Page 26 of I Don't Need Your Romance

I’m tossing and turning in bed because my stomach needs food. I didn’t go to the dining hall again because I wanted to stay in my room and draw. I grabbed some cereal from the kitchen, which was enough to satisfy me. But now it’s two in the morning and my stomach is growling.

Throwing my covers aside, I get out of bed and make my way out my bedroom door. As I pass Mom’s room, I stop and peek in. She doesn’t look at peace when she sleeps, kind of like she’s got a lot on her mind. I wonder if I’m on her mind at all. Or even Dad.

I head to the kitchen and browse through the fridge and pantries. There isn’t much food left. The cereal is gone and there are only a few things in the fridge that won’t fill me up.

Darn it.

Plopping down on a chair, I drum my fingers on the table. What am I supposed to do now? Wait and starve until morning? I doubt I’ll make it through the night.

If only there was a way for me to go to the dining hall and get some food to quiet my protesting stomach. I think they keep the place locked during the night hours, so it’s impossible for me to get in there.

Unless I had a key, of course. But how in the world would I have access to a key?

I straighten up. Mom’s got keys to pretty much every door on campus. Which means she must have a key to the dining hall, too. So far, being the principal’s son hasn’t had any advantages, but maybe it can come in handy now.

She keeps her keys on a small table near the entrance to our apartment. They’re separated into different categories or elseit’d be too much to carry. I sift through the keys until I find the one labeled “dining hall.” Perfect.

Now I need to sneak out without making any noise. Mom is a light sleeper, so even a small sound could knock her awake.

I’m careful to be as silent as possible, like a ninja, as I close my fingers around the keys and open the front door. Before I leave, I stop to listen to see if she woke up. But there’s no sound coming from her room.

Good. Now the hard part will be sneaking into the dining hall.

It’s not far from my apartment, but I need to be careful not to let the security guards see me. Luckily, I can use the dark as a cover.

The guard stationed outside the apartment has headphones on as he turns his head left and right, checking for suspicious activity. When he’s focused on something in the distance, I take the opportunity to dash into the bushes. There are so many around campus that I use them to reach the dining hall.

Getting past the guard outside the dining hall will be very difficult. Unlike the one guarding my apartment, this one isn’t distracted by music and he’s doing a better job at scouting the area. There is no way he won’t see me.

I jump to the next bush that will give me a better view of the dining hall and smack into something hard. I roll on top of it, and the next second I hear, “Ow.”

Glancing down, I notice I’m on top of something. Or someone. Due to the dark, it takes me a second to realize it’s a girl with brown hair. She stares up at me with wide eyes. Familiar blue eyes. Pretty ones.

“Damian?” Sophie asks.

I just stare back at her, my mind not processing that she’s here. Then, like something snaps inside me yelling at me to get off because I’m probably hurting her, I roll off her.

We’re sitting in the bushes, side by side, our shoulders nearly touching. Sophie’s got her knees pressed to her chest. She looks at me and I look at her.

Thirty seconds of silence pass before she asks, “What are you doing here?”

“Can ask you the same thing.”

Even though it’s dark, I can see her cheeks flush. “This is going to sound really dumb...”

I shrug. “I bet it’s not that bad.”

She clears her throat. “Well, I kind of skipped dinner because I was reading, and um…I’m kind of hungry. Your turn.”

“I’m breaking into the office to steal all the money my mom’s got in a safe so I can get the heck out of here.”

Her eyes narrow as she studies me. “Liar.”

“I’m serious.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Why?”