close to my room. Way, way close.

Shrugging, I finish my homework and shut the textbook. Then I drum my fingers on my desk. Now what? Addie should be back soon because it’s almost curfew, but I’m not in the mood to do anything.

I freeze when I hear the noise again. It sounds like rustling leaves. There’s this large tree outside my window that makes a lot of noise, but something tells me this isn’t the wind.

Getting to my feet, I slowly make my way to the window. I peer outside and notice that the leaves are indeed rustling. Looks like it’s the wind after all. I’m about to turn around, but stop when I spot something dark among the leaves. It looks like someone is hanging onto a branch for dear life.

I snort. Right. As if someone would be hiding in a tree outside my room. I turn around again.

“Carly,” a voice says.

I freeze for a second time. The wind is calling my name?

“Carly!” the voice is louder now, desperate, like whoever said it is in danger.

I spin around and squint, trying to see if my eyes and ears are playing tricks on me. They’re not. There really is someone in the branches.

“Let me in, Carly. Please!” The leaves rustle as the form shuffles around.

I know that voice. It belongs to the guy I’ve been avoiding the whole day.

What’s Ryder doing here? And in a tree???

“Carly!”

I blink, snapping into it. I quickly open the window and watch him grab onto a few branches and heave himself into my window. He rolls onto the floor.

“What are you doing?” I cry. “Do you want to get yourself killed?!”

He glances at me, sitting up. “I’ve been trying to talk to you all day, but you kept avoiding me. And you know the security guard hates my guts. What did you expect me to do?”

I gape at him, then at the tree, and back at him. “You climbed that tree?”

He grins. “Remember how me and Blake used to love climbing trees? Looks like it came in handy now.”

I continue to gape at him.

He stands and peeks out the window, glancing down. “We’re not that high up, so it’s not like I was in danger.”

“You could have broken something.”

He shrugs, smiling. “I’d break every bone in my body if it meant having a chance to talk to you.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “You could have texted me or waited to talk to me tomorrow.”

“Yeah, right. You would have avoided me tomorrow, too.”

“You know I’d eventually have to talk to you. Wearedance partners.” We didn’t practice our duet this afternoon because Moreno wanted to polish the team dance.

He tilts his head to the side. “Yeah, but I couldn’t wait that long.”