8. Asch #2
“I’m not stupid enough to claim that connection without it being true,” River replies. “My dad has worked for him for years.”
He has to be lying. River can’t have connections like that. Not that there aren’t other heirs to crime syndicates on campus—no, there are more than enough of them—but that he’s here, now, trying to worm his way into Blaze’s orbit doesn’t make sense.
“I heard he’s crazy,” Pandora says. “Giulio Pavone, I mean.”
“What could you possibly have heard about him?” Blaze asks her. “He’s not exactly a public figure.”
Even I barely know anything about Giulio Pavone. He doesn’t bother Blaze’s family, and the Bouchards don’t have public interests on the East Coast. If the Pavones are running criminal activities these days, it’s kept extremely secret, hiding behind their legitimate “gentlemen’s” clubs.
Still, Blaze has mentioned that the few times someone has suggested making a move in New Bristol, George Bouchard would shut it down because of Pavone’s presence.
“You don’t read the true crime sites? It’s how I learned all about the kind of shit frat boys do,” Pandora answers with a smirk. “But I learned that firsthand, too.”
She’s still pushing Blaze.
I’m going to have to do more research about Pandora.
I don’t even know her last name, I realize now. Until I know who she really is, I have no way of properly protecting Blaze from her. He’d laugh at me for thinking that, but it’s true.
I think Pandora is a bigger threat than River right now.
She did bring him here though. Maybe that’s one way to learn more about her. If I get close to River, he might spill what he knows.
“Why do you really want to join?” I ask him.
“I told you. It sounds up my alley. I want to be a part of Greek life. Brotherhood, et cetera,” he replies with a shrug.
“Do you know anything about frats?” I ask him.
“I learn fast,” he says vaguely.
Blaze shakes his head, then goes to the front door. He blocks the door so he can punch in the code without Pandora seeing. “If you’re serious, we can talk to Zayden about it. We’ll put your bid in right now.”
I hope this means Blaze is on the same page as me. We’ll find out what River knows, then deliver him back to Pandora—mottled in black, blue, and red.
“Wow, generous,” Pandora says sarcastically. She sticks close to River as we all file inside the building, and I don’t miss how his hand starts going to the small of her back before it drops back down.
Yeah. River definitely knows all about Pandora.
“I am generous,” Blaze counters. “I treat my friends well.”
I swallow down a sarcastic comment. Blaze is generous enough with me, but I’ve never seen him go out of his way for anyone else. Blaze doesn’t have other friends.
As though echoing my thoughts, River replies, “I hope we end up friends, then.”
I hope he ends up dead in a ditch.
We end up in the common room, where Zayden and a few of the guys are watching TV. Zayden looks up at us when we enter, his eyes narrowing when he sees River.
“Who’s that?” he asks suspiciously.
Before River or Pandora can say anything, Blaze answers, “This is River. He wants to make a bid.”
Zayden makes an annoyed expression. “We were taking bids yesterday. Did he submit an application already? And?—”
“I know the protocol,” Blaze says, holding up his hands. “I’m vouching for him, and Asch already volunteered to be his Big Brother— if he passes the pledging process, of course.”
What the fuck?
I don’t understand why Blaze is vouching for anyone, let alone Pandora’s friend, and I definitely did not volunteer to help him out on this particular journey. I’ve got my hands full taking care of Blaze. I can’t babysit somebody else, too.
River smiles at Zayden. “There you have it. I’ll fill out the app, then I’ll pass your background check with flying colors. Can’t wait to be a Kappa Alpha brother.”
Zayden’s eyes narrow at Blaze, but he finally shakes his head. “Fine, fine. Nice to meet you, uh, River.” Then he glances over at Pandora, and he gives her a much nicer smile. “Why are you here, then? I know you don’t fit the criteria.”
Pandora smiles back widely. “Blaze and Asch wanted to hang out, and I figured I could introduce River. Since he’s been dreaming of pledging with Chaos.”
“Kappa Alpha Omega Sigma,” Zayden corrects.
Pandora bites her lip in amusement .
“It’s been my first choice at Dyschord for a long time,” River says easily.
It sounds so genuine, but I don’t believe it for a moment. I wonder where he learned to lie like that.
“Here, I’ll give you a tour,” Blaze says to River, and I outright stare when Blaze pats River’s shoulder. “I’m sure we’ll accept your bid. Zayden, the applications are in the usual spot?”
Zayden nods. “Yep. We’ll talk about this later, though, Bouchard.” He turns to me. “Didn’t figure you for the big brother type, Alvarado! But it’ll be good for you. Make you really feel what Kappa Alpha Omega Sigma is about. You don’t need to suck on Bouchard’s balls all the time.”
Pandora bursts out laughing, turning to bury her head against River’s chest to muffle the sound.
Irritation races through me at the comments, but what’s worse is the humiliation of being mocked like this.
It’s not like I could stop following Blaze.
That isn’t in my future.
Thanks a lot, Blaze , I think sourly as River joins in their chuckling. At least Blaze isn’t laughing.
“What can I say?” I ask, grinning despite my mood. “I’m just the big brotherly type after all, it seems. Gotta help carry on the Kappa Alpha legacy.”
I’m going to kill Blaze for this later.
Blaze flips Zayden off. “Zayden, if you value your teeth, you will shut the fuck up.”
I’m torn between gratitude and annoyance that Blaze has stood up for me yet again. I can fight my own battles — but then, it’s not like Zayden listens to anything I have to say.
Zayden immediately scowls. “Fuck off, Bouchard.”
I almost miss Pandora’s expression, a raw hunger when she stares at Blaze. Because of the threat he’d made?
Blaze motions to the hallway. “Okay, okay, we’re done goofing around here. Let’s get that paperwork and show River what he might miss out on if he decides to go with a different frat. You definitely don’t want to touch the Eta Epsilon losers.”
Pandora mouths the Greek letters like she’s trying to figure out which ones they are.
“No need to worry about that,” River says. “You’re my top choice.”
Yeah, well. Kappa Alpha was my top choice too, and they’d still almost rejected my bid. It was only after Blaze threatened to drop them if they didn’t accept me that I was let in.
We all follow Blaze as he gives a mini tour of the house. “This is the ‘ballroom,’ where we usually host parties,” he explains.
Pandora nods earnestly and tells River, “This is where all the underage drinking happens.”
Blaze rolls his eyes, but he gives her his most charming smile. “Which means you got to drink for free once already. But only because nobody realized you were underage, of course. Nobody here would ever break the law like that.”
“Nope,” I say breezily, trying to steady my mood. “None of us would ever.”
I hate that I feel so off-kilter right now.
River smirks. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
Blaze continues the tour, pointing out the different rooms of the frat house. Kitchen, living room, dining, rec room, group study room…
“There’s space for around twenty guys to live here,” Blaze explains as he leads us upstairs.
I’m beyond grateful that he leads us back to his own room instead of mine.
Once we’re there, it’s easier to relax. It’s my safe space, even more so than my own room, and I settle on the edge of the bed as River and Pandora follow us inside.
“Nice room,” River comments. “Does everyone get a place like this?”
“Yeah, if you pay for a single room,” Blaze says. “You can share with another newbie brother if your finances aren’t cutting it, though.”
“My finances are fine,” River says, and I resent him for being able to say as much without even finding out how much rent in the frat house is.
Pandora sits at the edge of the bed and runs her hand along the nice sheets Blaze uses. “Is the boring stuff out of the way?”
Blaze raises his eyebrows at her. “Should you be acting so casual with me?”
“Why? Is that against the rules, too?” Pandora asks sweetly.
In Blaze’s room, in the frat house, she shouldn’t be quite so willing to mouth off to him. Every other woman would be cowed after what we’ve put her through already.
“What are the rules?” River asks, stepping up close to Pandora.
River’s presence has to be why she’s acting so flippant.
Blaze sizes River up, then says, “Asch will get a handout about the rules for you.”
A handout I’d already had a copy of in my room, until he’d made me get rid of those.
“They’re downstairs by the foyer. It’s got the whole schedule laid out for the newbies. Rush week, pledging, all that. Why don’t you two go down there, and Asch can answer your questions. Since he'll be your big brother,” Blaze continues.
We could’ve grabbed those on the way up. I get that he wants to get rid of River, but I bristle at being excluded as a result.
You aren’t safe with her , I think, but Blaze hasn’t magically learned to read my thoughts in the past twenty minutes.
“Yeah, sure,” I say. “C’mon, River. We’ll go find them, and I’ll answer any questions you have.”
River eyes Blaze. “I think it’s better if I stay up here.”
Pandora grins up at River. “I’m sure it’s fine. It’ll take you, what, five seconds to grab the pamphlet? That’s not enough time for anyone to lose a finger or anything.”
This time, it’s Pandora who draws River’s sharp gaze, and I notice him shoving his left hand into his pocket.
“It’ll be fine. We won’t be long,” I tell River.
I assume Blaze wants me to stall so he can have more alone time with Pandora.
Wasn’t he tormenting her for my sake, though?
Why am I getting pushed out of the situation?
River follows me after casting another glance in Pandora’s direction. As I close the door behind me, he says, “Why do you need to close the door?”
“It’s polite. They’re talking,” I say with a shrug. “Are you coming or not?”
“I would’ve thought that a big, fancy frat like Chaos would have all of these things ready digitally,” he remarks as I start to lead him toward the stairs.
“Kappa Alpha,” I automatically correct, only to add, “Some things are just better old school.” I take my time as I walk even though my thoughts are back with Blaze and Pandora.
What is he forcing her to do this time?
Is he going to make her cry without me?
Is he going to choke her?
Will she beg?
Or maybe I’ll come back to find Blaze’s bed covered in a sea of blood.
“If you say so.” River falls silent as we walk down the stairs. “How long have you been here?”
“Me?” I ask, startled by the question.
“No, the other ‘Big Brother’ I’m supposed to follow around,” River says sarcastically.
I swallow down my irritation to reply amicably, “I’m a sophomore. I pledged last year. You’re fine with me.”
“Am I?” he asks. “Zayden — your leader, right? — didn’t seem to be too impressed by you. ”
I bristle at the implication of Zayden being the leader. He’s head of the frat, sure, but the only person I follow is Blaze.
“If you don’t want me to help you, you know where the door is.” I gesture in that direction.
“Oh, so you drop the nice guy act when she’s not there to see it,” he notes.
As if I’d do anything for Pandora’s sake.
“There’s no act,” I say. “But think what you want.” I gesture to the stack of papers on the desk in the foyer. “Grab those. They’ll tell you everything you need to know.”
River grabs one of each of the papers, and my eyes linger on his left hand as he pulls it out of his pocket.
There are only four fingers.
I don’t comment on it, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that I noticed. That, however, is interesting.
It’s a story I want to know, but it’s one I know he won’t tell me right now.
River’s gaze returns to me when he’s done. “So what’s the deal with you and Blaze and Pandora?”
“What deal?” I ask with a shrug. “She’s a friend, that’s all.”
She’s Blaze’s new obsession, but she’ll be like that Mustang. After he’s gotten his fill of her, after he’s worn her down and used her up, he’ll be done.
I have to believe that.
“A friend,” River repeats, his skepticism easily apparent. “I can tell by how you ordered her to come here.”
“She’s the one who decided to show up,” I point out. “She doesn’t strike me as the type of person to follow an order unless she wants to.”
River smiles at me, though there’s a dangerous edge to it. “No,” he agrees. “She’s not.”
“What’s the deal with you two?” I ask. “You her boyfriend?”
“Something like that,” River says .
I give him a nasty smile. “Might want to keep a tighter leash on her, then. She was ready to jump on our cocks.”
River’s eyes narrow, but he looks away. “Yours, and everybody else’s.” The words, strangely, lack any bite. He keeps walking toward the stairs before he continues, “She’s her own woman, in case you haven’t noticed.”
Yeah, I’d noticed.
I’d noticed a lot of things about Pandora that set me on edge, and her being her own woman is the least of them.
“How do you know her?” I ask, following after him.
“School,” River says, that edge returning to his voice at the word.
Childhood friends, or lovers, and that means he has more insight on her.
“You don’t sound like you actually like her very much,” I comment, hoping I don’t sound like I’m fishing
“It’s complicated,” he says vaguely.
I bet it is. Nothing about Pandora is easy , I can tell that much.
But whatever he’s hiding, whatever they’re hiding, I’m going to find out. I’m going to sort this mess, get Blaze to finally take me seriously, and…
I’m not sure what the end goal here is, but it doesn’t include Pandora and River getting cozy here with Kappa Alpha.
“I bet,” I reply. I don’t think I’ve given Blaze enough time to do whatever he’d planned with Pandora, but I’m tired of playing interference so Blaze can get laid. “Come on, before your girlfriend pounces Blaze.”
He smirks, starting to speak, only to cut himself off.
Instead, he follows me back to the room, and I’m left wondering what he’d have said if he hadn’t stopped himself.
Later.
I’ll figure all of this out later.