was my brother! He's on his way over right now. He brought me some

administration building. Some of my enrollment papers

h's hand shot out and caught my wri

ly take a minute. Just wait here. Besides, if you need to go a

just offered me a ride there. I couldn't refuse without being outright ru

hands in my lap, my nails digging into my palms. I just had to g

the door. Three sharp raps. The so

d and ran to o

gainst the simple black t-shirt he wore. His hair was dark, styled neatly, and his jaw looked like it had been carv

om instantly thickened, making it hard to breathe. He didn't just look at me; he assessed

irped, oblivious to the suffocating tension.

esk with a soft thud. He turned to m

vibrate in my chest. It wasn't warm. It was a

king. I quickly cleared my

forced myself to look away, staring at a spot on the floor near his expe

ummies?" Hannah asked, ru

t," Dean replied, his gaze still

ng out the photos she had pinned to the corkboard. Dean listened, nodding occasionally, but his attention never wa

d suddenly, cutting off Hannah's

e directness. "Yes," I sa

l ri

es

his arms over his chest. "That's impressiv

rogation. The silence stretched, heavy and awkward. Hannah looked

ghed, nudging her brother. "Light

omeone has to be careful," he said. His gaze slid back to me. "I'm r

in a polite sentence. A heavy responsibility

aid stiffly. "We'll lo

should exchange numbers! That way, if my phone dies

inst my ribs. "That's

e from his pocket. He held it out to me,

his number. I didn't want him to have mine. But Hannah was alr

his in yours!" she commanded,

s phone. He did the same on mine. When he handed it back, the contact

ng to shrink the room again. "I should go. Call m

romised, walking

time. "That goes for you too, Chloe. If you run into any troub

ent. It was a command. I nodded

essive weight in the room finally lifted. I

nto her bed. "A little intense, but he's the

d, staring at my

r any reason, he would know instantly. With his controlling personality, that would only invite more unwanted attention and questions