Holding On To Heaven (Allendale Four 2)

My sneakers slapped on the wet sidewalk as I chased Anderson across the campus. His fucking long legs had me beat by a mile and he was already in the front door before I got there.

“I’m going to have a stroke,” I said, holding my chest. He pressed the buttons on the elevator. When it didn’t come fast enough he eyed the stairs, but I held out my hand. “Seriously dude, I will die.”

Bing!

Saved by the fucking bell.

The ride was quick up to Heaven’s floor and Anderson pushed through a group of girls standing in the hallway.

“Excuse us,” I said, following in his wake.

He pounded on her door with his fist unrelenting until it swung open and Samantha stood inside.

“Where’s Heaven?” he asked.

“Can we come in?” I added.

She stepped back and said, “She’s not here. She left a few minutes ago.”

“Left where?” I asked. Anderson had barged through the living area and into her room, checking for himself. His jaw was clenched so tight I thought it may actually break.

“I don’t know. She grabbed Amber’s car keys and took off.” She frowned. “She was a little upset.”

“About Oliver?” Anderson blurted.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Oliver? No. She and Ruthie...” she glanced backwards to the closed bedroom door. “There was a situation.”

“What kind of situation?” I asked, but she wrinkled her nose. “We’re worried about Heaven. It’s not like her to take off like this, not without telling one of us, and she and Oliver had a fight. If something else happened we really should know.”

Samantha rocked back on her heels and exhaled. “All I know is that Heaven was supposed to meet Noah tonight and when she didn’t show up he came over. Ruthie, being Ruthie, took advantage of the situation.”

“How?” Anderson asked.

“She and Noah had sex and then there was a really big blow up.”

“Who and Noah had sex?” I asked, feeling my blood pressure rise.

“Ruthie,” she clarified, hands in the air. “Ruthie and Noah had sex, but you know there was something going on with Heaven and Noah—I don’t know what—but it was a bitch move for sure.”

I glanced at Anderson. He was thinking it all over in that quiet way that always freaked me out. He waited for a beat, as if weighting his options, and then strode across the room toward Ruthie’s door. He didn’t knock and Samantha’s eyes were wide as he barged in the room to find the two of them snuggled up, naked, in bed.

“What the fuck?” Ruthie cried, but she watched Anderson closely. She wasn’t nearly as offended as she acted.

“What did you do to her?” Anderson asked quietly.

“To who?” she played dumb. I walked across the room and stood in the door behind him, crossing my arms over my chest. She rolled her eyes. “You mean Heaven? We didn’t do anything to her. She just freaked out when she saw us together.”

“Why would she freak out?” I asked. Because there was not one goddam reason seeing Noah with another girl should bother her…unless.

Nope. No. Fuck no.

Ruthie stroked Noah’s arm. “I guess she was jealous.”

“No,” I said, curtly. “There’s no way she was jealous. What the hell did you do?”

Anderson—who was always a ball of tension coiled way too tight—snapped. He lunged over the bed and dragged Noah off the mattress and onto the floor. Thank god he had on shorts.

“Oh,” Samantha said, reaching for her phone. I gave her a warning look and she stopped.