15. Get Away

Rhett

I needed to get away from Blackridge.

Between feeling suffocated by my father paying me surprise visits, the rumors spreading around the hockey team, and Cassian constantly finding new ways to drive me insane in that dorm room, I just needed to breathe.

So, I packed a bag and decided to take Savannah to my late mother’s cottage for the weekend. It was a small, secluded place deep in the woods, about an hour away from the campus. I hadn’t been here in about three years because every single time, I remembered that she had died and how she died, making me angry and bitter all the same. But now, I had come here to confront my worst fears.

The plan we had was simple: clean up the dust and make dinner together. Savannah had been really excited about it, but I really was not. It just felt like a relief to be out of the city.

“It’s really beautiful here, Rhett,” Savannah said softly, placing a box of groceries on the wooden kitchen counter. She smiled at me, looking around at the dusty furniture and the old fireplace.

“Yeah,” I murmured, leaning against the doorframe. “My mom loved it.”

We got to dusting surfaces, Savannah asking me questions about random objects that were there. I had to fight the urge to snap at her.

After what seemed like forever, we were finally done.

“Are you ever going to talk about what happened with your mom?” she asked.

“No. So don’t ask again.”

“It’s not good to keep things bottled up, you know that, right?”

“I’m going to head to the garage to check on the water valve,” I muttered, needing an excuse to escape the conversation. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I walked out, taking a deep breath of the cold forest air. I spent about ten minutes in the garage, forcing myself to calm down before heading back inside the cottage.

When I walked back into the living room, Savannah wasn’t where I left her. The kitchen was empty, too.

“Savvy?” I called out, frowning.

No answer.

I walked down the hallway and noticed the door to my mother’s library was slightly open. I walked toward it quietly and peeked inside.

Savannah was standing right by a reading desk. My eyes dropped to her hands—she was standing right by a half-open drawer, and in one quick motion, she slid something small into the pocket of her jacket.

I froze, suddenly feeling uneasy. What the hell was she doing?

Before I could say anything, Savannah turned around. The second she saw me standing in the doorway, she gave me a smile, completely unbothered.

“Oh! There you are,” she giggled, stepping away from the desk. “I was wondering where you went and got a little lost looking for the bathroom. This library is beautiful.”

I stared at her, my eyes darting to her jacket pocket. It didn’t look bulky, and I couldn’t be entirely sure if she had actually taken something or if I was just losing my mind and imagining things because of my constant stress.

“The bathroom is at the start of the hallway,” I said slowly.

“Right, silly me,” she smiled. She turned back to the desk and picked up a dusty silver frame that was sitting on top of it. It was an old picture of me when I was ten, sitting next to my mom on the porch, and Cassian was on the other side.

My heart constricted a little too painfully.

“This is a really nice picture, Rhett. You look so happy here.”

“Yeah,” I said, walking into the room and taking the frame from her hands. “We were happy.”

“Wait a minute, I can swear the second face looks familiar.”

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly feeling dry. “Yeah, that’s, um… that’s Cassian.”

“Your roommate?” Savannah asked with a raise of her brows as she walked over to me, her fingers gently brushing against my arm. “I just knew it. Y’all are cute.”

“Right?”

“Rhett... can I ask you something? And please don’t get mad.”

I braced myself, already feeling a headache coming on. “What is it, Savvy?”

“What changed?”

“Changed?” I inquired, slightly confused.

“You and Cassian. What really happened between you two after he left your high school? Why are things different between you two now?”

I fought an eye roll. The last thing I wanted to do on my day off was talk about Cassian Storm. I couldn’t tell her the truth. I couldn’t tell her that I bullied him to save his life, or that my wolf was currently losing his mind because Cassian was our fated mate.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Savannah,” I said, my voice turning cold. “It’s in the past. Let it stay there. Plus, not every friendship survives distance.”

“I know, but this looks like the kind of friendship that would pick up wherever you guys left it.”

“Can you drop it?”

She blinked, looking a bit hurt, but she nodded slowly. “Okay. I’m sorry for pushing.”

“I’ll go start on dinner,” Savannah said, patting my arm sweetly before walking past me and out of the room.