Beg You to Trust Me (Lindon U #2)(99)

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE





SKYLAR





I pull open the door to Huden with a false sense of confidence. It’s already packed with students who look about as eager for classes to start again as I am.

My eyes scan the room hoping to find a familiar face when I lock onto Dee and Becca in the far end of the dining room. I forego grabbing my food, take a deep breath, and walk over to the table they’re sharing with a group of people I don’t know.

The smile I offer all of them is shy as I turn to my ex-roommate. “Hey.” I spot a tattoo across her forearm that she must have gotten over break. “That looks awesome.”

Rebecca glances down at the fire helmet with a number on the front that I vaguely remember is the same one as her fire department back home. “Thanks,” she responds. Her tone isn’t completely dry but far from friendly.

I shift on my feet, waving at Deanna awkwardly. She returns it despite the look Becca shoots at her. “How was break?” I ask them, hoping casual conversation will deter some of the tension built between us since my move.

It’s Becca who says, “What’s wrong with your voice?”

I clear it, wincing a little. Ernie fixed the heat in my room the best he could, but it’s still cold in there. I woke up this morning with a sore throat and know I’m coming down with something. “I have a cold.”

Her lips tilt up as she refocuses on her food, giving Dee a chance to speak up. “I hung out with my family for most of break. You went to Boston, right?”

I nod, surprised she remembered. “Yeah, I spent time with my friend’s family after seeing the Dragons game against Wilson Reed.”

Friend is a weird thing to call Danny. We’re so much more than that. Or we were.

My former roommate snorts.

Dee gives Becca a look before going back to her food, making me feel weird just standing there. There’s no way I’m going to invite myself to sit with them, so I guess I’ll have to pay for a container to take food back to my room.

Things between Danny and I haven’t been great since coming back. He texts me to see how I am, but I don’t always respond. Do I lie and say I’m fine? Or tell him I’m miserable since our talk in his Jeep? Having sex with him changed everything. It makes us real. Everything that comes with a relationship comes with that—expectations, trust, honesty.

He deserves all of that from me.

But the words stay jammed in my throat.

I’m ashamed of crying after sex. I’m embarrassed for how I snapped at him when he was just being honest about what he wanted from me. He asked me not to shut him out and that’s exactly what I did.

He doesn’t want to sleep with me again until I get help.

And I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to ask for it.

But with the sudden isolation from him, I feel something dark boiling. Something that I know will destroy me if it bubbles over.

Shaking off the dangerous thoughts, I walk away from the girls with my shoulders tight and hear Becca say, “I bet she’s got an STD from all that dick in her mouth.”

I freeze, shoulders pulling back in alert as the people at the tables surrounding us all start laughing at her loud quip. My face instantly heats from the unwanted attention I get as interested gazes turn toward me.

Fighting off the burning tears that prickle my eyes, I clench my teeth and walk out of the dining hall.

The feeling in my gut worsens.

My hands start to shake.

My limbs turn weak.

Only when I’m back in my room with my door locked do I let the tears fall until hot streams of anger and embarrassment flood my cheeks.

Talk to somebody you’re comfortable with.

I dial a number and lower to the floor, not caring that I’m sitting in the salt, dirt, and slush mixture that I tracked in on my boots.

“Rena?” I sniffle.

“Who do I need to kill, Skylar?”



Two hours on the phone with Serena, who immediately makes Sienna join the call, and I finally manage to calm down. Which is probably good because I have to convince them not to fly to New York to put Rebecca in her place like they both want to.

If Serena wasn’t nearing finals like I am, she probably would have ignored my request and booked the first flight out with Sienna right behind her.

Hearing their voices somehow makes me feel better, even though Becca’s words still echo in my head. I know the feeling won’t last, especially when I have to show my face in classes tomorrow, but it’s a start.

It isn’t until almost midnight when I’m finally able to lay in bed without feeling like I’m going to throw up or cry. I’m cuddled in my favorite pajamas with my stuffed penguin in my arms when I pick up my phone and stare at the screen. I’ve started and deleted at least five different texts to Danny, but I never hit SEND no matter how badly I want to hear from him.

When sleep evades me, I thumb out a message to somebody else.

Me: I think Danny and I are over





I roll onto my back to stare at the ceiling. It’s only a few minutes later when my phone buzzes.

Olive: I’m coming over. Give me an hour





Forty minutes later, Olive is at my door with a sleeping bag under her arm, her neon backpack slung over her shoulder, and a McDonald’s bag hanging from her fingers.