Tracked

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Lila makes a mad dash to get ready and she conveniently takes the shirtless man with her, leaving the other three to take their time with getting up and out of our apartment.

As I'm taking my turn in the bathroom, I admire the slight bruising on my hips where Arlo gripped me the night before, and to my slight horror and amusement, a small mark on the side of my neck from the collar. I shiver and dab some makeup on it. A hickey would be one thing; expected and recognized. A bruise on your neck is another kind of explanation.

There's a soft knock on the bathroom door.

"Uh, Lila's sister?" a man's voice says.

I pause, stare at the door. "Yes, Lila's friend?"

Roark speaks again. "Where do you keep your garbage bags?"

I cap the tube of concealer. "Under the sink."

Without another word he walks away. He definitely doesn't seem the kind of person Lila usually hangs around, I decide. From her wild friends in high school to unruly musician boyfriends she brought home from college, he seems more the type you'd find at her office and not someone she'd party with. Except for his mouth, of course—he really has no problem letting obscenities fly.

I finish up in the bathroom, the adrenaline from the night before slowly ebbing away. As I gather my things into my backpack for school, I'm silently placing a bet with myself on how long I can stay awake during class.

There's movement in the kitchen as I emerge from the hallway; Roark's picked up the bottles and take-out from the night before, and a full garbage bag sits by the front door. Nate and Ainslee have disappeared, probably to go relieve their babysitter.

"You don't have to do this," I call out to him.

The dishwasher thunks closed, and a much more alert Roark appears in the doorway. "Can't stand mess," he says, avoiding eye contact with me.

I nod, scooping up a pillow to throw on the lounge chair. "You work with Lila?"

He nods in response, picking at a piece of chipping paint in the doorway. "Yeah, we started at around the same time at the agency."

"You guys both in design or..?" I'm trying to figure out why I've never met him before, or why I've never heard Lila mention him. Though, to be fair, I'm pretty sure she's never mentioned the shirtless man who slept with her in her room last night.

"Yeah," he says, and then after some hesitation adds: "I'm technically her superior."

"Oh," I say, pursing my lips. "Is that why you made her go in and not yourself?"

He looks at me, alarmed. "No! I just—she wanted to go in—bring Brian with her, they drove together—"

I laugh, suddenly imagining this flustered man giving a presentation.

"She invited me last night, as we were all heading out, I usually don't drink that much..." He glances around. "Definitely a pity-invite."

I shake my head. "Lila doesn't do that. If she invited you, it's because she wanted to. Besides, if you hadn't been here, I would've been able to sneak in unnoticed."

That pulls a smile out of him. It's a nice smile. "Sorry."

I shrug, make a move towards the door. "Don't worry about it. I deserved it."

He takes a step towards me. "Also, about the grabbing you thing..."

I wave him away. "Don't worry about that, either. Lila used to sleepwalk when we were little. One time I woke up with her sitting on my chest, thinking she was on a plane or something. Almost suffocated me."

He grins, laughs.

I grin back. "You done in here? I have to get to class, but you can lock up if you want to stay to clean the bathroom."

He shakes his head. "No, I'm all done here. Should get into work."

I wait for him to put on his shoes and jacket, and we walk down together.

"You need a ride to campus? Laurent, right?" he asks out on the sidewalk.

A fierce gust of wind encircles us. "No, that's okay," I say, wrapping my arms around myself.

He gestures to a gray car parked against the curb. "It's no trouble, really. I'm late anyways."

I hop from foot to foot for a second, then relent. "Okay, thanks."


I learn Roark went to school on the west coast, and his family is from Oregon. He learned I don't have a goal as far as the-rest-of-my-life goes, but really like art history. When we're nearly to the library, where I asked him to drop me off, I get a text from Arlo.

Grab a coffee before class?

I reply, Getting a ride from one of Lila's friends. Will be getting there just in time.

He doesn't respond, which is a little odd, but I don't worry about it because Roark asks to hear more about Lila's sleepwalking.

I laugh. "I'll only embarrass her more if you tell me about this Brian guy."

Roark peeks at me. "She hasn't mentioned him?"

I shake my head, gauging his reaction carefully. "No. Are they dating?"

He shrugs a shoulder, but I catch the small smile on his lips. "I don't really know."

I watch him. Does he like her?

We pull up to the library shortly after that, and I thank him for the ride. Though the sun is struggling to make an appearance today, the wind isn't as intense in the center of campus. As I turn from watching Roark's car disappear from view, I spot Arlo walking towards me.

My heart leaps; he's holding two coffees and is wearing a very comfy-looking sweater. A chain dangles around his neck with a star pendant.

I grin up at him. "Look who's trying to steal my style—"

"You could've asked me for a ride," he says curtly.

His tone stops me short. There's not a trace of a smile on his face, and his eyes are hard. He's never looked at me like this. I don't know what to say.

He looks in the direction of Roark. "Who was that? Do you even know him?"

My mouth opens and closes, but no sound comes out.

"And why did you take the long way getting here?"

I suddenly find my voice, and my words come out broken. "The long way? I—were—were you tracking me?"

He stares down at me, and his silence says it all.

"Arlo!" I yank my phone out of my pocket, not believing what's going on. "How? When did you—"

"It was me."

I turn at the sound of Ollie behind me. His hair is disheveled and he's also wearing a star necklace. A part of me wants to swoon at this, but the larger part of me is angry at what he's doing. It's one thing to track his brother, who knows he's doing it, but another to do it without my knowledge.

I cringe, looking between them. "Why?"

"For shit like this," Ollie answers, pointing at my phone. "Who the fuck knows who that guy could've been?"

"He works with my sister," I defend. It's probably best not to mention he grabbed my ass. "And that's not the point, Ollie."

"Why did he take a longer route getting here?" Arlo cuts in. I ignore the hurt in his voice.

"He's never been to campus. I give shitty directions."

The twins look at each other.

I stick my phone out to Ollie. "Whatever you're using to track me, take it off."

"No," he says flatly.

"That's illegal."

"It's a rule," he snaps back.

I scoff. "Liar."

He points at me. "And I don't like you riding around with other dudes, Wren. You scared baby brother half to death."

I squint at him. "I scared Arlo, sure." He can't hide the fear in his own eyes. I really put them through something just now, and I didn't even realize it.

Ollie's eye twitches at me calling him out. "Arlo drives you to school from now on. And you're getting punished for breaking a rule."

My mouth drops open. "What rule? Pissing you off?"

He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear and gives my lobe a little tug. His smile is bitter. "You got it."

I look to Arlo to help, but I can see he's already settled on this. He hands me a coffee without a word.

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