8. Asch
ASCH
“She’s not going to show,” I say to Blaze. He’s lounging on my bed, which is one of the few open spots in the room.
I still don’t know why he called her. He said it was for my sake, but Blaze doesn’t do things he doesn’t want to do.
Blaze shrugs. “If she doesn’t show up, we hunt her down and teach her what it means to disobey us.”
From the sound of it, he’d actually prefer that scenario.
I don’t get it. Blaze doesn’t chase women. He smiles at them, they drop their panties for him, and after that, he’s done with them. Even in high school, if one of the girls turned him down—I think that happened twice , max—he didn’t bother to continue flirting.
Since I know how he gets when he really wants something, it told me enough about how he felt about those girls.
They weren’t worth the effort for him.
I pick up a pile of laundry, trying to figure out if the clothes are dirty or clean, and decide to throw them in the basket instead of putting them away. Not that I’d put them away even if they were clean, but at least this way, I can pretend to put my room in some semblance of order .
It would take more than a five-minute sweep to make it truly presentable, though, and I grimace as I survey the whole thing.
“We should take her to your room,” I say, discomfort gnawing at me as I imagine the sort of snarky shit she’d probably have to say about the mess in here. “ If she shows.”
I don’t know why I care about making the place presentable for Pandora. It doesn’t matter what she thinks.
I’m supposed to want to destroy her as badly as Blaze does. Why would I care about her opinion in the meantime?
I do want to hurt her. Having to disarm her every time we fuck her will get old, and no matter what Blaze thinks, I know she’d hurt him.
I still have the healing cut on my arm as proof of that.
There’s also that strange sensation of being followed whenever she’s around. It happened twice now, and it has me more on edge than I want to admit.
I wish Blaze would take my warnings more seriously.
Blaze sits up and looks around the room. “Yeah, we probably should.” His eyes linger on a stack of papers on the nightstand. He takes the first page off and reads it. “This is the info for rush week. Why do you have this? Where’s the recycling bin? I’ll toss it for you.”
I glance at the papers, and I want to protest that I might need it later on.
I bite my tongue. I can’t think of a single reason I would.
I don’t plan on being anyone’s sponsor or Big Brother.
It would only work against them, given my standing in the frat — which isn’t terrible, but everyone’s aware that I’m the scholarship student, and I don’t get to forget that fact often.
“Yeah, okay,” I say self-consciously. I pick up the entire stack of papers, not bothering to go through them, and hand it to Blaze. “Here, this is all probably fine to go.”
Blaze takes the papers and looks around until he finally finds the recycling bin, which is on the other end of the room, far away from the desk. It’s full though, and Blaze shakes his head. “Grab the bin. Let’s go empty it now. And I guess the trash can too. ”
Ordinarily, I’d tease him about doing menial tasks, but my embarrassment makes my cheeks flush hot. I appreciate him helping, but at the same time, it’s drawing attention to the fact that the mess in my room is out of control. No matter what I do, I can’t seem to change it.
I guess I really am my mother’s child.
“Thanks,” I mumble.
I pick up the bins while Blaze puts the papers into one of the cardboard boxes, and I bite my lip because I’m pretty sure the box wasn’t empty. Something important might have been inside. Blaze picks it up anyway and heads out, expecting me to follow.
The recycling and dumpster are around the side of the front porch, out of view. Blaze dumps the entire box into the large recycling bin, and I empty the ones I’m holding before I can think too hard about it.
“Let’s grab some drinks before…” Blaze trails off, looking at something near the front of the house.
I follow his gaze, surprised to see Pandora approaching.
She actually showed up.
There’s another student with her though, a tall Latino guy with tan skin and thick black hair. He’d be more handsome without the scowl. Somebody doesn’t want to be here.
“Who the fuck is that?” Blaze asks in an unexpectedly vehement tone.
I shake my head. “No idea.” I narrow my eyes. “Maybe she thinks he can protect her? Between the two of us, we can scare him off, though.”
Pandora walks right up to the front door and starts knocking. “Hey! Frat douches! Open up!”
“What the hell,” Blaze hisses. He walks over to her, arms crossed. “Frat douches? Really?”
Pandora seems surprised to see him. “Oh, I thought you’d be inside waiting with your cock out or something.”
I follow Blaze, hoping I can get close enough to prevent any bodily harm. I start to make a retort, but my attention is drawn to the guy that’s with her. “Who’s this?” I ask, keeping my voice even. “Only members of the frat and our guests are allowed inside.”
The guy smiles at me, though it’s brittle. “I’m here to put in my bid. Pandora spoke so glowingly of all of you that I knew I had to get in on the action.”
I doubt any friend of Pandora’s would want to join Kappa Alpha based on any glowing recommendation. I glance at Blaze.
He looks just as wary, but instead of shutting it all down, he says, “ You want to pledge? Why? There’s a process. Forms. Background checks.”
We’ve already flat out rejected bids from people who don’t fit Kappa Alpha’s image. There’s no reason to entertain any of this at all.
All Blaze has to do is say no. Full stop.
I give Pandora’s friend another once over. Pandora is completely relaxed, but the tension in her friend is obvious. His shoulders are stiff, and his arms are coiled in a way that makes me think he’s ready to throw a punch at any moment.
I get closer to Blaze so I can intercept a blow. I don’t trust either Pandora or her friend to stay docile.
Hell, I don’t really trust Blaze to keep calm either.
Pandora pouts at us. “River’s a good pledge. He’s strong, he does boxing, he loves roofie-ing girls as much as the rest of you?—”
River glares at her. “I have never roofied a girl, and you know it, Pandora,” he says, but he sounds exasperated instead of offended, like he’s used to Pandora’s strange comments.
It’s all I can do to keep my expression open and friendly. “No one roofied any girls,” I say. “Carly had a little too much to drink, that’s all.”
Declan’s still too terrified to even look at Blaze.
“I don’t need to roofie anyone to get laid,” Blaze adds, but his lip twitches with a hint of amusement. “And who wants to fuck an unconscious chick?”
“I don’t know what you’ve been doing this past year, actually,” Pandora says to River, confirming my thoughts that not only do they know each other, but that they were at least close in the past. “But it sounds like you’re all in agreement anyway.
You all strongly dislike roofies. My statement is still true. ”
River makes a disgruntled sound, but he doesn’t argue against Pandora. “Anyway. Sign me up for your frat.”
“I guess I needed those forms after all,” I tell Blaze. It’s not his fault I’m still feeling a little raw about having to get rid of a whole stack of things I might’ve needed in the future.
“ You don’t need those forms.” Blaze looks between us. “River would need them, if he were going to bid, which he isn’t, because Kappa Alpha Omega Sigma is exclusive.”
Finally. He’s going to shut this whole thing down, then we can get rid of him.
Maybe it’ll make Pandora leave, too.
“I’m not even allowed to bid?” River asks. He goes for his phone. “Your rush week info says anyone can apply.”
I shake my head. “That doesn’t mean you’d get accepted. There are important considerations?—”
Before I can list off all the criteria for being accepted into ΚΑΩΣ, the criteria I barely fulfill myself, I’m interrupted.
“Ooh, did you know his dad works for Giulio Pavone?” Pandora says casually. “Fucking scary, both of them. Giulio once visited while I was at River’s place, and… well, I’m glad he didn’t think I was worthy of working at one of his clubs.”
Giulio Pavone, as in, the most powerful mob boss on the east coast? If she’s name dropping him, does that mean she knows about Blaze’s family after all?
That’s not the kind of name people would even think to use. Someone like Declan wouldn’t know who Giulio Pavone is.
Of course, Declan is a dumbass who probably doesn’t quite understand why the Bouchard name carries so much weight around campus beyond the money they throw around.
The question is why Pandora knows its significance.
River gives her a strange look, but he turns his attention to me and Blaze. “I’ll pass the background checks, I have the money, and I’m literate enough to fill out some forms. Unless Chaos—Kappa Alpha—discriminates…”
“We’re only questioning your choice of friends right now,” I say, my focus still on her. I already knew she was dangerous, but now I’m wondering how much power she wields beyond a simple knife in her pocket.
There might be a reason she isn’t afraid of Blaze, one that has nothing to do with her lack of self-preservation instincts.
“You obviously see the appeal in being friends with Pandora, too,” River says with a brittle smile. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have called her to hang out.”
Blaze’s attention is firmly on River. “Do you seriously know Giulio Pavone? That’s not something you should make up if you value your life.”
My gaze snaps to him.
That isn’t how Blaze usually talks to other people.
No, there’s a hint of interest there, an actual desire to know more about River. Like that connection to Giulio Pavone matters.
My mouth goes dry while I try to figure out a way to contribute to this conversation in a way that doesn’t make me look like a jealous idiot.