Chapter 22 Livy
LIVY
Ishould have known a hockey party would be worse than a rugby one. I haven’t been to a rugby one, but the vibes are just…gross here.
The courtyard behind the hockey house is packed so tightly with people that every few seconds someone bumps my shoulder or sloshes beer dangerously close to my shoes.
Juniper insisted on dressing me up in something in her closet, and I decided to go for it.
I have been running, hiding, trying to not be perceived by anyone for so long.
I just want to have one normal night before I leave St. Killian.
I was madder than hell when I decided to come here, but I’ve cooled down this evening and I’ve decided I can’t stay here.
I can’t be on the same campus as Sebastian and watch him with other girls or run the risk of him pulling me back under his spell.
I can’t deny the connection I have with him. It might be one sided on my part and fake on his part, but I still feel it in my chest. This dull ache pulls me to wherever he is. I don’t think I’ll ever feel that for anyone else, and I wish I knew what it was about him that made me feel that way.
Everything, I suppose. I love everything about him.
I love Sebastian, I realize. I really do, and I guess it’s better that I saw what I did today before I let myself fall any deeper.
The grass is already worn down to dirt in the middle where people have been standing all night, and someone dragged a metal firepit into the center of the yard like they’re trying to recreate a bonfire with whatever scrap wood they could find.
This can’t be allowed, and I’m looking around for the nearest exit because I’m not about to get expelled from a school over a fire pit.
Juniper was true to her word and didn’t leave my side when we got here, that is until Kalen found us and dragged her off.
He legit parted the crowd of people like the Red Sea using only his grumpy face and threw her over his shoulder a few minutes ago.
I’d be worried for her, but let’s be honest, both of them are right where they want to be.
He stormed off with her, hand planted on her ass right in front of everyone.
In hindsight, I’m not sure why I didn’t see that coming.
She turned off her phone so he couldn’t track her location, and she called it ‘playing hide and seek.’ I guess he’s better at the game than we are because we haven’t been here long.
It suddenly hits me how he knew. Riven Kozlov plays hockey, and Sebastian mentioned he is part of their little crew. I’d be willing to bet he was keeping an eye on us while the other guys were at their game tonight.
I thought Sebastian would never think to look for me at a hockey party, but now I know I’m a sitting duck. Who knows, maybe now that he knows I caught him and I’m aware of the borderline serial killer-ish surveillance setup he had going on, he won’t even try to find me.
Something tells me he will, though. I can sense him like he’s nearby, and I know I need to get out of here.
I look around for Miranda because even though we’re not close I don’t really want to walk back to my dorm without a witness.
I realize now that I fucked up coming here and I’m trying to keep my nerves to a minimum.
That’s one thing I’ve learned over the years.
If I stay calm, I have a much better chance of a safe outcome.
Panicking never helps in situations like this.
I’m glad I brought my pepper spray with me.
Juniper was staunchly in support of leaving my bag at home.
I tucked the small canister in the left cup of this tiny black dress she let me borrow and my key in the right.
Juniper’s boobs are at least a cup bigger than mine, so it worked out for the best I suppose.
I cut across the lawn and through the gate that leads to a walkway that I know will lead down to the water. It’ll loop me back to my dorm without taking the main walk that everyone is using right now to meander between parties.
I pull the key from the dress when I get out on the quiet walk.
I wish Sparkles was with me right now. She’d love the privacy of this walk with no one walking up to tell her how cute she is.
I appreciate when everyone wants to see her because she is adorable, but I almost lose it every time someone approaches her and she looks at them like, ‘no pictures please.’
I’m just about to pass the pavilion where students sit sometimes to eat lunch and watch the rowing team do whatever it is the rowing team does.
“Livy!” I turn when I hear Ronan’s voice and see him making his way toward me.
His hair looks like Miranda has been trying to pull it out.
I wouldn’t be surprised, but it is kind of odd how it’s sticking up in random directions.
I notice right away that there’s a faint smear of dirt on one sleeve of his light blue hoodie and his shoes are wet.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” he says when he finally reaches me, looking genuinely surprised.
“I’m just meeting my friend Soph right up here,” I lie without really thinking about it.
I don’t have enough time to really think about why I chose her, other than the fact that he seemed genuinely afraid of her when she yelled at him earlier.
He’s just an odd guy, but the offer to sit in the bathroom while I showered was too far even for him.
“Oh, right, right,” Ronan says, glances around nervously and I want to just walk away from him, but I don’t want to expose my back to him.
He’s never given me a reason to think he would physically hurt me, but I’m not taking any more chances tonight than I already have to.
“Miranda and I got into a fight, so I’m just walking around cooling off. ”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I say sincerely, because she can be really mean sometimes. Before he can respond, someone steps directly into my line of sight.
Nathan.
Of course it’s freaking Nathan.
I am never leaving my room again if I make it home tonight because this is ridiculous.
He has his hair slicked back like he’s trying too hard to look polished, and that confident smirk he’s wearing makes him look slimy instead of charming.
I want to reach for the pepper spray in my dress, but I also don’t want to alarm either of them enough to make them lunge at me before I can get it positioned correctly.
“I’ve been looking for you, Livingston, for a very long time.
I don’t like when people make me chase them,” Nathan says, and he no longer has a forced accent.
He sounds fully American, and his gaze is sliding slowly over me in a way that makes my skin crawl.
I’m in trouble and I know it. He’s not the same as he was in the library when he approached me.
He’s not speaking nicely, trying to put on a nice guy act.
I can sense how evil he is in this moment, and I’m just praying I have one more stroke of luck that will let me make it out of this situation unharmed, or at least alive.
The mental gymnastics I’m doing right now is exhausting, but it’s Sebastian who crosses my mind.
He may not have loved me, and it may have been too soon for anything that was going on between us, but if this is my last night alive, I’m glad I was able to fall for him the way I did.
“I thought I’d take after Dad. I thought I’d like stalking you, following you, but it turns out I’m more of a hands on kind of guy.
I didn’t think it’d be this easy with Vale on your ass all day every day, but it looks like luck is in my favor tonight. ”
Ronan shifts beside me, his posture tightening immediately, and I never thought I’d feel better having him move closer to me.
“That’s enough,” Ronan says calmly. “What do you want? Because I’m not going to let you hurt her.”
Nathan glances at him like he just realized Ronan exists.
“Shut the fuck up and run away before I end your life,” Nathan scoffs. “I’m just talking to my sister here. She’s been running for far too long, and I’m here to bring her home.”
“Your what?” I blurt the words out because that was the last thing I expected to hear.
Nathan actually laughs at my sincere surprise and then out of nowhere he shoves Ronan hard in the chest. Ronan stumbles backward and hits the ground before he can catch himself.
My stomach twists because Nathan kicks Ronan multiple times in the ribs, and he screams. Nathan’s eyes don’t leave me though, and he’s way too close for me to pull the pepper spray out. I can’t risk him grabbing it and using it on me.
“Leave him alone,” I snap rather helplessly. I hate this feeling more than I could ever explain. Nathan cocks his head to the side, clearly amused by the entire situation.
“I didn’t think you’d move on from your rugby star boyfriend this quickly. You yelled at the wrong Vale twin, by the way.” He steps closer and I back up, squeezing my key into my palm.
Vale twin? Oh my God. That would explain a lot, actually.
“I was watching the whole thing, and there he was on the field probably wondering why the love of his pitiful life didn’t show up to watch him play.
” Nathan makes a mock sad face and I feel like I’m going to burst into tears.
Sebastian rarely talks about himself or his past, he was always so focused on me that I didn’t realize how little he’d actually told me until now.
I’m going to be sick, but I don’t get the chance because Nathan grabs me by the throat, spinning me around so my back is flush against his chest. This isn’t the way Sebastian grabs me, Nathan is trying to inflict pain, and it’s working.
He’s dragging me toward the pavilion, and I try to go deadweight on him to slow everything down, but he’s too big, too strong, and I’m in these stupid heels.
“Tell me why you were looking for me. If you’re going to kill me, at least tell me why,” I gasp out, and he just laughs.