Ruins (Redcrest University #1)
1. Alessia
CHAPTER ONE
ALESSIA
F uck, I should’ve checked the weather before I pulled this stunt of mine. These stupid fucking family dinners are driving me insane—especially when I have mountains of other things I need to be doing, like studying for finals. So I decided to ditch my dad’s driver that’s waiting for me and sneak out of class early to avoid him. I look up at the angry sky as the booming sounds off around me. Why didn’t I just drive myself? Because that would be too easy, and I can never do easy things. Shaking my head at myself, I start walking towards my apartment that’s not too far from my classes.
The rain picks up, and at this point, I’m soaked. My long, chestnut hair is sticking to my face and my vision is turning blurry. I turn when I hear a car approach, rolling my eyes when I spot the black Maserati. Not today . I ignore it and keep walking when he rolls the window down and blares his horn at me. I groan and turn toward the rolled-down window, clashing eyes with the devil himself.
Astor .
It must be a cruel fucking world for someone so ruthless and cold to look so attractive . His hair just brushes his dark gray eyes and he has on that stupid fucking white dress shirt again, the one that hugs onto his muscles so tight I think they’ll rip through his shirt. He has the sleeves rolled up and the first two buttons undone, allowing me to see pieces of his tattoo seeping out across his chest. The tattoo that continues onto his back. The one that makes me want to drool anytime we’re at our family swimming parties. The one that makes me forget that I absolutely hate the fucker that I’m looking at. He watches me ogle him and flashes me that incoherent, annoyed look.
“Get in.” It rolls off his tongue as an order and I tilt my head to the side.
He should know by now that if I’m ordered to do it, it doesn’t happen. We’ve known each other our whole lives, our families bonded at the hip, practically. You’d think that since I’d been around him for twenty-two years, that I’d build a tolerance for his tyrant ways—think again. I shake my head and continue walking when he blares the horn again.
“Last chance, malyshka. I could give a fuck if you drown out here. Get in or don’t, but you’re not missing that fucking meeting.” I glare at him and push my hands on my hip.
I hated when he called me that. I am not his baby anything.
“Fuck. You,” I spit back to him.
At that moment, the weather decides to add onto my spiciness and the thunder makes me shudder. He smirks at me as I look up at the sky and growl. He pushes open the door and I slide in, slamming the door behind me. He raises his eyebrow and I refuse to meet his stare.
“Fucking brat.” He pulls off and I groan, realizing I’ll have to actually talk to him.
“Take me home. I’m soaked.” He ignores me. I turn to face him. “And don’t call me a brat…or your baby girl.”
“Someone’s been brushing up on their Russian,” he says sarcastically. I roll my eyes, folding my arms and facing the window.
“Just take me home.” He gives me nothing in return, instead he ignores me and keeps his eyes on the road.
The tension is always so thick when we’re around each other.
We hate each other, well, at least he acts like he hates me. He avoids me like the black plague, never wanting to be in the same room as me, but yet is still always around. It’s…torture. I love his sister, Elsi, and we’re pretty close. But us? We can’t seem to become friends, no matter how hard I’ve tried over the years. I finally stopped and just attempted to be a ghost around him. Elsi thinks it’s because we’re sexually tense with each other. She says that her brother’s eyes always linger over me when I walk in a room, that he always pays attention to what I’m doing. I told her she’s insane, even though she’s right.
We weren’t always like this, but I can’t remember why he pulled away from me. When we finally did talk to each other again, he was so distant and nonchalant that I just avoided any conversation with him. I’ll never know what I did to make him go from being one of my closest friends to someone I barely speak to. I asked him once and he ignored me, as usual, as if it was a stupid question. He seems to know why, but also seems to enjoy me scraping my brain to figure out what the fuck I did to deserve it.
“Why aren’t you with your driver?” I almost don’t realize he’s talking because I’m so caught up in my own mind. “Alessia.”
“Hmm? Oh sorry.”
“Why aren’t you with your driver?”
“Why aren’t you in class?” I dish back as he shakes his head, turning into my apartment building. He whips into a parking spot, watching two girls that are walking into the building and I roll my eyes. “Always thinking with your dick…” I mumble, reaching for the door handle. He grabs my wrist and stops me.
“Jealous, malyshka ?” I yank away from him, glancing over my shoulder.
“Thanks for driving me.”
“I’ll wait for you to get changed.” He cuts off his car and pushes the door open. I look at him and shake my head.
“Not a chance. Leave.” He rounds the car over to me and wraps his hand around my neck, yanking me to him. He looks me straight in my eyes, his usually dark gray eyes are almost black.
Why is he touching me? We don’t touch. Ever.
We avoid each other’s presence, we ignore each other’s existence most of the time. So why am I so affected by his touch? I don’t miss the tightening between my legs as he squeezes harder.
“You are not exempt from family dinners. If I have to sit through the torture, so do you. Now, show me your apartment, malyshka .” He lets go and I grab my neck, rubbing where he just squeezed. I narrow my eyes on his and brush pass him, ensuring to bump him as hard as I fucking can.
“Dick,” I mumble as I walk through the doors of my building. I smile at the doorman as he opens it for me. “Hi, Beau, they still have you here?”
“I’m here all night, Ms. Ballerini.” Giving him a small nod and smile, I head for the elevator. Astor has a blank look on his face that shows little to any emotion. He’s looking around and I tilt my head at him.
“Looking for those two girls?”
“Shut up,” he says to me.
I glare at him, stepping to him so we’re face to face. Well, more like face to chest, because at 5’5 compared to his 6’3, I look like a shrimp.
“Do not tell me to shut up.” He pushes forward more, and I’m sure he can practically hear my heart beating out of my chest, showing how much this bravery is a charade.
“Or what?” he challenges.
I bite my lip and snarl at him in disgust.
“Why are you even here? Willingly , I might add.”
“Because I saw you sneaking out of class to avoid your driver. You know they said this is an important dinner, but you were going to miss it anyway. And who would have had to sit and listen to our parents’ bitch about it for three hours? Me . Not to mention, this is the only time Els gets to see you. You’re not upsetting my baby sister.”
The elevator dings and he tilts his head towards the exit. I roll my eyes as I pull my keys out of my bag. This is the most he’s ever talked to me. I’m not sure why this dinner is so fucking important; he’s never cared if I missed them before.
I glance over my shoulder and he crowds my living room. This is a big apartment. One of the biggest in this expensive fucking building, the building where everyone who comes from money hides their precious, piece of shit kids. But for some reason with Astor in here, it suddenly seems small, too fucking small.