Chapter 4 The Truth
I handed Logan his phone.
"It's a good idea, right?" he asked.
There was no way in hell I was letting him move into my room. Ever!
But I forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah…"
I had Anatomy at eight and needed to be out of the dorm before seven. I would deal with Logan later. Preferably after I figured out how to get him evicted.
I grabbed my towel and headed for the bathroom attached to our room. The harsh light flickered overhead, making the already depressing beige tiles look even worse.
How was I supposed to share this with crusty Logan? Who knew how many STDs he had?
I showered as quickly as humanly possible and stepped back into the room with a towel wrapped tightly around my chest.
Logan was sprawled across his bed, one arm behind his head.
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Look away."
"I wasn't looking."
"You were about to!”
He raised an eyebrow. "You give yourself too much credit, Turner."
I sneered in his direction and grabbed my hair dryer. A minute later, the room filled with the roar of warm air.
I glanced over. Logan had turned his back to me.
At least he could follow instructions.
I dressed in record speed, shoved my laptop and textbooks into my bag, and checked the time.
6:57.
"Shit."
I hurried for the door. Logan stood and slipped on his sneakers. "Going for training," he said. I didn't bother responding.
Outside Kensington Hall, I spotted my third least favorite person in the world, waiting for me. My twin brother, Nathan.
He never came to my dorm, which meant this couldn't possibly be good.
I looked straight ahead and tried to walk past him.
"Chloe." He stepped into my path, all perfect looks and luscious blond hair, with that annoyingly perfect smile that made strangers gravitate toward him. "Why didn't you answer my messages?"
"I was busy."
His eyes moved past me, then widened. "Logan? What are you doing here?"
"I moved in." Logan dapped him up, then nodded at me. "To help with the 'dating' story."
Nathan frowned. "Doesn't Kensington have co-ed rooms?"
"Yeah."
"And you're staying where?"
"Fourth floor." The lie slid out of Logan's mouth effortlessly. Only residents were allowed into Kensington Hall, so Nathan would never know.
Nathan sighed, his shoulders relaxing. "Good." He clapped Logan on the back, then turned to me. "You two shouldn't share a room. I forbid it."
Did he now? After a semester of Nathan's overbearing attitude, I'd decided that whatever he forbade was exactly what I wanted to do. I didn't know who'd given him the gall to act like my elder brother when I'd come out first.
"Chloe, how are you doing?" His eyes softened in a way that pissed me off. What right did he have to act like he suddenly cared? He was several years too late.
"Save it, Nathan."
His expression fell.
"We both know you don't care."
Logan's gaze flicked between us, an eyebrow raised.
"Chloe—" Nathan started.
"I'm late," I said, and walked away before he could finish.
First Logan, now Nathan. Two people I desperately wished to avoid for the rest of my life.
I didn't care what Nathan wanted to say. He'd never defended me against the bullies. He always had an excuse ready for them.
Logan didn't mean it that way.
That's just how Felix is.
He used to stand in my bedroom doorway, barely glancing up from his phone. Look at Mark. That's what you call bullying, not whatever you're complaining about.
The words had stayed with me for years. I'd wanted him to be angry. I'd wanted him to ask who had done it. Instead he'd always been angrier at me for being bullied than at the people doing it. To Nathan, if you didn't have physical scars, it wasn't bullying.
I hated him just slightly less than I hated Logan.
After classes and labs ended at four, I headed to Land's Quadrangle. By the time I reached the benches, my feet ached and my head pounded, and the noise from the students wasn't helping.
Max was already there. I dropped onto the bench beside him with a heavy sigh. He studied my face without a word, then pulled out his phone and made a call.
"She's here." He looked at me again. "It's not good."
He didn't ask questions or push. He simply took my hand, and I was grateful for the silence.
A few minutes later, Dejon appeared at the end of the path carrying four boxes of pizza. Carl followed, balancing four Starbucks cups between both hands.
The smell of melted cheese and pepperoni reached me, and I burst into tears.
"Oh my God." Dejon hurried over and dropped onto the bench beside me. "Girl, what happened?"
Carl set the drinks down carefully, worry in his green eyes. "What's wrong?"
I felt like I didn't deserve them. They were always so good to me, and I'd lied to them about so many things. Had I ever let them really know me?
"I'm sorry," I choked out between sobs.
"Why?" Max asked, dabbing at my eyes with a tissue.
"You saw Logan's post?"
They all nodded.
"It's true. The part about us knowing each other since we were kids."
Max exchanged a confused glance with the others. "That's why you're crying? Because you're childhood sweethearts with Logan?"
"No!" I shook my head furiously. "I hated him. We were enemies."
"And now you're lovers," Dejon said.
"No! Logan and I are not dating."
"Then why did he say you were?" Carl asked.
"It's fake," I wailed.
Max frowned. "And you want it to be real?"
"No!" I wiped my cheeks. "That's the problem! I don't want to date Logan. I don't even want to breathe the same air as Logan!"
They stared at me like they were worried for my sanity.
So I told them everything: the bullying, the kiss, the fake relationship, Logan moving into my dorm, and the fact that Nathan Turner was my twin brother. When I finally finished, silence settled over the four of us.
"I'm sorry I hid it from you," I said, looking down at my hands.
"It's okay, Chloe. I forgive you." Max patted my hands.
I looked hopefully at Dejon and Carl.
"You lied to us," Dejon said, brows furrowed.
"I know."
"I can understand why you hid the Logan situation, but did you really have to hide that you were Nathan Turner's twin sister?"
I'd been hoping that part would somehow be forgotten.
"I still don't get it." Dejon shrugged, then gave me a small smile. "But I forgive you. I can't hate my best girl for too long." He hugged me, and I wrapped my arms around him.
Carl still hadn't said anything. He was watching me with a strange expression, like he was trying to figure me out.
"Carl…"
"It's going to take me a while to get over your lies," he said, sighing and shaking his head.
"Okay." I wrung my hands together.
Carl took a bite of pizza. "You said Logan bullied you?"
"Yeah."
He chewed thoughtfully. "It kind of sounds like he had a crush on you."
My face fell. Had Carl just reduced everything Logan put me through to a childish crush?
"I mean—" He stopped when he saw my expression. "I don't know what I'm talking about." He laughed awkwardly and waved a hand. "My brain's been fried by too many dark romance books."
"Chloe did get bullied, Carl," Max said.
"I never said she didn't." Carl held up his hands. "I was talking about Logan specifically. I just…" His voice trailed off, and he crammed an entire slice into his mouth and focused on chewing.
Dejon picked up a slice. "I had my own fair share of bullies."
Max nodded. "Me too."
Carl shook his head. "I didn't get bullied, sorry."
"You don't have to apologize for that," Max said, laughing.
We all chuckled and devoured the pizza in silence until only empty boxes remained and the sun had dipped low over the quadrangle.
"I don't want to downplay what you went through with Logan," Max said. "But I'm talking about adult Logan." He paused. "The one who kissed you. The one who moved into your room."
My cheeks warmed, to my dismay. I squinted at him, wondering where he was going with this.
"Are you sure he doesn't like you?" Max tilted his head. "Because he's acting like he does."
