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article or a memoir that I know of. If she has her way, those will be my stepsons she s
tucking into bed. Maybe they are. I sink back on my elbows and eye the sterile furniture.
Her nightstand is impeccably bare whereas mine is littered with condoms freeze-framed
from that last night Marley spent with me as a memorial to what an idiot I ve been all
along.
I lean over and peer into the top drawer. Swear to God, if I see a condom, a vibrator
for that matter, I might actually be impressed.
A pile of old papers sits prominent. Probably essays she needs to grade.
Just as I m shutting the drawer, Marley s signature catches my eye.
What the& I pluck out the small stack. Shit. Photocopy after photocopy of the legal
document I drew up for Marley stares back at me.
Here you are! Monica jumps into the bedroom and closes the doors behind her. I
think someone is anxious to get down to business Her mouth drops open when she
sees the incriminating bullshit in my hand. Incriminating of what I m not sure.
Is there something you d like to tell me?
I was just curious. Her hands ride up to her lips something she does when she s
nervous nervous because she s just been caught. I had taken your briefcase that night
at the bar. It was stupid. I shouldn t have copied it.
Then why did you do it? Just when I didn t think I could feel any more indignity my
barometer goes up a notch.
The truth? She closes her eyes and dispels a heavy breath. I thought you might
come by to get your briefcase, and I didn t know if I d have a chance to go over it.
Keeping it around for some light reading?
I wanted to see what you were getting yourself into. I swear I was going to burn it. I
just never got around to it.
Did you have anything to do with that article? For the first time in weeks, I m
starting to open up to other possibilities, other people to blame, and my adrenaline
skyrockets because finally there seems to be a resolution to this nightmare that I can sink
my teeth into.
No. She spits it out emphatic, so convincingly she kills my building buzz.
I m not so sure. I take the paperwork and head out the door.
Every part of me screams go home, but I head over to Whitney Briggs, instead.
There s a coed I think I m finally ready to speak with.
C L A I M T O F A M E , W A L K O F
S H A M E
M A R L E Y
A
nnie keeps murmuring I love you into the phone to Blake. If she says no, you hang
up, one more time I m going to take her phone and plunge it into the toilet. I couldn t
care less about the plumbing in Prescott Hall. I get it. Annie and Blake are happy. Baya
and Bryson are happy. Izzy and Holt are happy, blah, blah, blah. And they will all live
annoyingly happily ever after. And here I sit broken and alone let s not forget cursed.
A gentle knock erupts at the door. Annie and I both freeze and stare at one another as
if a serial killer just arrived in the most polite manner. It s probably just Baya. I jump up
and look through the peephole.
A familiar, vexingly sexy, hotter-than-a-house-fire face of a man stands on the other
end, and I can t catch my breath.
Oh, my, God! I hiss to Annie. It s him! It s Wyatt! I shoo her into the bathroom,
and she s happy to comply.
Who is it? I try to play it cool as if a stranger knocking on the door at ten-thirty is
just something we live with here on campus.
It s me, Wyatt. He rumbles low, and my hand touches the door as if it were his skin.
There are so many things I want to say, so much went wrong so fast. I have a feeling
there aren t enough words in the dictionary to convey how much hurt I ve caused him
even if it wasn t me who published that stupid article. I have my suspicions, namely an ex
who I happened to have emasculated less than twenty-four hours prior to the debacle,
but he s been just as good at denying it as I am.
Can I come in? Wyatt s warm voice vibrates through the door.
I want to say yes! I want to fling the door open and ravage him, but something in me
hesitates. Maybe letting him in is just another error in a long line of mistakes. I ve already
caused him so much pain. I m horrified at what s happened between us.
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