"I was wondering what kind of girl could have botched up a rescue attempt so badly. Now that I know it was you all along, everything makes sense."
"Go away."
Rome runs his nose down the side of my face, smiling at the way I shiver. "After all thes...
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STUCK IN A DEEP SLEEP, I WATCH MY OLD MEMORIES. Like frames in an film, they flitter by - getting my acceptance letter for the SAVE Academy, feeding the alley cats, writing a poem in my old bedroom - going too fast for me to process them. I cling onto the reel and drop even lower into sleep...
My memories go slower.
Meeting Ava Abernathy for the first time.
Finding Rome alone in a classroom after school, lifting all the desks in a classroom at once, his face strained with the effort.
Crying to mom on a phone call during my freshman year, wanting to come home but refusing to quit.
Another memory makes me pause. Just a week after I called my mom, I was still in my first year at the SAVE Academy.
After I proudly proclaimed that I hate the entire canine species, Rome hid a dog in my locker. It bit my hand when I tried to lure it out. the shock and confusion of the moment lures me in - the blood and saliva running down my fingers, Ava's laughter following me down the hallway, the judgmental looks from other students in nurse's office...
"If you're feeling better now, go back to class," The nurse, whose faces remains a blur, commands. "We can't have you crying in here forever."
Still in tears, I push myself off the chair and into the hallway.
Rain patters on the roof lazily, trickles of water running down the stained-glass windows. The classrooms and hallways are empty. I missed my last class of the day, Lectures of the Mating Bond.
I play with the edge of my bandages. The edge of my sleeve has dried up with blood. Who knew a dog could cause so much damage?
Somebody turns the corner just as I approach it. Of course. It's Rome Abernathy. I spin on my heels and go down the way I came. It may not be dignified, but he's the last person I want to see right now.
"Hey," Rome calls.
I walk faster. My heart picks up pace and since I haven't lunch, the effect makes me slightly nauseous. Rome calls after me again.
Ignoring him, I enter a random classroom. Rome follows me inside, click the door shut. One of the windows has been left open and there's a puddle forming on the floor. Realizing I accidentally cornered myself, I wipe away the tears from my cheeks and turn around.
He's wearing his school uniform, without the jacket and the top two buttons of shirt undone. His hair is slightly wet and the dog from earlier is in his hands.
I nearly trip over one of the chairs in my haste to get away. "Get that thing away from me."
"That thing has a name," Rome adjusts the wiggling ball of fur. "Meet Rufus."
