Chapter 63. New Faces, Old Wounds

Leila’s POV

“Do you want to go with me to the library?” Chloe, my roommate, asked so brightly that her green eyes shone with friendliness.

I looked up from my bed where I had been pretending to read the same page of some textbook for half an hour. “Uh, maybe later,” I lied with a forced smile. “I’m just, not feeling it right now.”

Chloe angled a head to one side, and the bouncy curls of blond hair obligingly followed the action. “Leila, you’ve been here nearly two weeks and you barely say anything to anyone. I haven’t seen you make a friend yet. You sure everything’s okay?” She sat on the edge of her bed, eyes fixed at me with real interest.

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” I lied, my fingers clamping down a little more tightly on the edges of my book. God, I hated she was nice. It made it harder to keep my distance. “I just…I’m not used to this place yet. That’s all.”

She frowned but didn’t push. “All right, well, if you change your mind, I’ll be in t