JESS'S WARNING
909 Words
Jess never whispered. Even in the library, even in moments that begged for softness, she spoke with the confidence of someone who assumed the world wanted to hear her. So when she dropped her tray onto our cafeteria table the next morning with a loud thud, heads turned.
“You didn’t tell me you were talking to Adrian Cole.”
I froze mid-bite, my fork hovering over a sad piece of scrambled eggs. “What?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play dumb. I saw you with him. In the library.”
“How did you—”
“Please. This campus is small. People notice things. People notice him.”
I tried to act casual, stabbing my eggs like they’d offended me. “We weren’t talking. He just sat down.”
“Uh-huh.” Jess leaned in, lowering her voice but not enough. “Mara, you cannot. Not with him.”
I hated the way she said it, like I was already guilty of something I hadn’t even decided I wanted.
“Why not?”
Her curls bounced as she shook her head. “Because he’s Adrian. He’s… bad news.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s vague.”
“Fine. You want specifics? He’s been in fights. Like, actual hospital-required fights. He skipped most of last semester and still somehow passed. Rumor is, his dad’s loaded and pays off half the professors to keep him afloat.”
“That’s just gossip.”
“Exactly. And the worst part? No one ever knows what’s true about him. He doesn’t let people in. And the ones who try?” She poked at her fruit cup for dramatic effect. “They regret it.”
I swallowed hard, not because I believed her, but because part of me wanted to. Part of me needed an excuse to keep my distance.
Jess leaned closer. “Mara, I love you. And I know you. You’re the type who falls too fast for people who are broken. And Adrian Cole? He’s not just broken. He’s shattered. And he’ll cut you if you get too close.”
Her words settled between us like smoke, heavy and choking.
I forced a laugh, though it cracked at the edges. “You’re being dramatic.”
“Am I?” She raised a brow, the challenge hanging between us.
I didn’t answer.
Because the truth was, she wasn’t wrong. About me, at least. I’d always had a weakness for the kind of people everyone else avoided—the loners, the rebels, the ones who wore their damage like armor. Maybe it was because I saw myself in them. Or maybe it was because fixing someone else always seemed easier than fixing myself.
I tried to push him out of my head. I went to class, I scribbled half-legible notes, I even joined Jess for a late-night Target run. But Adrian lingered, like the shadow of a song I couldn’t remember the lyrics to.
Two days later, I saw him again. Not in the library this time, but outside the dorms, leaning against the railing like he had nowhere better to be. A cigarette dangled from his fingers, the smoke curling up into the night air.
“You shouldn’t smoke,” I blurted before I could stop myself.
He turned, his eyes catching the faint glow of the lamppost. “You following me, book girl?”
“I live here,” I said, gesturing vaguely to the building behind me.
“Convenient.” He smirked, flicking ash onto the ground. “And don’t worry about my lungs. I’ve got two.”
“That’s… not how it works.”
“Maybe not for you.”
He stepped closer, and the scent of smoke wrapped around me. Not pleasant, not entirely awful either. Just… him.
“What did Jess tell you?” he asked suddenly.
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
“She’s your best friend. She warns everyone. I’m curious what version of me you got.”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. He smiled like he already knew.
“Let me guess. I’m violent. Dangerous. A waste of time.”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Something like that.”
He took one last drag before dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his boot. “She’s not wrong. But she’s not right either.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means people like their stories simple. Hero, villain. Good, bad. But life doesn’t work like that.”
His voice was steady, but his hands flexed like he was holding back something heavier than words.
Before I could reply, a group of guys stumbled out of the dorm, laughing too loudly, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders. Adrian’s entire body stiffened. His jaw tightened, his gaze flicked away like he was trying not to be seen.
One of them noticed anyway. “Yo, Cole!” the tallest one shouted, his grin wide but not friendly. “Still playing the lone wolf act? Cute.”
Adrian didn’t answer. He just shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground.
The guys kept walking, their laughter echoing down the street.
I glanced at him, at the way his shoulders only relaxed once they were gone.
“What was that about?” I asked softly.
He didn’t look at me. “Nothing you need to know.”
But I did want to know. Too much.
- Writer
