Chapter Seventeen
After lunch Bryn felt antsy. “I don’t want to go back to my room. I wish we could go for a walk.”
“We could walk the stairs,” Jaxon suggested.
That didn’t sound like a fabulous fun time, but it’s not like she had a better idea. “Okay.”
They walked up the three flights of stairs and were about to turn back around when Bryn noticed a side door that said exit. She pointed at it. “Where does that lead?”
“To some sort of attic or roof access would be my guess,” he said.
“Cool.” She headed for the door.
Jaxon caught her arm before she could open the door. “You can’t go out there.”
“Why? Do you think Quintessence-sucking dragon-pires are holding a secret meeting on our roof?”
“No,” he said. “But we’re supposed to stay in the dorm.”
“It’s not like I’m leaving the dorm. I’m just going to walk around on the top of it.” She could tell he was considering the idea. “Come on. You know you want to check it out.”
He frowned. “Only so I can keep an eye on you.”
She pushed the door open and climbed the flight of stairs, which led to a short hallway and what appeared to be storage areas.
“I guess no one lives up here,” Bryn said.
“I guess not.” Jaxon pointed to a door at the end of the hall. It bore a sign that said Roof Access. Emergency exit. There was a fire alarm to the right of the door. “If we open that it will probably set off an alarm.”
Bryn walked closer to the door. “It doesn’t say there is an alarm.”
“Do you want to test that theory?”
“Yes.” Before he could argue, she grabbed the handle and turned. The door opened without a sound. Grinning, she turned back to Jaxon. “You were saying?”
He glared at her.
She laughed and walked through the door and into a stairwell, which led up to yet another landing. Before Jaxon could rain on her parade, she darted up the steps and pushed the door open and then…nothing. No one was on the roof. She inhaled the fresh air and enjoyed the sensation of sunlight on her face. Maybe they could just hang out up here for a while.
She heard Jaxon running up the stairs behind her. He stood by her side and looked around. “This is underwhelming,” he said.
“Yes, but it’s a nice day,” Bryn said.
“We’re not staying up here,” Jaxon said.
“How’d you know that was my next suggestion?” Bryn had just thought of it herself.
“One of the side effects of us spending time together is that I’ve learned how you think.”
“That’s just one of the side effects? What’s another one?” Bryn asked.
“I’ve developed the uncanny ability to find food, because I’ve been around you when you’re hungry and it’s not pretty.”
She laughed. “You speak the truth.” What had she learned about him? “You like everything to be planned out and to follow a schedule.”
“And yet life never seems to work that way,” he said. “Come on. We should go back downstairs before someone notices our absence and sends out a search party.”
“Fine.” She followed him back inside. As she shut the rooftop access door, she said, “Do you think this should have been connected to some sort of alarm?”
“Probably. I’ll send word to my father. He can do what he wants with the information.”
They headed back downstairs to the second floor; when they’d almost reached her dorm room door, Jaxon’s friend Quentin approached from the opposite direction.
“I need to speak to Quentin,” Jaxon said. “So I’ll see you later.”
“Excuse me?” Was he blowing her off?
He stopped walking and turned to look back at her. “We ate lunch and took a walk. I think that’s enough bonding time for one day.”
“Fine by me. This was your idea in the first place.” She continued to her room. Once she was inside, she leaned back against the door. Huh? Why did it feel like she’d been blown off? And why did it bother her? It’s not like she wanted to spend time with Jaxon.
She was, however, annoyed. Why? She headed for the couch, flopped down, and grabbed a throw pillow, playing with the fringed edge. Mentally, she ran over the day’s events in her head. Maybe she was annoyed because she’d had fun with him. They’d talked and joked around. She’d had one of those even-though-my-life-has-been-hijacked-and-I’m-being-forced-to-marry-my-former-frenemy-it’s-okay-because-we’re-in-this-together kind of camaraderie. And then he’d declared his obligation done and headed off to be with his actual friend.
Then again, maybe she was irked because she didn’t want to be alone right now, but none of her friends lived in the same dorm. That had to be it. She was irritated that he had friends while they were on lockdown, and she didn’t.
Bryn’s phone rang at eight thirty that night. Hopefully, it would be good news. She set her book down and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
“Hello, Bryn.” It was her grandmother. “How are you?”
“Feeling a little stir-crazy, but other than that, I’m good.”
“You’ll be happy to know that the restrictions should be lifted tomorrow morning.”
“Did the investigators figure something out?” Bryn asked.
“You must keep this to yourself, but they’ve investigated every lead. They’re going to let students roam about campus again, with heightened security in the hopes of capturing someone in the act.”
“They’re using students as bait?” Bryn asked. That didn’t sound right.
“No. They are using several college students who volunteered as bait. Since one of them is your former friend, Zavien, I wanted to warn you not to speak with him because he’ll be wearing a recording device.”
“So if I said something snarky about Jaxon, his father would hear it,” Bryn said.
“You can interpret my message that way if you like. I just didn’t want you interfering in the investigation since you have a way of ending up in the middle of things.”
“I’m hoping that trend is over,” Bryn said. “Can I tell Clint and Ivy to watch what they say?”
“You can tell them security has been heightened so they should be careful with what they say, but don’t mention the college students.”
“I understand.” While she had her grandmother on the line, she might as well bring up something that had been on her mind. “Do you think we could have lunch with mom at some point in the near future?”
“Well…Ephram is not ready to speak to your mother yet, but I think we could manage a civil lunch on neutral ground…maybe someplace in Dragon’s Bluff, like Suzette’s.”
“I’d love that,” Bryn said.
“How are things going with Jaxon?”
There wasn’t anyone else she could talk to about Jaxon. “Something he did annoyed me.” She told her grandmother about him sort of blowing her off after lunch, but she omitted the part about them heading up to the roof.
“So he asked you to lunch, went for a walk with you, and then went about his day like you were unimportant to him,” her grandmother said.
That summed it up in a not-so-positive nutshell. “Sort of. Maybe I’m just being overly sensitive.”
“Jaxon may be more evolved than men of past generations, but his actions today prove he isn’t too far removed from them. You can expect his dismissive behavior to continue and you can let it annoy you or you can learn not to be bothered by it. I suggest the latter. Your life may be intertwined with his, but it is still your own. Develop your friendships and your hobbies because you will need both later in life.”
That was not the answer she’d been hoping for. “I don’t understand why he runs hot and cold. He acts like he’s my friend and then once he’s met his goal, he bails. It’s weird. That’s not how you’re supposed to treat your friends.”
“I’m not sure Westgates have friends,” her grandmother said. “Ferrin has allies and enemies. That’s about it.”
“But Jaxon has friends he hangs out with,” Bryn said. He’d just taken off with Quentin.
“I hope he does, but I’m not sure you should count on being one of them.”
“This conversation is starting to suck,” Bryn complained.
“I’ll always tell you the truth, even if it’s not something you want to hear,” her grandmother said.
…
Bryn strolled around campus after breakfast Saturday morning with Clint and Ivy. “Both of you guys are feeling better now?”
Ivy said, “We’re back to normal. I have no idea what that was about. At least it went away quickly.”
“And hopefully, it won’t come back,” Clint said.
Bryn stretched, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine and the early morning breeze. “It feels so good to be outside.”
“Agreed,” Clint said. “It’s not like I’m claustrophobic but the walls of my dorm room felt like they were closing in on me.”
“I know what you mean,” Bryn said. “And I only had Jaxon for company which was kind of depressing. Which reminds me, I want your opinion on something.” She told them about Jaxon’s dismissive behavior. “Am I just being a drama queen?”
“Not necessarily,” Ivy said. “He does change moods on a regular basis.”
“Here’s my question,” Clint said. “Why do you expect him to act any different than he always has?”
“Because of the way he acts like we’re a team when we’re in public,” Bryn said. “I don’t understand how it can totally be an act. Instead of acting like he’s my friend, why not just be my friend? It’s not that hard.”
“As long as you’re fed and caffeinated on a regular basis, you’re pretty easy to get along with,” Clint said.
“I know. So why does he flip back and forth like this?”
“Ask him,” Ivy said. “You can guess all you want, but he’s the only one who has the answer.”
“True, but what are the odds his answer won’t make me want to blast him to a cinder?”
“Given his history, zero to none,” Clint said. “He is who he is. An elitist asshat with occasional moments of niceness.”
Bryn sat on a bench under one of the new trees in the recently restored green areas. “Every time I think I have a handle on my life, someone switches up the cast or changes the rules.”
“Look at it this way,” Ivy said. “The cast for your future is pretty well set. Maybe not with the people you expected or necessarily wanted, but at least they shouldn’t be changing.”
“True.” Maybe she just needed to sit down with Jaxon and hash this out. If he said he wasn’t interested in a real friendship then she could move on…or flash fry him, depending on his level of rudeness.
“So have you heard anything about dragon-pires?” Clint asked.
“No, but I do know the powers-that-be are upping security again just in case someone evil really is running around campus.”
“Great,” Clint said. “So we have to assume that someone is watching us all the time?”
“Watching or listening,” Bryn said. “And that used to annoy me, but now I kind of understand.”
“It was only a matter of time,” Clint stage whispered to Ivy. “Bryn has turned into the establishment.”
“That is a scary thought,” Bryn said. And it might not be far from the truth, which was truly frightening.
That night, Bryn called Jaxon’s room. He answered on the third ring.
“Do you have time to stop by for a few minutes?” she asked. “I want to talk to you about something.”
“How long will it take? I’m meeting friends in fifteen minutes.”
That probably wasn’t enough time. “Never mind. Call me when you have half an hour to spare.”
“What’s this about?” he asked.
“It’s nothing life endangering,” she said. “Go out. Call me tomorrow some time.”
“Okay.” And he hung up.
Maybe calling him had been a mistake. Asking him if he could be her real friend sounded sort of desperate and ridiculous. His actions would prove more than his words. She should just forget about having any touchy-feely moments with him and move on with her life.