In My Skin

CH 17 || Halloween Part I

I caught myself looking for Killian whenever I was on campus, but for once his annoyingly tall frame was nowhere to be found. It had been over a week since I'd last seen him.

Killian must have decided it was in his best interest to avoid me for a change because Cody, I had seen plenty. He had just exited the main auditorium when I finally mustered the courage and stopped him to ask about his roommate.

Cody's eyes narrowed and he quickly scanned the crowd of students that were filing out of the main building before leading me into a quiet corner. "How do you know about Killian?"

"Um... He slept at my place?"

I watched with strange satisfaction as Cody's jaw hit the floor. I supposed Killian had left out that tidbit of information, huh?

"Your place?" Cody asked.

"Yeah. He sneaked out the morning after," I told him smugly.

For a moment, Cody remained silent. Then he burst into laughter, his whole body shaking.

I stared at him, a sudden thought crossing my mind. "N-No, that sounded wrong! He just—"

His laughter only grew louder as I stumbled over my words. "Stop it!" I stomped my foot, but Cody was still gasping for breath, clearly finding my predicament hilarious.

"Sorry, but, man." He wiped at his eyes. "That actually explains a lot. He's been more grumpy than usual."

"Is that even possible?" I mumbled mostly to myself.

"You have no idea." He chuckled.

Leaning in closer to him, I raised an eyebrow and spoke in a half-joking, half-serious tone. "Did you check for any return labels? Maybe you can still exchange him..."

His smile widened. "We should really hang out more. I don't know if you ski or something like that but I'm planning on staying at my parents' house over winter break. You and Suzy are invited, of course."

A full week of skiing? Hell, yeah. I opened my mouth to agree but then I remembered the catch. "Killian is going to be there I suppose?"

Cody studied me, his mouth twitching. "He's not as bad as you might think. He had a pretty rough time lately."

"You do realize you're too good for him, right?"

Some emotion crossed his features, but it was gone before I could decipher it. "Killian is a great friend," Cody said suddenly serious. He smiled sheepishly. "He can just be... a bit, um... "

"Grouchy? Annoying? Too focused on other people's business?"

Cody chuckled. "I'm glad to know you two get along."

I huffed and crossed my arms. "I think you're confusing the meaning of getting along. The only thing that connects us aside from mutual dislike, is you being our friend. And... just so you're aware. My neighbor is a nurse and she said his ribs might be bruised and he would have to rest a couple of days at least."

"Don't worry, he's fine."

"Oh—alright. I mean, I'm not really worried or anything." I waved my hand around. "It's just that I feel somewhat responsible since I picked him up, you know?"

A mischievous glint appeared in this, his lips quirking up in a half-smile. "I get it. You don't need to explain."

Great. Now I was embarrassed about explaining.

"He'll be back on his feet in no time, really," Cody added as if to reassure me.

I didn't need reassurance. Because I didn't care. Period.