CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 24

EZRA

The exam timetable dropped that morning.

One more semester to go. Just one.

I stared at the email on my laptop screen like it was some kind of death sentence. Math stacked back-to-back with computer science. Projects due. Finals. No breathing space. My chest tightened.

I opened my phone.

Me: Zoom study call?

Lily: Ugh. Kill me now. But yes.

Jordan: Fine. But mute yourselves. I don’t wanna hear Lily snoring.

Lily: EXCUSE YOU.

I smiled despite myself and sent them the link.

Five minutes later, we were all on the call. Cameras on, microphones muted. It was… weirdly comforting. Just their faces in the little boxes, heads bent over books, typing, highlighting.

At one point Lily unmuted.

“Ezra, are you drinking water?”

I groaned. “Yes, Mom.”

Jordan snorted. “He’s lying. Look at his face. That’s a dehydrated face.”

“I am not dehydrated!” I protested, reaching for the bottle next to me. “See?”

Lily narrowed her eyes. “Sip it right now.”

So I did. Loudly.

Jordan shook her head. “You two are hopeless.” She muted again, flipping a page.

Hours passed like that. The silence of grinding work, the occasional burst of Lily swearing at a formula, Jordan humming while scribbling notes.

My head was pounding, but it was a good kind of ache—the kind that meant I was actually learning something.

Around the third hour, Genevieve peeked into my room.

“Still at it?” she asked softly.

“Yeah,” I said, rubbing my eyes.

“I’m proud of you. Keep working hard.”

“Thanks,” I murmured.

She gave a small nod and left, the door closing gently behind her.

Lily unmuted immediately.

“Bro, your guardian is nicer than mine. My mom barges in like a hurricane.”

Jordan looked up. “Same. Ezra’s lucky.”

I shrugged.

By the fifth hour, Lily’s head was on her desk.

“I can’t. My brain is fried.”

Jordan smirked. “Lightweight.”

“You’re a robot,” Lily muttered.

“Thank you,” Jordan said.

I stretched, my back popping. “Maybe we should stop for tonight.”

Lily groaned in relief. “God bless you, Ezra.”

Jordan raised a brow. “Wow. He tells you to stop studying and suddenly he’s your hero?”

“Don’t be jealous,” Lily teased.

Jordan rolled her eyes. “Goodnight, nerds.” She logged off.

“Night,” I said, closing my laptop.

Lily gave me a sleepy smile. “Night, Ez.” Then she disappeared too.

I sat back in the silence of my room.

For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t thinking about Father Dorian.

Just exams. Just finishing this degree.

One more semester.

I lay down, closed my eyes, and drifted off before my brain could spiral anywhere else.

Tuesday morning, I walked into class half-dead from lack of sleep, only for Professor Kim to stroll in with her usual calm voice and ruin my whole life.

“Class,” she said, adjusting her glasses, “you’ll be doing a short project. Presentations are Friday.”

Friday.

As in three days from now.

My eyes bulged. I wasn’t the only one. Half the class groaned like she’d just announced a public execution.

Professor Kim smiled, unmoved. “I’ve already paired you up.” She started reading names.

When she said mine, I held my breath.

“Ezra Monroe and… Eros Martinez.”

I blinked. Did she just say Eros?

A hand went up from the back. Tall. Tan skin. Dark hair that looked like it belonged in a shampoo commercial. His jawline could cut glass. He gave me a smile like he already knew I was screwed.

Great. God really had favorites and clearly, I wasn’t one of them.

Next to me, Lily got paired with some guy named Jake. She groaned under her breath. “If he’s weird, I’m blaming you.”

“Why me?” I whispered.

“Because,” she hissed back, “you’re sitting next to me.”

“Not logical,” I muttered, but she ignored me.

After class, Eros came up to me, all casual confidence.

“So,” he said, leaning against my desk. “Project.”

“Project,” I echoed, because apparently my brain had downgraded itself to parrot mode.

He smiled like he knew. “Any ideas?”

“Uh,” I coughed. “We can outline today, divide the work, and start drafting. I… I’m going to church now, though. So maybe after?”

“Church?” His brows lifted. “Sure. I’ll come.”

I froze. “Wait—you’ll come?”

“Why not?” He shrugged. “You’re my partner. Might as well stick close.”

Dear God. If You’re testing me, please stop.

So, there we were. The four of us—me, Eros, Lily, and Jake—heading toward church like it was a group field trip. Jordan joined too, of course, strolling along with her backpack slung low.

“Why does this feel like the start of a sitcom?” Jordan asked dryly.

“Because we’re a disaster,” Lily replied, linking arms with me. “Ezra, tell me you’ll sing something today. I need motivation.”

“I’m not singing.”

“You’re boring.”

“Thank you.”

Eros chuckled, and my stomach twisted. That laugh should be illegal.

When we got inside the church, I don’t know what came over me. Maybe instinct. Maybe the devil. But I reached for Eros’s hand.

And he… let me.

His palm was warm. His grip easy. I tugged him toward the pew like I’d been doing it my whole life.

I ignored the way Lily’s eyebrows shot up and Jordan smirked.

Sit. Breathe. Act normal.

Yeah, right.

Service was fine. Routine. My head barely stayed in it because all I could think about was the weight of Eros’s hand still tingling in mine.

When the final hymn ended, I panicked. If I stayed, Lily would grill me. Jordan would smirk harder. And Jake—well, Jake just looked like he’d ask dumb questions.

So, I turned to them. “Bye!”

Lily frowned. “Ezra, what—”

“See you later!” I blurted, already tugging Eros out the door.

Outside, the cool air hit us, but not enough to cool my brain.

We walked a few steps before Eros said casually, “You must like holding me.”

I dropped his hand so fast it was like it burned me. “I—what? No. That wasn’t—it wasn’t like that.”

His smile widened, slow and knowing. “Relax, I was joking.”

“Terrible joke,” I muttered, looking anywhere but at him.

“You’re red,” he said.

“I’m not red.”

“You’re very red.”

I groaned. “Can we just talk about the project before I spontaneously combust?”

“Sure,” he said, but he was still smiling, like he’d found his new favorite hobby: watching me squirm.

We stopped by a bench nearby, opened our notebooks, and started hashing out the basics.

“Okay,” I said, tapping my pen against the page. “I can handle the math-heavy parts if you want to take design and structure.”

“Fair enough,” Eros said. “I like visuals anyway.”

“Good,” I mumbled, scribbling notes. “And we’ll need to meet tomorrow to put it all together.”

“Tomorrow’s fine.”

We fell into a rhythm, surprisingly smooth. He was smart. Focused. Way easier to work with than Lily when she got hyper.

But every time I glanced up, he was already looking at me. And smiling.

And my stomach wouldn’t stop flipping.

One thought screamed through my head:

Father Dorian is going to kill me if he sees this.