7/19/09
1 p.m.
JESSICA
Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door of apartment 107 a few times and stepped back.
I held my shoulders high, determined to speak my mind. But a tiny voice in my head spoke through the confidence I'd always prided myself on.
Is this any of your business?
Nope. Not at all. In fact, I was overstepping multiple boundaries by doing what I was about to do.
My shoulders sagged a little. This was crazy, wasn't it? Leila would kill me if she knew I was here. And what if he didn't even answer the door?
That tiny voice wasn't so tiny anymore.
Just when I was about to go through with whirling around and bolting back to my car, the door opened.
Holden Ashford stood in front of me, disheveled, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants.
"Yeah?" He mumbled, a perplexed frown written across his sharp features.
"Holden, glad to see you again." I answered with poise that I didn't feel at all. On the inside, I was shaking in my boots. "I'm Jessica. Leila's cousin. We met a few years back at a family gathering."
A beat of silence, and a spark of recognition flickered in his hazel eyes. "Oh, right. How are you doing?"
There was a very obvious, unsaid question under that one—and what the hell are you doing on my doorstep?
"Good. Well, as good as college can be."
"I get that."
I hummed under my breath and rocked back on my feet. "So, are you going to invite me in or what?"
He stared blankly at me before shrugging and opening the door wider.
When I stepped inside, I saw two guys (who were clearly twins) lounging on the couch, controllers in their hands.
"Who was at the door, dude?" The one on the right asked, his eyes still glued to the video game.
The one on the left—seemingly the smarter one—actually looked over at us. He shoved righty in the shoulder.
And then they were both staring at me like I had three heads, hooves for feet, and a hairy chest flashing them.
"Guys, this is Jessica. She's a...." Holden cleared his throat. "Friend."
Lefty was the first one to speak. "Hey, I'm Ollie. And this is Nate."
Righty gave me a toothy grin. "'Sup."
I opened my mouth to respond when Holden beat me to it. "Okay, so, we'll be in the kitchen. To talk."
Sensing the tension in his voice and posture, I nodded. I glanced at the two guys with a small smile. "Nice to meet you."
I followed Holden to the next room.
"Your friends are....cool."
"Yeah. I've been rooming with them for the past year. You get used to them after a while."
I took the following silence as my cue to speak. "So, you're probably wondering why I'm here."
"That's been on my mind."
"It's Leila."
His jaw twitched, his composure cracking almost instantly at the mention of her. "Is she okay?"
