There’s something about him that calms me. As if, for a moment, Fender and the stalker don’t exist.

“Want a drink?” Without waiting for an answer, Claus opens the minibar and pours two glasses of soda.

I look around. Room 311 is on our floor, but at the opposite end of the hallway. There’s a closed suitcase under the bed, but that’s all. The comforter is completely smooth and unwrinkled. Claus probably didn’t jump up and down on the bed like Kate and I did.

Will we ever do anything like that together again? As soon as I tell her the truth about Fender, Kate’s going to take his side. And if I don’t say anything, I’ll have to go on acting normal when he’s around. I don’t know if I can do that. Fender has backed me into a corner.

“Hey, you keep things nice and neat, don’t you?”

“I like to have things organized.” Claus passes me a glass and sits down across from me. “Okay, now tell me. Why do you want to go home, why are you crying, and why are you spending so much time away from your friends?”

“That’s a lot of questions.”

“After that, it’s your turn to ask questions.” Claus smiles. “Don’t worry. You can say whatever you like. It’s safe with me.”

Claus is right. He only knows my friends from that drinks party at the law firm. He isn’t part of the gang, who have known one another so much longer than I’ve known them.

And then I start talking. It’s like opening a stuffed closet, as all the words come tumbling out over each other.

“Kate and Lucas have always been nice to me. I feel comfortable with them. But it’s different with Fender. There’s something in his eyes that frightens me. Something dark. He sometimes stares at me so intensely that it’s like he can see right through me. But then he’ll just look past me, like I don’t exist. Or it’s the opposite, and he gets really aggressive toward me. Whenever I say something in class, he always has to disagree. It’s wearing me out. Normally I’m good at standing up for myself, but not with Fender. He scares me.”

“Scares you?”

“Don’t laugh!”

Claus looks serious. “I’m not laughing. I just think it’s…strange. He should be a friend of yours, not an enemy.”

I nod. “It’s because of Kate. He’s her best friend, and she’s my best friend. So we’re stuck with each other.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“It is.”

“But why does he scare you?”

“Well, he just tried to strangle me.”

Claus’s eyes widen behind his glasses. “What?”

I suddenly understand how crazy this must sound, so I sweep my braid, now dry, over my shoulder and lift my chin.

“Here.”