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CHAPTER FOUR

GARY

I’d only intended to take a break between classes.

After the morning from hell and completely bombing a test, I felt close to tears, and I just wanted to go somewhere quiet for a bit.

I didn’t think I’d fall asleep. I woke up slowly, a knock at the door waking me just enough to be aware without bringing me fully awake.

Thankfully, Carter was home, and he answered the door so I didn’t have to.

“Yeah?”

“I’m looking for Gary.”

The voice was familiar, but I couldn’t place it. I was too tired. I just wanted a few more minutes of sleep.

“He’s out of it right now. Are you a friend of his?”

Footsteps signaled the visitor joining us in the room. “Yeah, sort of. Is he sick?”

The familiar voice was closer now, like he was standing over me. I tried nudging my brain to wake up, but it felt like I was wrapped in cotton, and I couldn’t move a muscle.

“Dunno. He seemed fine last night. He wakes up before me, though. I don’t know if he woke up feeling sick. Hey, I’ve got practice. You good here?”

The voice grunted in response, and I heard the footsteps as Carter grabbed his stuff and left me with a stranger. Alarm bells went off in my head, and I tried to force myself awake again, but a warm hand settled on my forehead before I could peel open my eyes.

“Relax. We’re in a group project together. I’ll tell you about it when you wake up.”

Well, that made no sense, since I didn’t have any group projects currently. But I was too emotionally exhausted to stay awake, and I passed out again the second he pulled away.

When I woke up again, it was dark outside. That was disconcerting, and I blinked at the open windows for a minute before my brain caught up. I sat up in a rush, sucking in a sharp breath. I missed class. I missed several classes! Oh god, I was going to fail out and be forced to go back home!

The door to my room opened, and the grungy guy stepped inside, a plastic bag in one hand. He glanced at me and did a double take.

“You’re awake.”

Awake and in full panic mode. Excuse me while I completely lose it in front of a stranger and embarrass the hell out of myself.

“Wha– Why–”

He shrugged, dropping into my desk chair like he was completely comfortable being in a room he wasn’t invited into. I’d kill for that kind of confidence.

“You missed class. I came to let you know we were put in a group project together, but you were passed out.” He lifted the bag in his hand. “Figured you could use some meds. My friend told me which ones based on how you looked this morning.”

There was a lot to unpack there, but my brain decided to latch on to something insignificant. Because of course it did.

“I’m not sick.”

He raised an eyebrow at me. Now that we were face to face, and I wasn’t sneaking peeks at his profile, I realized he had another piercing in his eyebrow. Was that new? I didn’t see it the first day he showed up.

“Did you get a new piercing?”

My awkwardness was in full armor today. Great. Because today couldn’t get any worse. I felt my face flush, grateful for the limited light in the room. He’d left the light off and only the small lamp on my desk made it possible for me to see him.

A hint of a smile pulled at his lips. “Yeah. If you’re not sick, why did you miss class?”

My stomach twisted uncomfortably. I didn’t really want to get into it, but he went out of his way to buy me medicine, so I figured he deserved an explanation.

“I… I had a really rough morning, and after completely failing that test, I just wanted a break. I figured I’d take some quiet time to myself before going to my next class. I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

The reminder still made my anxiety flare. I was supposed to do better now that I was in college. I had to do everything I could to not end up back at home.

“You didn’t miss much,” he drawled, drawing my attention back to him. “We mostly went over the group assignment.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his hoodie pocket, offering it to me. “Here. This was the handout the prof gave to everyone.”

The paper was a little crumpled, but I was grateful all the same. The assignment itself was simple enough. I could find the time to do it between my normal study schedule. I was contemplating possible project topics when he spoke again.

“Give me your phone.”

Blinking, I looked up at him. He didn’t explain, just put out his hand and wiggled his fingers. Fishing it out of my pocket, I handed it to him with a frown.

“Why…?”

“We need a way to contact each other. I can do weeknights but not weekends. I’ve got other shit to do.”

Oh. Was it wrong of me that I’d automatically assumed I’d be doing the assignment alone?

In the past few weeks, I hadn’t seen the guy take a single note.

He didn’t really seem to pay attention in class.

I saw him more than once playing games on his phone during the lectures.

I figured I’d end up doing the work, and he’d put his name on it.

When he handed me back the phone, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. I glanced down at his name, since we never actually introduced ourselves, and frowned.

“Phantom?”

His real name, Easton Warner, was underneath in the contact information section, but he’d saved his name as Phantom.

“Yeah. It’s what my friends call me.” He was still staring at me, and I felt my face flush under the scrutiny. I wasn’t sure why he stared, but it made me squirm, and I quickly tucked my phone away.

“Did you want my number?”

It felt embarrassing to ask, especially because I had something of a crush on the guy. He may not be classically handsome, but he was cool and relaxed and everything I wasn’t.

“I already texted myself from your phone. We’re good.” He paused for a second before asking, “If you’re not sick, why were you so pale when you got to class? Do you hate tests or something?”

No. Not really. I didn’t enjoy them, but they didn’t bother me.

That wasn’t why I was pale. But I couldn’t bring myself to explain what had happened.

I’d never been aggressively hit on before.

It scared the hell out of me, especially after I told the guy I wasn’t interested and he wouldn’t leave me alone.

My boss had to step in to get him to leave, and he tried following me after I finished up my shift.

I had to duck into another building to avoid him.

Since when did stuff like that happen to guys?

The plastic bag rustled as Easton dug through it. He thrust a pink bottle at me, his expression saying he wouldn’t put up with any arguments.

“Take this. You look like you’re about to throw up.”

I figured it wouldn’t hurt. I only felt sick when I thought about that guy cornering me. I wouldn’t have dwelled if he accepted my ‘no’ as an answer, but the fact that he pushed freaked me out.

Carefully measuring out the amount needed in the little cup, I tipped it back and grimaced around the thick, gritty liquid. Easton nodded once, satisfied, before putting the rest of the medicine on my desk.

“I’ve got shit to do. I’ll see you on Monday.”

A pang of disappointment flashed through me, but I pushed it aside. He was nice enough to show up with medicine and the information I needed for one of the classes I missed. I couldn’t monopolize his time by asking him to stick around.

“Thank you. For the medicine, and for the information. I really didn’t mean to sleep through class.”

“You’re fine,” he said dismissively. “That class isn’t hard anyway. I’m busy this weekend, so we’ll set up a time later to start this thing. It shouldn’t take long.”

His confidence was admirable. I was stressing over a few missed classes, and he acted like it was no big deal. Maybe Carter was right, and some people didn’t need notes to know the material.

Either way, it felt like insane luck that I ended up being project partners with the guy I’d been crushing on. Maybe, just maybe, I might have a chance to actually date without my sister ruining everything. I could only hope, anyway.