CHAPTER 11

ZANDER’s POV

I couldn’t sleep after what I just saw.

Jayden had mumbled something under his breath before taking his towel to the bathroom. I wasn’t paying attention at first because my eyes were already half closed, begging for sleep after spending the entire evening working on our project.  

I’d heard the bathroom door open and Jayden stepped out. He made shuffling sounds as he raised up his shirt and out of instinct, my eyes cracked open for only a second and I immediately felt my entire body go pale.

I saw bruises.

Not one.

Not two.

My stomach sank.

The bruises stretched across his back in uneven patches, some dark enough to make my skin crawl, others faded into sickly shades of yellow and green. I couldn’t even tell where one ended and the next began.

Before he could turn back, I pressed my eyes shut and slowed my breathing, pretending I’d been asleep the whole time. Opening my eyes now would mean admitting I’d seen something I wasn’t supposed to and I didn’t think Jayden was ready for that conversation. My chest felt oddly tight and I felt that maybe I shouldn’t have looked.

Across from me, Jayden shifted in his sleep and his mattress creaked.

“No…” I whispered to myself. “You didn’t see anything. It was just you seeing shit because of how stressed you’ve been.”

I swallowed.

Maybe there was an explanation right? Maybe he’d gotten into a fight.

“No way.” I shook my head in bed. “There was no way Jayden would let himself purposely get beat up like that.”

Those weren’t the kind of bruises you got from one fight. I turned onto my back, staring into the darkness. The ceiling fan spun lazily overhead, its tingly sound the only sound filling the room.

I heard him take in a sharp inhale, followed by a very low groan. It was so low that it sounded like he was trying to hide it.

“Why was he hiding it?” I frowned.

I found myself holding my breath—waiting for what? I wasn’t even sure what the hell I was even waiting for.

Then silence again filled the room again.

“Why am I thinking so deeply about someone I don’t even care about?” I muttered under my breath. “He clearly doesn’t want me to know about it.” I said, already feeling anger bubble up inside me.

I scoffed.

I turned onto my side, pulling the blanket up to my shoulder.

“Tomorrow, I’d wake up, we’d go to class, work on our project and then I’d forget about everything I saw this night.” I said and closed my eyes.

   The shrill sound of Jayden’s alarm shattered the silence and ripped me out of my sleep. I groaned, dragging the pillow over my head. I cracked one eye open just in time to see a pillow fly across the room.

It completely missed the alarm.

“Nice shot.” I muttered sarcastically.

“Five more minutes,” Jayden groaned into his mattress.

“You’ve said that every morning this week.” I responded to him.

“Shut up.” He said.

I rolled my eyes and got out of bed.

Normally, the first thing Jayden would do was wander around the room half asleep in nothing but a pair of sweatpants while he searched for whatever shirt he’d thrown onto the floor the night before.

But today…he walked straight to his wardrobe, took a shirt and went to shower. He came out fully clothed with a black compression shirt and an oversized sweat.

I frowned and looked away before he noticed I was staring at him. Maybe I was reading too much into it and last night is just messing with my head.

“You’re thinking too hard.” Jayden’s voice pulled me back.

“Hm?”

“You’ve had the same confused look on your face since the alarm went off.”

“I just woke up.”

“So did I.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Fairs.”

   Heading to the art lab, Professor Ellis walks in immediately we enter and scans the room before setting his coffee on the desk.

“I hope everyone came prepared. Each group will be giving a progress presentation today.”

Silence fills the class before the chaos followed.

“What?”, “Today?!”, “I thought that was next week!” Everyone talking over themselves and panicking.

Jayden slowly turned toward me. “Tell me you knew….”

“I thought you knew.” I deadpanned.

I rubbed a hand over my face. “We’re so failing this project.” I mumble under my breath. “ I can’t afford to fail my last year in school.”

Then I remembered. “Wait…...we actually finished most of it last night.”

Jayden blinked before a smile appeared on his face.

“We did….”

“We did.” I finished.

Professor Ellis looked down at his clipboard. “Next… Zander and Jayden.”

I exchanged a look with Jayden. “We're cooked." He leaned over just enough for only me to hear. “Relax, Zander.”

He flashed me a grin.

I rolled my eyes as we made our way to the front of the room and every pair of eyes in the class followed us as if waiting for us to explode like a time bomb.

“Great.” Just the pressure I needed.

“You start, genius.” Jayden said in a teasing but encouraging tone.

I let out a quiet sigh before clearing my throat. “So, our project focuses on….”

The first few words came out more awkwardly than I’d hoped, but after explaining the initial concept, it became easier. I wasn’t looking at the class anymore, when I reached a certain part, Jayden picked up right where I’d left off, explaining our design choices like we’d actually rehearsed this.

Whenever I got too caught up explaining something, he’d jump in with an example that made the class laugh and at some point, I stopped worrying about what I was supposed to say next.

It just flowed and it made it look like Jayden really loved art with how soft he spoke about it.

By the time we’d finished the demonstration, the room was silent for half a second.

Then—the class and professor actually clapped for us.

I blinked.

Professor Ellis adjusted his glasses before giving a slow nod. “Very well done.”

Jayden leaned toward me, keeping his smile aimed at the class. “I think they like us.”

“They like the project.”

“Mhm.”

“I mean it.”

“So do I.”

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye. “You just gave me a compliment.”

“I complimented the project.”

“Our project.” He added.

“Don’t ruin it.”

His grin widened.

“Too late.”

Then, as everyone starts packing up…Ethan claps loudly.

“ALRIGHT!”

“Since we’re officially done with presentations…” He grins.

“I’m throwing a party tonight at my apartment and everyone must be there.” I turn, preparing to leave.

Then Ethan points directly at us. “You two better show up.” I zipped my backpack closed.

“Nope.” I said and made sure to pop the ‘P’ to emphasize how I won’t be coming.

Jayden spoke.

“Okay.”

I glanced at him.

He smiled casually, as if he hadn’t just ignored everything I’d said.

“We’re both coming.”

I stared at him with wide eyes. “Excuse me….?” I glared at him, “I literally just said I’m not coming.”

“I know.”

He slung an arm over my shoulder, steering me toward the door before I could protest.

I sighed.

“You’re impossible, Sinclair.”

“I’ve been told.”

As we exit the class, I just had a feeling something was going to happen after or during this party.