Chapter 2

I pretended to still be asleep until Gary finally left. The moment the door clicked shut, Daisy shook me awake, practically bursting with excitement to show me a video she had recorded of them last night on her Snapchat.

I glanced at the screen for two seconds and felt like I needed to wash my eyes with bleach.

I immediately started packing my bags, trying my absolute best not to scream at her.

"Daisy, pay me your half of the deposit. I'm moving out. You and that old creep can have this place."

"No! You can't leave!" Daisy grabbed my arm tightly. "Who's going to keep me on track with studying if you leave? I still want to get into a good college!"

"Chloe, we're best friends. How can you be so selfish? You're only thinking about yourself, not me!"

I let out a cold laugh. "Do you honestly care about college?"

Daisy begged and pleaded, swearing up and down that she would never, ever let Gary inside our room again. She even wrote out a signed promise on a piece of paper.

Since our landlord wouldn't refund my deposit anyway, and I couldn't find another cheap place close to the prep center, I decided to tolerate her one last time. I needed to focus on my exams.

For the next few weeks, Daisy kept her word. Gary didn't come back inside.

However, to stay close to her, Gary rented a tiny room right across the hall from us.

The walls in this building were paper-thin. Almost every night, I could hear disgusting, muffled noises coming from across the hall.

A week later, Daisy got a frantic call from her parents. Her grandfather back in rural Oregon was terminally ill, and she needed to catch the next flight home to say goodbye.

Crying hysterically, she packed her bags and left for the airport.

With Daisy gone, my life became incredibly peaceful.

Except for the fact that Gary was still living across the hall. We kept bumping into each other in the corridor.

On Saturday, we didn't have prep classes. I slept in from afternoon until evening, and around 8 PM, I decided to head downstairs to grab some takeout.

The moment I stepped out of my door, I ran right into Gary.

Unlike his usual creepy silence, Gary actually smiled and initiated a conversation.

"Hey, Chloe, right? Daisy mentioned your name. Where are you going so late?"

"It's pretty dangerous for a pretty girl to be out alone at night. How about I walk with you and keep you safe?"

"I don't mean anything by it. You're Daisy's best friend, so naturally, I care about your safety."

Though Gary tried to look like a harmless, nice guy, every time I looked at his face, I pictured him and Daisy from that horrific night. It made my stomach churn.

I shook my head, keeping my voice polite but cold. "No, thank you. I'm meeting a friend."

Gary's eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept that greasy smile on his face.

"Alright then, go have fun with your friend."

"But hey, you'll probably want something to drink while you're out. I just bought two cold coffees from the convenience store. Here, take one."

"Don't be shy. You help Daisy study all the time. Think of it as me thanking you on her behalf."

Before I could protest, Gary shoved a canned coffee into my hands and walked away.

Not wanting to cause a scene, I held onto it. Once I got downstairs, I grabbed a bowl of noodles and headed straight back to my room.

Remembering how creepy he was, there was no way in hell I was drinking anything he gave me. I tossed the can onto my desk.

As I ate my noodles, I opened TikTok and started scrolling.

The algorithm popped up a "People You May Know" profile.

The username was @Romeo_Dream.

Curiosity got the better of me. I tapped on the profile. He had just posted a new video an hour ago.

The caption read: What should I do when I'm in love with two girls at the same time? I'm losing sleep over this.