Reaching Rose (Hunter Hill University Book 3) by J.P. Grider Page A

June..." She trails off and shakes her head. This time I notice her fingers stop fiddling and disappear inside her fists, which are rested on her lap. "She texted me that she met you," she continues, her eyes glassy. "I think she was excited to have you as a friend." Rose smiles even though her eyes are still bubbling over. "Otherwise she never would have mentioned you." Now she chuckles. "Holly's like that. Only the real important stuff is worth her breath."
    I nod. "That sounds like Holly."
    Rose is fighting back emotions, but I give her courage for staying on the couch. Like she said before, she's making progress.
    "So...you and she have been friends the last three years?"
    "Yeah, she was my dorm mate and became my best friend." She nods, sitting still and unnerved. The only thing giving her away is her unmoving and tightly-clenched tiny hands.
    "Cool."
    "Did you live in the dorms?"
    "No. I lived in a house with some teammates. This past summer, though, I rented a bedroom from some old lady."
    "Really? Did your teammates bust you about that?"
    "They didn't know. As far as they were concerned, I went home for the summer."
    "Oh."
    "That's how I became friends with Holly. All my friends were gone for the summer."
    "Got it."
    "So you live in the dorms when you're in school, where do you live otherwise?"
    "Wantage."
    "Wantage? Is that in New Jersey?"
    She hesitates. "Up North. Near PA."
    "Oh. I'm near PA, but I'm more toward Philly. Cherry Hill."
    Her fists are still, but her knuckles are stark white. It's starting to make me nervous.
    "Tell me about Wantage."
    "Um..." She shakes her head no. "I..."
    "It's fine," I cut her off, recognizing her discomfort with the subject. "You can tell me about it another time." I'm stumbling over what to talk about. I can't move too fast; she's vulnerable. Still trying to make her way back to normalcy. So I bring the conversation back to Dumb and Dumber . "You know, we've missed a lot of the movie. Are you up for starting it over? Watching it uninterrupted from the beginning?"
    Rose doesn't answer right away, but when she does, she says yes, and I'm just happy to be sitting in silence next to her. Under normal circumstances, I may have tried to hold her hand or slide my hand behind her on the couch so I can slip it over her shoulder.
    But these aren't normal circumstances.
    And I don't want to push her away.

15
     
    ROSE
     
    I hate being so emotional. He only asked about my hometown.
    But I want to be home so badly, I couldn't bring myself to talk about it. He must think I'm such a freak.
    At least I didn't run away again. I'm trying. But it's hard. Especially because he's so cute. I sat down, purposely, on the left side of the couch, hoping I could lean my elbow on the armrest to cover the scar on my face with my hand. But then Ben moved to my couch. And in order to look at him, I had to turn my body. Which meant I couldn't lean my elbow on the armrest, leaving my ugly scar uncovered. I could have held my hand over my face, without leaning against anything, but I was aware that would have made me look even sillier. So I sucked it up and tried not to think about it.
    Now that we are just watching the movie, I'm able to lean my elbow on the armrest. Not that it matters anymore anyway. I wish I could put makeup on to cover it, but I don't think anything I have at home is strong enough.
    The movie is funny enough to alleviate any tension I put between us, and the rest of the night is actually enjoyable. We laugh at the same jokes, and I even notice Ben shift a couple of times to move closer to me. At least I think that's what he was doing. The fact that he hasn't seemed turned off by me yet makes me feel a little less self-conscious. Toward the last half of the movie, Ben pauses it to microwave some popcorn, and when he comes back, he's sitting so close to me that only the bag of popcorn is between us.
    Now I'm feeling things I haven't felt in a long time, and I'm self-conscious in a different