Keeping Secrets

Trinity

PEYTON

It took almost exactly a week for the New Year's Eve photos to be completely forgotten—at least by the media.

Leona, a young, beautiful, and famous country singer, was spotted walking into the recording studio beside Lucas, and that was all it took. The spotlight shifted from Beau—and, by association, from me—to them, which I truly appreciated.

But not everyone forgot.

I was relieved to be back at school. My mom had offered to help me with my bags when she dropped me off, but I declined. I promised her I could handle it myself and told her she should head back before traffic got bad. That was partly true, but I also needed a break from her and the family.

"Hey Peyton," Becca grinned when she saw me dragging my suitcase into the dorm building.

"Hey." I set my bags down to give her a hug. "How was break?"

"Good. Nice, relaxing, but a bit boring," she said, pulling a face. "You know."

I did know.

"How was yours?" she asked.

I exhaled loudly, which made her laugh. It was a pretty loaded question.

"Couldn't have been that bad when you got to see Trudge Lite."

True. That and being with Beau were the highlights of winter break, but there were other aspects of the break that had been frustrating and exhausting. The aftermath from the concert—the published photos of me and Beau, and the rules at home.

I was used to my dad's double standards, but it didn't feel fair that he judged me on things without even trying to find out the truth. He was so quick to tell me what I couldn't and shouldn't do, but he never bothered to actually understand what was going on.

"And girlfriend," Becca continued, pulling me back, "don't think we're done talking about that hottie you're friends with."

"Seriously?" I asked. We'd had several conversations about Beau and the band.

"Seriously," she confirmed. "And I want to know what Max thinks about all of it, too."

So did I.

"Is Lin here yet?" I asked, deflecting and searching the crowd for her.

"I don't think so. I haven't seen her."

"Peyton," someone called out, and I turned to see Elizabeth, our no-nonsense residence floor monitor, striding toward us with her ever-present clipboard in hand.

"Hello, Elizabeth," I greeted her politely, while Becca muttered something under her breath.

Elizabeth came to a stop right in front of me, one hand on her hip. "You have a roommate this semester," she said bluntly. "She's already in the room."

That left me speechless. My mouth fell open, but nothing came out. I just stared at her.

"What?" Becca gasped, looking from me to Elizabeth. "Did you know about this?" she asked me.

All I managed was a slow shake of my head.

"That's bullshit. How come she wasn't notified? Isn't that required?" Becca demanded, mirroring Elizabeth's stance with her own hand on her hip. It looked pretty ridiculous, the two of them standing off like that, but I was too stunned to care. I just nodded along with Becca, silently asking the same question. My brain and mouth were completely misfiring.

For once, Elizabeth looked unsure. "I assumed she was. There should've been both letters and emails sent."

"Did you get one?" Becca asked, looking at me.