Page 18 of This Blood That Binds Us

“I think I’m still a little in shock from it all. I’m okay. It’s just a bite. I lost a lot of blood and went to the hospital, but I’m fine.”

My answer didn’t budge the worry in his dark eyes.

“Are you sure? You need to take a rest. Maybe some time off. I can’t even imagine what you went through.”

I’ll admit, the offer of time off sounded tempting. Even a weekend trip out of town would have been nice, but with upcoming finals, it made more sense to soldier through my suffering.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I leaned down to look. It was Chris finally returning my phone call.

“Do you need to take that?” William eyed the phone in my hand.

“No,” I said, placing my phone on the table.

I turned to face the window just as I set my phone on the table, and my body froze.

Aaron was walking across the campus, backpack in tow, wearing a large, slouchy football jersey and a backward cap. He was moving fast, like he was late for something. This time, there was no one around him.

“Do you know him?”

I must have been staring too long.

I snapped my attention back to William. “No. No. Definitely not.”

“Except, clearly you do.” William chuckled, “What is he, an ex-boyfriend?”

“Oh, god no. No, he’s . . . just a guy. I met . . . recently.”

Not even a day in, and I had already broken my own rule.

William swirled his coffee around in his cup, watching me as if I were the most interesting person on the planet. “Oh, where did you meet?”

“We met . . . in . . . the hallway. I, uh . . . dropped my books, and he picked them up for me. That’s it.”

The vibration on my phone sounded again.

“Are you sure you don’t need to take that?” William smiled. “It’s okay if you do.”

His words reassured me, and I smiled. “I kinda do. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said.

I grabbed my drink and a few napkins, then made a beeline for the door.

“Kimberly, wait!”

My hand lingered on the door handle, and I stopped.

“Come with me to the Omega Beta Alpha party tonight. I can meet you there.”

“Oh, I don’t know . . .”

I felt cornered. On one hand, William was nice, but I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. My life was an actual tornado, and I didn’t plan on dragging anyone else into it. Even if he was cute.

“Humor me. I’ll make sure you have a great time. Don’t you want to pick my brain?” William smirked.

The phone in my hand wouldn’t stop vibrating, and it slipped from my grasp. William was quick to hand it to me, our hands touching. Suddenly, my head was in outer space.

“I’ll meet you there,” I said, betraying my previous resolve.