have needed to waste so much time putting themselves and each other through hell. But it had been so hard for Sam to be honest because he had still been with Heather. And Gaia . . . well ...
She wasnât really one to express her feelings openly. It always seemed her life was too complicated, too filled with mysterious dark secrets. She was so hard to read....
âMan, I miss her so much,â Sam muttered to himself, shaking his head.
âDude, youâve got it bad,â Josh saidâbut his tone was sympathetic.
âLook at heem,â Zolov remarked, making Josh and Mr. Haq his audience. âHe ees like loveseeck small poodle dog.â
Josh laughed. So did Mr. Haq. Even Sam had to smile.
âUh-oh,â Josh suddenly muttered, peering over Samâs shoulder.
Sam turned to see what had switched Joshâs mood so instantly. It was Brendan, with a couple of girls Sam had never met before. He knew they were juniors, but that was about it. A twitter of nervousness shot through him. Brendan hadnât looked at him the same since Mikeâs death. In fact, Brendan had avoided him.
âBrendan, whatâs up?â Sam asked, motioning for him to come join them.
Brendan didnât smile in return.
Sam swallowed. He knew exactly what was going on here: Brendan was suspicious. How could he really believe Sam would hurt one of his friends? âCome here,â Sam called.
âNo.â Brendan shook his head.
Sam sighed. âWhy not?â
âI ...donât want to be seen with you.â
Now Sam was pissed. âWhy the hell not?â
Brendan didnât answer. The girls stared at their feet.
âLook, Brendan,â Sam began. âHow could you possibly think that Iââ
âI know youâve been acting like a psycho for weeks,â Brendan interrupted. âAnd thatâs what I told them.â
âTold them?â Samâs pulse picked up a beat. âTold who?â
âAnd Iâm transferring to another dorm, Sam,âBrendan stated, leaving the question unanswered, âso find yourself another roommate.â With that, he and the girls turned and walked away.
Samâs heart was now pounding full throttle. Suddenly he realized how many faces were turned toward him. Suspicious faces, whispering on a bench, or sitting on the grass, or walking by him at that very moment. Kids were so damn desperate for something juicy to talk about, something to add to their boring lives and infinitely repeated conversations. The news of Samâs new suspect status must have already spread throughout all of NYUâand probably the rest of the tristate area as well.
âForget him, Sam,â Josh said, flicking Samâs head with a lighthearted slap. âAny friend who could turn on you so fast is no friend, dude. That kidâs an asshole.â
San tried to smile, but his lips felt like sandpaper. This was no good. He couldnât take his eyes off Brendanâs retreating form âI really thought he was . . . I donât know. He didnât used to beââ
âForget it, Sam, come on,â Josh said. âItâs your move. Letâs play, poodle boy. Tell me more about Gaia.â
Sam turned back to the board. He wanted to keep playing, to talk more about Gaia, to do anything to take his mind off Mike Suarez . . . but he couldnât. Still, at least he had Josh. The guy didnât act at all like an RA. He acted like a friend. Judging from the way everyone had beenlooking at Sam lately, Josh was fast turning into the only friend he had. And Josh hardly even
knew
him.
âThank you, man,â Sam found himself blurting out.
Josh grinned, cocking his eyebrow. âFor what?â
âFor everything. For hanging out, and for listening to me babble about Gaia, and for not believing the crap those cops were saying about me.â
âYou donât have to thank me,â Josh replied with a shrug.