Out of Character by Annabeth Albert

Chapter Thirty

Milo

“Stop.” Finally, I’d recovered my ability to speak. It had taken me a few moments to get past the shock of seeing Luther and James at the hospital, exactly like I’d been dreading. And it was high school all over again, Luther and James hassling Jasper, and me doing nothing to stop it. It was like they started their shit and my voice fled along with my convictions and my courage.

But unlike high school, Jasper now looked more furious than scared, and I had a sinking feeling some of that anger was probably directed my way. And also in contrast to the past, I now had way more on the line. I’d promised Jasper and myself that I was going to be a better person, and that better person was definitely not a scared-rabbit statue who let my roommates get away with harassing anyone, let alone someone who meant as much to me as Jasper.

“Knock it off,” I said to Luther. My stomach issued a Category 5 hurricane warning. It might have been a little dramatic, but I swore I could feel my entire future hinging on the next few minutes. My stomach could deal. “Let him pass.”

“I’m so sorry, Zeus. Or is it Apollo? Sorry. I didn’t pay attention to ancient history.” Luther laughed harshly.

“It’s Prince Neptune.” I pulled myself up to my full height, which was taller than Luther and wider than James. “And you both need to cut it out.”

“Or what?” James shook his head. “Since when do you hang out with Quigley, anyway?”

“You don’t know everything about me.”

“Clearly.” Luther swept his gaze over my costume again, openly mocking. “Like I said, you’d better be careful. People might get the wrong idea.”

“Right here, guys,” Jasper said from behind me, tone still dripping with irritation.

“Or maybe they’ll get the right one.” My stomach was in full-out revolt now, bile burning my throat, but I forced my hand backward, fumbling for Jasper’s. Holding his hand at the ball had been scary, but this right now was like the difference between a high dive and skydiving. With an iffy parachute. And the landing zone was on fire. But whatever. I was doing it.

Jasper inhaled sharply but he didn’t flinch away, grabbing my hand back, not letting go.

“Okay. Very funny.” Luther rolled his eyes as if there was no way I was serious.

“I don’t have time for this shit.” James yanked his cart past Luther’s.

“No. No way.” Tilting his head, Luther quirked his mouth like he might be seeing me for the first time ever. My clammy skin broke out in goose bumps under the scrutiny, yet I held firm to Jasper.

“There’s no room in my life for you…experimenting, Lionetti.”

“It’s not your life. It’s mine.” Even as my muscles started to quiver, I still stared James down.

“No, I meant that literally. No room. You can pack up your crap and get the fuck out.” James’s expression was as hard as his tone.

“Yeah.” Luther sounded more resigned than mad. “Way to choose that—”

I cut him off with a growl. “Watch it.”

“Everything okay here?” An older portly security officer stepped off the elevator and strode toward us. Heck. All we needed was someone to have complained about our argument.

“Yup, Officer.” James spared me a last glare before steering his cart toward the elevators. “Moving on. Moving the F on.”

“You do that.” I scowled back until they were both out of sight.

“You need me to call the cleaning company supervisor?” the guard asked. “I know how much the kids love the costumed visitors like you two. That cleaning company’s workers are supposed to stick to the remodel on the next level up.”

“No. It’s fine,” I said, even though it most definitely was not. Jasper muttered something under his breath about a complaint not being a bad idea, but I pretended not to hear, instead trying to look casual while waiting for the guard to head down the corridor.

“Wow. That was…” Jasper exhaled about a decade’s worth of tension.

“I know.” Swaying slightly, I squished my eyes shut.

“Hey. You okay?” Jasper steered me toward one of the couches in the waiting area by the elevators.

“No.” Collapsing onto the couch, I put my head in my hands. Jasper made soothing sounds and rubbed my back, but I was concentrating too much on not hurling to appreciate the contact. “What did I do?”

“You stood up for me. For yourself. You were amazing. But I get that it was probably intense for you.” Jasper sounded amazed but all jazzed up, like we’d just conquered some ride together. And as always, now I was the one about to puke.

“That’s one way to put it.”

Jasper gentled his tone some and slowed his hands, like he was calming a nervous puppy. “You did good.”

“Should have done it a long time ago, but still…” I held out my shaking hands.

“I’m not trying to say it wasn’t hard for you.” Giving me a kind smile, Jasper squeezed my biceps. “But I was impressed.”

“I’m now impressively homeless.” After removing my crown, I scrubbed at my hair.

“Hey.” He stilled my hand while I still had hair left. “Do you want to call your mom?”

I lurched away from him, gut roiling again. “God, no. I’ll figure something out, but I am not needing another rescue.”

“Fair enough, but I meant more that maybe you need the support.”

“I’ll be fine.” I pushed myself to standing even if my knees were still decidedly wobbly.

“You don’t look—”

“I just need a minute.” I dragged in a rattling breath before striding toward the restroom. “I’m going to get changed.”

“Good idea. I’ll do the same.”

Toting all his usual bags, he followed close behind me, almost as if he expected me to make a run for it. Which I definitely was not about to do in this toga. And Jasper might be my only friend. I was feeling like crap but I wasn’t stupid enough to flee. So no fleeing, but my self-loathing had reached new depths, and I wasn’t surprised when I ended up puking while changing. I hated how much I now needed Jasper. And I hated that it had taken me this long to stand up. Oh, and that I’d been this unprepared for the inevitable reaction.

“Where to?” Jasper asked as I emerged from the stall, doing a pretty good job of pretending like he hadn’t heard me getting sick even as he passed me a pack of mints. “You want to collect your stuff while they’re still at work, right?”

I quickly rinsed my mouth and popped a mint that did nothing to quiet my still-anxious gut. “What I’d like is to not think for a while.”

It came out too loud, too sharp, and Jasper took a step back, feet hitting his bags. “Okay.”

“Sorry. That came out harsh. You’re trying to help. I get it. I hate being such a mess—”

“This isn’t your fault or your mess. It’s theirs.” He rubbed my arm before picking up his bags and following me out of the restroom. “And like you said, maybe this was way overdue.”

“Yeah.” I paused for a drink at the fountain by the elevator. His tone had been pragmatic, not accusatory, but he was right. I’d waited way too long to stand up to Luther and James. He’d be justified in being pissed about that. Yet if he was, he was doing a good job of hiding it as he waited with patient expression. “Let me help. Please?”

“I guess I could use a ride back to the apartment. Everything I own should pretty much fit in my car.”

“And then?”

“You can be in charge of pizza.” I forced out a laugh as we got on the elevator.

“I’m serious. You can stay with me tonight while you figure out what to do.”

“Thanks. I don’t like imposing—”

“You’re not an imposition.” Jasper was quick to interrupt me with one of his mom’s favorite sayings. But the soft way he gazed at me wasn’t familial at all and was way more caring than I deserved. “You’re my guy.”

It was a nice thought, but I still felt like the world’s biggest burden as we stepped into the chilly evening. For weeks I’d felt one move away from my life collapsing like a faulty block structure, a build with a fatal flaw—me. Now it was happening and I had no one else to blame. Even with Jasper by my side, I wasn’t sure I’d ever been so alone.