#Chapter 31: Survival

Kayla That night, I trudged toward Nicholas’s room with my pillow tucked under one arm and a scowl plastered across my face. I was sharing a bedroom. A bed. With Nicholas. If someone had told me a year ago that this would be my life, I would have laughed them out of the room. But here I was, about to step into what was sure to be a month-long exercise in patience. The door was already slightly ajar, the soft amber glow of a bedside lamp spilling into the hallway. I pushed it open with my foot, half-expecting to find Nicholas sprawled across the bed like some arrogant king. Instead, he was sitting up against the headboard with a book in his hands. I stopped in my tracks, blinking. “I didn’t know you knew how to read.” He didn’t even glance up, just flipped a page with exaggerated care. “What can I say? I’m full of surprises.” I dropped my pillow onto the bed with a huff. “Yeah, like your ability to irritate me without even trying.” Nicho