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Maybe they knew something I didn’t, but I seriously doubted he was gay. He wouldn’t have said I belonged to him if he had no interest in girls. Right?
    “He moved here about four years ago and has never had a girlfriend,” Dani said.
    “Never,” Beth repeated.
    “Not even a crush,” Mandy agreed.
    “Don’t listen to them,” Chelle broke in. “He’s not gay. He’s simply not interested .” She shot a quelling look in her sisters’ direction before turning back to me. “He’s a great guy.”
    I gaped at her, taken off guard by her forcefulness.
    “He and Chelle are old friends,” Beth explained. “They spend a lot of time with the same people.”
    “Oh,” I said, not sure I understood what she meant. The hesitant way she spoke made me wonder if he and Chelle had one of those relationships that would be classified as complicated on Facebook.
    “We’re just friends,” Chelle said as if she’d plucked the question from my mind. “He’s a teaching assistant here and is good friends with my boyfriend, Gage Carter. You’ll get along with him great.”
    “Ah, well, like I said, I don’t even know him,” I mumbled, a little uncomfortable at the confidence of her statement. As if she knew me better than I knew myself.
    “You will,” Chelle said.
    I think she meant the comment to be comforting, but after what happened Monday, her words came across a little too cryptic for me. Definitely my cue to bail.
    I made a pretense of looking at my watch and shaking my head. “I should get going. I’m supposed to meet my dad over at the Inn.”
    “Oh.” Mandy’s face fell. “Well, you want a ride?”
    “Ah, no.” I climbed to my feet. “I think I’ll walk, get a feel for the place, but thank you.”
    “Anytime,” she said with a smile. “We’ll have to get together soon.”
    “I’d like that,” I replied, a little surprised to find I meant it. Chelle’s cryptic comment aside, they seemed great. Perhaps because they hadn’t pried for information on my mom, instead keeping the conversation light and easy. I turned to the triplets. “It was nice to meet all of you.”
    They chorused their agreement.
    “Arionna.”
    I turned around to find Chelle staring up at me, her expression blank. “Yeah?”
    “If you go that way”—she pointed to the street on the other side of the quad—”you’ll find a trail through the woods near the park. The park is on the other side of the overpass, but it’ll take you right to the Inn.”
    “Oh. Um, thank you.” I started off in the direction she’d pointed out.
    “You’re welcome,” her soft voice called from behind me. For some reason, I felt like she was talking about something far more consequential than directions.
    I shivered and quickened my pace.

Chapter Three
    I followed the path Chelle pointed out, not too sure what to expect, but willing to give the shortcut a shot anyway. Within half an hour, I found myself on the far side of the park, staring down at the trail she’d told me about. I didn’t have any need to walk over to the Inn; I’d only needed an out, but the path looked inviting.
    I started walking.
    Like the oaks littering the campus, the trees here lifted bare branches toward the sun. Bright rays slipped through the remaining leaves and pierced the ground, sending little bits of dust hovering in the air like fairies. Everything looked soft and gold.
    I loved it.
    Something about trees in the middle of winter soothed me. Maybe because they never looked dead, but more like they were resting for a while. In a world constantly in a rush, seeing such giant warriors sleeping served as a personal reminder that the world wouldn’t end if I slowed down to take care of myself for a little while. There was no law saying I wasn’t allowed to be vulnerable, or scared. That I couldn’t fall apart or hurt.
    I needed the reminder.
    About half a mile into the trees, I came across a crumbling brick wall. Trees grew up in the center of the