Bait
Page 41
“What are you doing in my room?” Bay-Lee demanded of the two occupants even as her gaze slid between them. Nick slouched against the wall near her dresser while a strange girl tore Tessa’s rock posters off the wall. Half-filled packing boxes had been set on Tessa’s cot.
“I’m your new roommate,” the girl announced. She was a life-sized Barbie with long blond hair, wide blue eyes, and a creamy complexion. She wore a fake smile as she extended a manicured hand. The fingernails were perfect, tapered ends, smooth and painted blush pink. “Serena.”
“You were at Orientation.” Bay-Lee ignored the hand. This girl didn’t fool her for a second. Serena didn’t want to be friends. If anything, she wanted to be friends with Nick, close friends. Her eyes softened and her smile turned genuine when she glanced his way.
Serena inclined her head. “I’m Bait too, but not for long.”
“Why are you throwing out Tessa’s stuff? You can’t erase her as if she wasn’t even here?” Bay-Lee looked at Nick, accusing. “And this is just the usual protocol, right? No one cares Tessa died. They’re going to dump her stuff in the garbage and pretend she never existed.”
Nick crossed the room to stand directly in front of her. “We aren’t throwing anything away. Her personal belongings are being shipped to her family. Van asked me to fill the boxes”—he walked over to the bed and hoisted a large box into his arms—“and take them to the post office.” He pointed his chin at her new roommate. “I was going to pack them myself, but Serena offered to help. If you were here, I would have had you do it. I know this is hard for you, and I’m sorry, but it has to be done. Her family wants this stuff, all of it.”
Bay-Lee raced forward as Serena found Tessa’s diary beneath her pillow. She ripped it from the girl’s hand before Serena could snoop. The words in the diary were private. Tessa couldn’t protect them so Bay-Lee would. “Since I’m here now I’ll finish the packing. You can go.”
“This is half my room now.” Serena’s mouth tightened. “I have every right to be here.”
“You must have your own stuff to deal with,” Bay-Lee said.
“As a matter of fact, I have my entire wardrobe to move.” Her sultry eyes went to Nick, and a coy smile curved her mouth. “I could use a pair of strong arms.”
“I’m on my way to the post office,” Nick said. “You’ll have to get someone else to help you.”
Serena left, an unhappy expression on her pretty face. She probably hadn’t heard a boy say ‘no’ before. The second she crossed the threshold, Bay-Lee slammed the door. She hated the girl already and didn’t know how she’d survive sharing a room with her. The little witch obviously wanted Nick. There was no telling what would have transpired if Bay-Lee hadn’t walked in when she did.
Bay-Lee removed Tessa’s belongings from her dresser drawers with numb hands. She handled each item gently. It was hard to believe the vibrant chatty girl was dead, gone forever. A single tear slipped down Bay-Lee’s cheek. Stoic resolve not to bawl like a baby strengthened her spine. She was not going to cry in front of Nick Gallos. He already thought she was a mess.
“Aren’t you going to take that box downstairs?” she asked without glancing over her shoulder at him.
“If you don’t want another roommate, move in with your father. You should be living in his castle with him, not here in a dorm room with a stranger.”
Everyone at this school is a stranger, including Van. “You should learn to mind your own business. Van has his reasons for not wanting me to live with him.”
“Explain.” Nick shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable with the turn the conversation was taking. Or maybe the box was just too heavy for him to hold for a lengthy period of time.
“I can’t,” she said. Giving him a warning look, she added, “Van values his privacy more than—”
“Screw that! I’ve known him almost as long as you have, and there isn’t a good reason for you to live here instead of with him. I’ll talk to him about it if you’re afraid to.”
Bay-Lee opened her mouth to dole out useless threats but was interrupted by a third party before she could utter the first word. Mike Keebler stood in the doorway. Somehow he’d managed to open the door without either of them hearing him. Ignoring her, he spoke to Nick. “Van lives by his own rules and doesn’t answer to anyone. Push him and he’ll go in the opposite direction. He’s a lot like you.”
“It isn’t right for her to be here, Michael. It isn’t safe. Tessa Gerard was murdered in this room. You’d think Van would be more concerned about his own daughter. Any other father would have swooped in and taken her away already. I don’t understand what he’s thinking leaving her here. I don’t even think he’s spoken to her about the murder. He’s too wrapped up in playing father figure to the rest of the school. What is wrong with him?”
Bay-Lee clenched her fists. “Don’t talk about him like that! He’s always been there for me when I needed him. You know nothing!”
“Really?” He handed the box off to Mike so he could crowd her, a huge beacon of hostility. “I don’t see him here now. He dumped you off your first night so you could be kidnapped with the rest of them. He didn’t say a word when they were all going to let you go home, washed out on your first day. What is wrong with him?”
“Van has been there for me every time it’s counted.”
There was dead silence until Mike broke it. He advised his best friend, singing the last two words rather than speaking. “Don’t get involved in family biz-ness.”
Nick’s facial muscles tightened. “Whatever. I was only trying to help, but clearly she doesn’t want anything from me. The princess wants us to go, Michael. We bother her with the fact we exist. Let’s leave.”
She cursed, something she rarely did. Some people were so sensitive. Following a deep breath, she spread her hands to show empty palms. “I appreciate your concern, but I am happy living in the dorms.”
Mike left with the box, but Nick lingered behind. He picked another box off the bed as if he was going to follow his friend out. Instead, he hesitated in the doorway. His gaze flicked to her. “How did things go with Gavin? You guys caught up on current events yet?”
Her eyebrows tried to meet in the middle of her forehead. “Why do you care how it went?”
“You left our dinner date to run off with him.” Nick feigned disinterest as if he was only asking to be polite. “Naturally I want to know you had a good time. Are you and Gavin together?”
“Date?” It felt like her cheeks were on fire. “You and I were having dinner, yes, but it wasn’t a date. Did you think it was a date?”
“I was only teasing. Now answer the question. Are you and Gavin an item?”
Were they? Gavin was a sweet boy and she cared for him, but she wasn’t ga-ga over him. It wasn’t fair for her to let him think they were going to have a relationship when it wasn’t going to happen. Practically every waking thought she had was about Nick.
If she wasn’t careful, Nick was going to ruin her search for justice. He would interfere with her plans for revenge. The smartest thing she could do was find a way to forget him. It wasn’t her problem he was a tortured mess. She could feel sorry for him—from a distance.
“Gavin and I are going to pick up where we left off.” The last drawer in Tessa’s dresser was empty. Staring down into it, Bay-Lee’s heart felt like the drawer. She wanted to climb into bed, wrap herself in the rough blanket, and sleep for a year. “I’m done. You can take everything to the post office now.”
There were several boxes. Either Mike needed to help him or he was going to have to make at least five trips. She wasn’t going to volunteer. Exhausted, she didn’t have the strength to carry a single box down herself. She hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since Tessa died. It was hard to relax in the same room her friend had been murdered in when every little sound jerked her awake.
“Do you want to ride with me to the post office?” Nick asked.
The unexpected invitation caught her off guard. “I… don’t think so.”
“You haven’t seen the town yet, have you? It’s nice.”