DERANGED

Thirty two: New Beginnings

Lexi's POV

I was finishing unpacking all my stuff in Luke's dorm...and Jc's. There was definitely a lot of stuff, considering the dorm is meant for 2 people, not 3, but the school approved me to move in for safety reasons. It was kind of like a fresh start and new beginning. Jc was out doing some grocery shopping for all of us, and Luke was working on homework while I unpacked. It was weird for Sammy and I to move out all our stuff from the dorm. It was also weird being the center of attention on every local, maybe nation-wide, news station. 

"Babe, do you have any more hangers?" I asked Luke. 

"No. I don't think so." He sighed. He was focused on his computer. 

"Ok. Do you think Jc is still at the store? I could ask him to get some." I suggested, looking at the pile of sweatshirts that still needed to be hung up in the closet. 

"I don't know. You could just ask him." Luke responded. 

"Is everything okay?" I asked. 

"Yes, Lexi. Everything's fine." He snapped, startling me. He noticed my reaction. 

"It's just that I have this essay due in a few hours and you've been asking a million questions every hour, it's-" 

"Sorry..." I said quietly. We were both silent for a few minutes. I slid on my Vans and headed for the door. 

"Where are you going?" Luke asked. 

"Giving you a break. I'll be back." I said, shutting the door quietly behind me. I walked down the hall towards the staircase at the end. I ascended a few flights until I reached the top, where I stood in front of the door labeled 'Roof Access: Residents and Staff Only'. I pushed it open and a cool breeze hit me. I sat down on the concrete, leaning against one of the air conditioning units as I looked out at the city. I pulled my phone out of my sweatshirt pocket and went to my  contacts, finding Jc's and pressing the call button. I picked at the rips on my jeans while I waited for him to pick up. 

"Hey, what's up?" He answered on the fifth ring.

"Hi, are you at Walmart still?" I asked, hoping he'd say yes. 

"Yeah, do you need anything else?" He asked. 

"Could you get hangers? I have more clothes than I thought." I responded, causing him to laugh a little. 

"Oh so you're gonna take up all the closet space? But yeah I can. Do we want pizza for dinner?" 

"Thank you. And yeah, that's probably good." 

"That's what I thought, I'll stop by Dominos on my way back." He agreed. 

"Okay." 

"Are you okay? You seem quiet." He asked me, his voice more serious than before.

"I think Luke's mad at me. I was annoying him while he was working on homework. But I'm fine." I shrugged. 

"I'm sorry Lex. You and I could go do something after dinner so that he can get his work done sooner, if you want." He suggested. 

"Sure, yeah." I smiled a little. 

"I gotta check out, I'll be back home in twenty." 

"Okay, bye." I said, hanging up. I put my phone back in my pocket and just looked at the view in front of me. The weather was getting colder now, and the leaves were starting to fall off of the trees surrounding campus. I watched cars go by, and a couple planes go by overhead. I closed my eyes for a second, when suddenly a memory came flooding back of the day I told Luke what Kian did when we were up on the roof, and Kian found out. 

I opened my eyes, inhaling sharply as I looked around me, and looking back at the door. Obviously I was alone, but for those few seconds, it felt like I was back in that moment. 

"You're okay... you're okay." I told myself out loud. I put my hand over my chest, feeling my heart racing and taking deep breaths. The door swung open, causing me to immediately turn to look. It was one of the security guards who I'd never talked to before, just seen around campus. He was older, and his jacket had a name tag reading 'Dennis'. 

"Oh, hello. I didn't expect to find anyone up here." He smiled. He had a kind smile. 

"Hi, sorry, I should probably be going anyways." I laughed a little.

"No, no, don't let me bother you. This is one of my favorite spots in the university." He said, looking out at the scenery, as I had been doing too. "I'm Dennis, and you are?" He turned to face me. 

"Lexi, it's nice to meet you." I smiled at him, getting up off the ground. His eyes widened. 

"Lexi Rayne...?" He clarified.

"That's me." I nodded. "I'm sure you already know who I am then." 

"I do. And I'm sorry. It's a lot to go through and I couldn't imagine going through this situation at such a young age. " He nodded. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and saw that Luke was calling. 

"I have to get going, but it was nice meeting you Dennis." I smiled. 

"You too, if you ever need anything you can find me in the security office." He smiled, waving as I headed for the door. I answered the phone as I walked down the stairwell. 

"Hey, where are you? Jc's back with dinner." Luke asked, and he didn't sound happy. 

"I went up to the roof, I'm on my way back." I explained quietly. 

"Oh okay." He said, and was quiet for a moment before he hung up. I walked into the dorm room a minute later and kicked my shoes off. Jc had brought back a couple pizzas and a box of wings. We ate dinner and talked a little, and Luke immediately went back to working on his paper when he finished eating. 

"Hey, Lexi and I are gonna let you work and go do something. We'll be back in a couple hours probably, if that's enough time for you." Jc said to Luke as he put his shoes on. 

"Yeah, that's fine. I should be done in a couple hours." He responded. Jc and I were about to leave when Luke called my name. 

"I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. And that I'm not in the best mood right now." He said, looking at me. 

"It's okay. I love you." I said, kissing him on the cheek before heading out the door. I caught up to Jc who was already halfway down the hallway. We got outside to his car, an early 2000's BMW, it was a cool car. 

"I say we go for a drive along the coast windows down, maybe stopping for ice cream and blasting LANY... sound good?" Jc asked as he started the car. 

"You really do know the way to my heart, Caylen." I nodded, with a small smile. I knew these next couple hours hanging out with Jc would put me in a good mood, but I still couldn't help but feel worried that something was off with Luke...