Page 45 of Revere

Violet doesn’t seem to notice as she holds up her textbook and smiles. “Don’t worry. We’ve still got four chapters to get through tonight.”

He nods, and when he glances at me, I give him a tight smile. I still don’t know how to feel about Kole. He’s been polite and kept his distance as we’ve cohabitated these past weeks. I’ve managed to make it almost halfway through the program without any issues living under the same roof as him. But as quiet and easy as he’s been to live with, I’m under no illusions about the sides he hides beneath the surface.

Deep down, the real Kole Christiansen is a vicious monster. Incapable of love, yet managing this obsessive, toxic relationship with my friend. He might be playing nice, but I don’t trust him, and I don’t doubt the pain he’d inflict if something set him off.

Kole and I will never be friends. But for Violet’s sake, we’ve been doing a good job not acting like enemies this summer.

He grabs his keys off the counter, locking all five locks on the apartment door when he shuts it behind him. Whoever owns this place must be as paranoid as Kole is because there’s a ridiculous amount of security on that single door when the building already has top-of-the-line cameras in every hallway.

“Where’s he going tonight?” I pull my feet under me on the couch and set my book in my lap.

“He’s meeting up with a friend.”

I hum, flipping the page. Afriendcan only mean he’s doing something for the House. I wish I hadn’t asked, even if I already assumed.

“There’s so much more to criminal profiling than they’ve been going over at Briar.” Violet highlights another line in her book before typing something into her laptop. “I feel like we’ve been learning it at the level of a television show. Retaining everything Professor Gray has been teaching is sending my brain into overload.”

The simple mention of Jacob has my cheeks warming, so I dip my chin. After that evening in his office, I’ve been avoiding him again. I don’t know how to act around him, and I’ll never look at a ruler the same. My body wants more, but my brain has slammed on the brakes.

What if he regrets it?

I probably should.

The trouble is, I don’t. For the first time in my life, I stopped thinking about anything else except what I wanted to do. What felt good to me. I let go, and Jacob was the one to hold the tether that kept me from floating away entirely.

I’ve never trusted anyone like that. And while it’s a long way from handing over my heart, I feel like I gave him something fundamental. Not that we can ever have more.

My heart sinks as my gaze slides to the trash can across the apartment, where I threw away the rogue poppy that ended up in my bedroom. Kole must have given Violet flowers, and one of them accidentally stuck to my things.

I stared at the poppy for thirty minutes, twirling it between my fingers and wondering what it would feel like to have a man give me flowers. Especially a red one—my favorite. Poppies, roses, tulips.

What would it be like to have a man give me anything at all?

And what does it say that I’m romanticizing Kole’s actions right now?

I shake my head, turning my attention back to my book. “I guess it’s a good thing he’s challenging us.”

“True,” Violet agrees. “I’m just struggling with this chapter apparently. Every time I think I’m being objective, I realize I’m not.”

“No one is entirely objective, and I think that’s the point. We all bring our own bias into it. You’re not alone in that.”

“I guess you’re right.” She frowns.

“At least yesterday’s discussion helped me understand some of it more clearly.”

“Same. But it didn’t make me feel any better about presenting my argument in the Irsite case. I realized that my main points could be stereotypes.”

“Want to swap papers and see if we can help with sticking points? Maybe you can be more objective for me, and vice versa.”

“Yes, please.” Violet spins her laptop around, and I lean forward, doing the same.

She sits cross-legged on the floor reading mine, while I pull her laptop into my lap on the couch, and we spend the next two hours reading and discussing. By the time we shut down our computers, we’re closer, but there’s still plenty of work to be done.

“If I pass this program, it will be a miracle.” Violet sighs.

“You’ve got a better shot at it than me.”

“That’s not true. Stop doubting yourself.”