Addicted for Now (Addicted #2)(130)

Go Rose. I think we’re all smiling. Except for Sebastian.

He shakes his head at her. “I’ll call you tomorrow when you’re not being so bitchy.”

“You won’t,” she says. “I’m blocking your number. You’re not to see me or talk to me. I never want to hear from you again.”

His mouth falls. “You would listen to him? Rose, I’ve known you longer.”

“He knows me better.”

Sebastian just keeps shaking his head.

Rose glances at Connor, her shoulders locked tight. “Can you please get him out of the house? I need to go…” Her eyes flit away, looking for her room as though it’s vanished.

“Of course,” he says easily. His hand falls to the small of her back, and he whispers something in her ear before kissing her deeply. She returns the affection, but there’s sadness in her eyes that wasn’t there before—the stress of everything weighing on her. And I have a feeling Sebastian has added to it every single day.

When they part, Rose turns to me. And my guards rise. Oh no. She’s going to yell at me for cheating. I open my mouth, about to let out a string of sincere apologies, but her arms fling around my shoulders and she pulls me into a big, sisterly hug. One that she rarely gives, even when she’s in a good mood.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers in my ear. “I love you.” I feel her tears on my shoulder. “I’m here if you need me now. I promise.”

I don’t think I deserve this. I ruined her company, but at the same time, I am overwhelmed at having my sister’s support again. She’s my biggest and best cheerleader.

So I hug back. I want to ask if she’ll be okay with all of the Connor and Sebastian stuff, but she places a kiss on my cheek and spins towards her bedroom on the main floor.

Connor watches her carefully, and Rose meets his gaze for a single second, brushing her tears off her face. I think they can read each other’s minds or something because he nods to her and she nods back and disappears.

Connor guides Sebastian towards the exit.

Sebastian’s eyes flicker to the exams on my lap.

“You’re not getting them back,” Connor tells him.

“You know,” Sebastian says, “I hope you break her heart. She deserves what’s coming to her.”

“So do you,” Connor says, slamming the door on Sebastian’s face.

When the tension begins to eke out of the living room, Ryke says, “Well I f*cking learned something today.” His lips rise. “Connor has balls.”

Connor takes a breath and any anxiety or anger disappears like the wind, undetectable by the average human eye. “Glad I could entertain you.” His eyes flicker between the hallway where Rose disappeared down and me.

He chooses me, which only puts a larger pit in my stomach. He stands in front of the couch, his hands slipping in his slacks.

“Do you really see me as an apathetic trust fund baby?” I ask, remembering some of the insults that inadvertently flew my way. I have been lazy and uncaring towards college. I should have tried harder.

“Technically you don’t have a trust fund anymore,” Connor tells me. His words don’t lift my spirits, and I don’t deserve a brightened day. I’m at fault here. “You should have told me you were cheating when I asked.”

“I can’t pass without the old exams,” I defend quickly.

“You can,” Connor retorts. “I’ve tutored you, and I know that if you just studied, you could pass.”

“I can’t take that chance. I bombed the first two tests. I’m already behind a semester, and if I fail these classes I’m going to be behind a whole year.” I hold the tests to my chest, unwilling to let them go over Connor’s moral compass. “It’s not cheating. It’s beating the system. Everyone does it.”

“You’ve already beat the system by being at Princeton. By being at Penn. If you didn’t have your last name, you’d be at a community college. Where you should be, Lily. How many times are you going to beat the system until it beats you to death?” His words are weighted and have more double meanings than I can process. “You don’t need an A. You’re going to be fine if you graduate with a low GPA at the bottom of the class. Do yourself a favor. Toss out those tests, and I’ll help you take your finals. I’ll make sure you learn the material to pass. I promise.”

“I have to turn them in by six o’clock today,” I say. “That’s not possible, Connor.”

“They’re take-home tests,” he reminds me. “You’re allowed to use your notes and your book. Just not old exams. We can make it happen.”

“We can all help,” Daisy exclaims with a smile. “I have the recipe for the perfect study brownies.”

Ryke gives her a look.

“Not those kind of brownies.”

The undertaking feels bigger than me, but I have support. “You should go talk to Rose,” I tell him. I don’t want to draw him away from her more than I already have.

“She’ll want to be alone right now,” he says. I’m not so sure about that, but he adds, “Trust me.” And for some reason, I do. Maybe Sebastian is right. Maybe Connor does have power in his words.

An hour later, I’ve finished a political science final and moved onto Stats. A tray of warm, gooey brownies emits a sweet chocolate aroma in front of me. I’m basically eating the entire plate. Daisy flips through her motorcycle magazine, not touching a single one.