“Their loss.” She shrugged. “So you want to try this or not?”

Kayla bit her lower lip as she regarded the bottle of polish. After several silent beats ticked by, she exhaled. “I guess.”

Yes!

Her last-minute role-play decision to have Cate Sheppard make a statement with her nails was about to pay dividends.

Cate pulled out a bottle of liquid latex and a base coat, gathered up the rest of her supplies, and deposited them on Kayla’s desk. “Clear a bigger space.”

While her roommate did so, Cate dragged her desk chair over and sat beside the other girl.

“What is all that?” Kayla indicated the paraphernalia on the desk.

Cate recited the glitter application routine she’d memorized from the internet and tapped the desk. “Set your hands flat here.”

Kayla complied, and Cate began painting a latex protective barrier around her cuticles.

“You were late getting back from classes.” Kayla scooted closer to the desk.

The perfect opening.

“I ran into Mr. Evans in the hall yesterday when I was feeling kinda down, and he invited me to stop in and see him today.”

Though she kept her attention on her task, she sensed Kayla tighten beside her.

But the other girl didn’t say a word.

“I know you said to avoid him, but he seems nice.” She maintained a chatty tone. “Did your other roommate like him? You said she used to talk to him.”

“Yeah—but not for the right reasons.”

Cate glanced at her. “What does that mean?”

“The kind of help he offered wasn’t what she needed.”

“How do you know what she needed? I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“She didn’t have to—” Kayla’s mouth tightened. “Just be careful with him. If you’re really down, go see Reverend Wilson. He’s here every week.” Her roommate examined the small cross on the wall above her desk, and her features softened. “The help he offers heals the soul. He’s all about the long term, not quick fixes.”

“What sort of quick fixes does Mr. Evans offer?” Cate capped the latex and opened the base coat. “I mean, talking helps. That’s all we did.”

Kayla shifted in her chair. “Did he get . . . like . . . kind of close?”

So the other girl had experienced the same thing she had.

“Maybe a little. But he acts like he really cares. Did he get too close to you? Like—touch you?”

“Nothing bad, but it made me kind of . . . nervous. I never talked to him in his office again after that. I feel safer with Reverend Wilson.”

“You think Mr. Evans got too close to your other roommate?” Cate kept her inflection casual, but digging up additional background on Noah Evans was zooming to the top of her priority list.