Chapter Eight
Aric
I had to leave. The air was soaked with her scent, which is weird to say even in my own head. Fuck, I really am losing it.
When I know the coast is clear, I go back to my room and down some of my meds, then stare at myself in the sink. My eyes are clear but lifeless. Looks about right.
I grip the sides of the sink and try to take some long, deep breaths.
Everything is going to be fine.
I just need to survive with her next door to me, moving around, breathing, existing, making noise, annoying the shit out of me.
I know the walls are thin.
Just like I know both of our beds are pressed against the same shared wall.
Inches.
Our bodies will be inches from each other, guarded by nothing other than some ancient stone wall that could crumble at any moment.
God, I hope there’s not an earthquake, not because I don’t want to die under a pile of rubble but because I don’t want my last moments to be spent lying next to her in that pile of rubble.
She smells sharp—cool air and wildflowers crushed underfoot. Like rain just before it hits. Clean. Disruptive. Familiar in a way that puts me on edge.
A soft knock sounds at my door.
“Yeah,” I rasp.
Reeve waltzes in. “So…this should be interesting.”
I curse and toss my meds back into the drawer. “You think?”
He eyes the drawer, then me. “You feeling okay?”
I shrug. “As okay as ever.”
So no, I do not feel okay. I swear if my therapist tells me one more time to journal my feelings when I have episodes or weird dreams, I’m going to explode.
I can tell by the way my brother’s squinting at me, he’s gonna say something stupid. “You look upset,” he says finally.
“No shit, Reeve. Do I? Look upset?” I stomp over to the window and focus my gaze on the mountains past the lake. Frost forms between the panes of glass, distracting me. “Is it cold outside?”
“Huh?” Reeve plops onto my bed and leans back.
“You do have a phone, you know. With a handy weather app. It’s not any colder than normal.
All the freshmen are currently out doing their normal weird pre-orientation shit, which means the dining hall shouldn’t be super busy if you wanna grab some food to calm that temper of yours. I hear carbs work wonders.”
“Yes, because fries always make me forget my anger. Good idea,” I snap, then turn around. I take a deep breath and sit down in my desk chair, spinning to face my brother again. “Sorry.”
“An apology?” Reeve’s eyebrows shoot up.
“I’m honored. And for the record, I’m annoyed she’s here, too, all right?
Let’s just get through this semester without murder on our hands.
People look up to us, you know? So keep your shit together as much as possible, which means avoid her as much as possible.
And if you do run into her, well, try not to rip her head from her body. ” He hesitates. “Please?”
I scowl. “It’s tempting. I mean, why the hell is she even here? At the college our family founded?”
Reeve drags a hand down his face and yawns. “I’m still trying to figure that part out. Point is, she’s here. Her father’s beyond powerful, and the last thing we need is a bad rep for Endir. It’s the family legacy, right? We play nice for a few months, you graduate, we’re free. Easy.”
“Yeah,” I mutter and run my hands through my hair. “I guess.”
I flinch when something drops on the other side of the wall.
Rey. I clench my hands into fists, but I get up and move toward the sound.
Reeve looks from the wall to me, then back to the wall. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
I’m never okay, but it’s nice that he asked like the answer will be different, when we both know I haven’t been okay in a long time.
A very long time.
I rub my hands down my face. “Yeah, sure, whatever. Let’s just get out of here.”
He goes to the door while I grab my phone from my nightstand.
I numbly follow Reeve out of the room, letting the door click shut behind me. My heart thumps against my chest faster than normal as I pass her door, and Reeve and I get on the elevator.
He hits the lobby button. “So, I hear goat yoga is really relaxing.”
“Shut up, Reeve.”
“What?” He holds up his hands. “Stop being so hostile. Goats are really cute! Or maybe a cat café. You can drink coffee, do your homework, have a nice little puss—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” I grumble.
“It was a good opening.” He sighs. “Anyway, point is, we just have to keep you distracted so you aren’t fixated on her.” He tries to catch my gaze, but I remain staring straight ahead. “Why are you fixated on her? I mean, I know we both hate her for good reason, but she’s just a girl.”
No. She isn’t.
And I can’t explain why I feel so strongly about that, other than when she was given the choice to run from his control, she stayed.
I can’t respect that. Plus, there’s something deeper to her, something more sinister.
My grandfather’s done his homework, and so has Reeve.
We know everything there is to know about her family and how she was raised.
We know she’s dangerous, yet nobody else seems to see it.
Maybe that’s what gets me. She’s trouble, and yet she somehow seems to charm everyone she meets.
I’m so wrapped up in my own thoughts that it takes me getting to the lobby to realize that I forgot my wallet.
“Ugh.” I shove Reeve out of the elevator. “I have to go grab my wallet. Wait for me.”
“No worries.” He salutes me and glances over at a group of female students. “I have ways to stay occupied.”
He’s such a sleaze; it should be written on his shirt as a warning to unsuspecting future partners. He says he loves love. I think he just loves the attention.
“Yeah, I bet.” The elevator doors close.
I catch my reflection in the glass paneling—drawn features, jaw tight, something hollow behind the eyes. I almost don’t recognize the man staring back at me.
I remember when I first arrived at Endir my freshman year. I was never what you would call an easygoing kind of guy like my brother, but I at least knew how to smile. Now I can’t remember the last time my lips tilted up in anything even close to joy.
I look down and wait for my floor. I’ve lost my appetite entirely, my anxiety at her nearness making the blood in my veins turn to ice.
Back in my dorm room, I quickly send a text to Reeve to let him know I’ll join him later and he should go on without me.
I sit on the edge of the bed, fists clenched against my knees.
Something’s wrong.
Not in the building. Not out there.
In me.
I’ve felt it since the elevator. Since her.
I close my eyes, but the tension doesn’t fade. It’s not just in my muscles. It’s under my skin.
And whatever it is—
It’s waking up.