Page 5 of Quiet Obsession
“Yes!” she exclaims and immediately blushes harder. “I mean... I just heard a lot about you.”
I cock an eyebrow, though I’m hardly surprised. Hyde’s reputation probably precedes him. He wheels my suitcases in, leaving them at the foot of my bed.
“I need to try Creed again, sis, but I’ll come back and help you unpack, alright?”
“No, I’m okay,” I whisper, twisting my sleeves between my fingers when he bends down to kiss my head.
“Okay, fine. Call me if you need me and be ready for seven. I’ll come get you so you can meet Noah.” He gives me a hard, scolding look when I open my mouth to protest. “Don’t sayno. The guys know the drill.”
I figured that much.
I’ve never met his friends, but from what he said while he was trying every trick in the book to get me to talk in that hospital bed, I know Noah, Dash, and Creed are his pillars.
The support system he never had at home.
The least I can do is turn up and maybe force ahiout to show I’m grateful my brother has people he can count on.
Even if I wish I was that person.
He takes my silence as ayesand turns back to Abby. “Millie doesn’t talk much. Don’t take it personally.”
“Oh.” Her blue eyes soften and the bright red coloring her cheeks runs down her neck under Hyde’s stare. “Okay, no worries. My mom says I talk for two, so we’ll make it work.”
With a final glance over his shoulder, he leaves. The door closes with a quiet click and Abby lets out a soft squeal.
“I can’tbelieveI’m rooming withHyde Ward’ssister! He’s a god around here, did you know that?” She waves a dismissive hand, apparently not expecting an answer.
I like her already.
“Of course you know. How could you not? People say he and his friends basically run the place.” She lowers her voice, glancing toward the door. “They also say, and by the look of your brother they’re not lying, that all four are super hot.”
I’ve never looked at Hyde that way, but I guess he could be considered handsome. He’s tall and muscular and knows how to dress well. His brown hair is kissed with blond streaks after spending the summer with me in California, and I’ve seen many girls swoon when he smiles.
Abby waggles her eyebrows as if she can read my mind and plops down on her bed, face still slightly pink.
I unzip my first suitcase, pulling out a stack of sweaters. Given the rain pattering the window, it’s a good thing I packed warm clothes. Opening the closet, I start filling the shelves while Abby fills the silence.
“There’s a mixer every evening this week. Wanna come? Not tonight, since you already have plans withHyde and hishotfriends, but maybe tomorrow?”
I shake my head. I would’ve jumped at the opportunity a year ago, but a lot has changed. I prefer solitude over constantly wondering if everybody at the party’s looking at me or through me. If they’re laughing at me or just with their friends.
If theyknow.
If theysaw.
“Fair enough,” Abby says, folding her legs under her butt. “I don’t like crowds, either.”
Somehow, I don’t believe that’s true.
She buries her nose in a book, leaving me to unpack in peace. Even when I’ve emptied my suitcases, my corner of the room looks sterile... almost like no one lives here. And it’ll stay that way because I don’t take up space anymore.
Besides, I have nothing to decorate itwith, were that a thing I wanted to do, which I don’t. I didn’t bring pictures, lights, or books. Just my sketchbook, though it’s more out of habit than anything else. I haven’t sketched, painted, or doodled since that night. Before that, I used to spend hours with a brush in my hand, pouring my soul onto a blank canvas. It always felt like letting a tiny secret loose.
He belittled that, too.
2
Millie
