Chapter 9
Mason lifted Lacey to her feet, anger etched on his face.
A crowd started to form.
Antonio, who was by the bookshelf, rushed over at the commotion.
He took a quick look at my laptop screen, then at my face, and got the picture.
“Your paper is gone?”
Ruben’s angry face went still for a beat. Then he came over and checked out my laptop.
After a long moment, he frowned, “No way, Lacey…”
“Let’s just go,” I said, cutting him off and turning to Antonio.
It was strange.
I should have been seething, like I had been so many times before, ready to tear into Lacey. Maybe I would even have. thrown a punch.
I would have usually lost it on my brothers too, for always backing her up.
But right now, all I wanted was to get out of there.
I had been butting heads with them for four years.
There were so many fights, and they always ended the same.
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Chapter 9
Now, I was over it.
I was leaving in just a few days, anyway.
I grabbed my laptop and headed for the library exit.
Ruben came after me.
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His voice, usually so aloof, sounded a little off. “This paper is on me. I’ll give you an extra week.”
“No, I’m good,” I said softly.
I didn’t have a week to waste.
I headed down the hall.
Ruben was acting weird.
He hadn’t wanted to say more than a word to me in years. Suddenly, he chased after me and grabbed my arm.
“Grace, what’s up with you these days?”
He sounded a bit anxious, but I didn’t turn around.
I just reached out and gently shook off his hand.
As I stepped into the elevator, Mason followed and held the door.
He glanced at my laptop and awkwardly said, “Give me the laptop.
“I’ll find some time in a few days and see if I can get it back for you.”
He studied computer science and now ran a tech company.
It felt like something nudged my heart.
Ever since Lacey showed up, Ruben had been the one who really argued with me or got mad at me more often.
Mason was quiet and had always been easygoing, so we didn’t really have many conflicts.
I was silent for a bit, gazing into his eyes.
Then he spoke again, “Lacey is still young.
“If she did delete it, it wasn’t on purpose.”
So, was he worried I would hold a grudge against Lacey and push her down the stairs in a fit of rage?
I figured for a second there he might actually be on my side.
I forced a smile, feeling a little foolish.
I hit the button to close the elevator doors.
My heart, once aching with restlessness, had finally settled down.
I felt like I was over being upset now.
As the doors started to shut, I murmured, “It’s cool. Don’t bother.”
Mason made a move to stop them, his hand reaching out in a hurry, but it was too late.
In that last look, I seemed to see a flicker of panic in his eyes.
The sight vanished quickly, and the elevator doors closed.
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Maybe I just imagined it.
