No One's Hero (Chadwell Hearts) by Kelly Walker

highlighting the soft sprinkling of freckles on her nose and cheeks. “You wouldn’t,” she gasps.
    Kevin waits silently, his unwavering gaze doing his talking for him.
    “Take whatever side you want,” Stephanie snaps at me before storming out of our room.
    Once the door’s shut behind her I study Kevin carefully. I don’t know whether to be grateful he dealt with Stephanie so I didn’t have to, or irritated because there would have been no issue if he hadn’t been here in the first place. Plus, it’s sort of creepy that he knows that about her. “How’d you know?”
    “I told you, I’m good at my job. Did you really think I wouldn’t have vetted your roommate?” When I don’t answer, he continues. “Lexi, I know that your English professor is cheating on his wife—with your Applied Science professor. The girl down the hall in 249 once had a record deal, but they dropped her last spring. One of the boys upstairs is only here because the case against him for selling pot was dropped on a technicality. And I know all that after less than two days of research. Although checking out your dormmates wasn’t my priority, since I didn’t expect you to be staying in the dorm. If I’d had more notice, I would have known more. Because it’s my job to know everything. Just like I know you don’t like it. Just like I know you’re going to shut up, unpack, and deal with it. So save us both the hassle, and just unpack your shit. But for God’s sake, this time, stay put.”
    The ugly wood door slams hard behind Kevin, leaving me alone, but either he or Stephanie might be back any moment, so I can’t risk giving myself permission to cry. Instead, I tuck everything I’m feeling into a little mental ball, then seal it up with an I-Hate-Kevin label. Nothing about my arrival at college has gone according to plan, and he’s to blame.

Chapter Nine
    —-♥—-
    L exi
    When the bleep-bleep-bleep of my alarm chirps the next morning, I groggily reach over and hit the snooze button with a bit too much force. The alarm falls off the windowsill, bouncing off Kevin’s forehead before clattering noisily to the floor.
    “Ow! What the hell?” Kevin bolts upright.
    “Sorry,” I grumble before turning a sleepy eye toward Stephanie’s bed. I’m surprised she’s not yelling at us for making too much noise. Her sheets are neatly tucked in, and she’s nowhere in sight. My brief elation to find Stephanie gone is replaced by a lump of dread as I realize what else is missing. Last night, after we got all my things to the room and grabbed a quick dinner, I was too exhausted to put all my things away so I piled some in my closet, and the rest on my desk and chair. My saddle was propped neatly on my desk when I went to sleep, but now the wood surface is bare. “Where’s my saddle?”
    I shove back the covers, hurry to the closet and frantically slide the door open. It sticks on its tracks and I can’t get the damn thing open.
    “Hey, calm down. Let me.” Kevin moves me aside with gentle hands, then slides open the door, revealing my closet just as I left it—my saddle nowhere in sight. My boots are also missing from where I left them beside the desk, and my helmet. In other words, everything I need for my first riding class is gone.
    “You didn’t take them back out to the truck last night, did you?” I ask, already knowing the answer, but clutching at any hope.
    Kevin shakes his head.
    “Dammit! If you’d just left them in the truck—”
    “How was I supposed to know you didn’t want me to bring them in?” Kevin stretches, wincing as he does so.
    “Well if you hadn’t insisted on me waiting here in the room while you carted everything in, I could have told you. Now I’ve got to get a shower, find my stuff, and get down to the barn in less than an hour.” I’d thought I was leaving myself plenty of time when I set my alarm, but I wasn’t counting on my things disappearing. I hate being late, and I definitely