14. Melody
14
MELODY
L iam is on his third drink while I’m politely sipping on my first. The bar is crowded with students and teachers alike, looking for an escape from the daily drivel. While I should be back in my dorm room studying, it’s nice to have a break and feel normal.
This first week has been brutal trying to adjust to life here. Everyone seems to have a clique they belong to, and I’ve never felt like such an outsider. My teachers have piled on the workload, and I’m scrambling to catch up. While I’ve always loved to sing, I’ve never had any formal training because we could never afford it. My brain feels like mush having crammed all these new terms into it. It’s like having to learn a new language and I’m failing miserably. Thank fuck for Rhonda giving up her free time to help me.
I nurse another sip from my drink. It’s a little sugary for my taste. The kind that guarantees a hangover in the morning if I chug it back. I don’t feel like fighting that off when I have so much to catch up on. Plus, Chase and I have plans to work on our project early.
God, thinking of Chase puts a damper on my mood, making me miss whatever Liam was talking about. Chase has been hot and cold since I met him. Messing with my mind and leaving me feeling confused. Especially last night after he pushed his fingers inside me. I could hardly sleep a wink after that knowing he was mere feet away from me. Every noise, every inhale of breath had me wondering if he was feeling just as tortured as I was, or if it was all just a game to him to get me to leave the school.
I turn my attention back to Liam, feeling guilty for zoning out. Though, he’s spent a lot of the time telling me all about himself and his accomplishments, and frankly, I’m bored as fuck. Still, I’m determined to see if all that flirting we’ve been doing can lead to something. He reaches across the table with a smile and grazes the back of my hand with his thumb. I offer him a smile and sip my sugary drink. Okay, now we’re talking.
My slinky black dress feels a little overdone in the casual atmosphere. Most people are wearing jeans and t-shirts, so I feel like I stick out. Liam doesn’t seem to mind though.
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
I blush under his praise, feeling his eyes linger on my body. “No, you haven’t.”
“Well. You do.”
A beat passes between us, and I realize it’s the first time he’s stopped speaking since he picked me up. With all his peacocking, there’s still something that I’m curious about that’s been nagging at me since he dropped me off the first time we met.
“So, what’s the story with you and Milford?”
I can’t say I’m surprised that he’s asking this question, although, I’d expected it a lot earlier.
“Nothing really. My mom married his dad. I was sent here at their behest. That’s about it. What about you? You don’t seem to like him much.”
Liam scoffs. “You could say that. We used to be close at the beginning of Freshman year, but then all that nasty business with his mom happened and he became so dull.”
Ice sluices through my veins at his words. There’s nothing so off putting as casual cruelty being lobbed at someone who’s experiencing a personal tragedy. I feel my drink sour in my mouth, and I push it away.
“Dull?”
He rolls his eyes and I cross my arms over my chest.
“Obviously it was sad, her dying and all, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
My mouth hangs open at his words.
“The reason why you two are so weird with each other makes sense now.” My voice comes out cold as I flick my eyes over him. His outward appearance might be appealing, but his insides are rotten as hell. Now I see what Rhonda was alluding to with his shitty character. “I’m going to get going.”
“What? Already?” His eyes are glazed with the amount of alcohol swimming in his veins.
“Yeah, I’m feeling tired. Lots of schoolwork to catch up on.” I push away from the table, and he topples from his stool, surprising himself as he clumsily grasps onto the lip of the table to keep from falling all the way over.
“Wait. Let me walk you back.” His words are sounding garbled, and I wonder if he was drinking before I even met him here.
“That’s okay, I’m going to call a car to come get me.” I wave my phone to shoo him off.
He glares at me and stands to his full height with a slight sway. “Oh. Okay. I see what this is. I thought with you being his stepsister and all you’d be immune from his effect, but I guess not.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snap.
“You all fall for his tortured musician act, while the rest of us get left in the dust.”
“I promise, the reason you’re getting left isn’t for who Chase is, but for who you are.”
With that, I turn on my heel, grab my coat, and walk out the door into the frigid night air, anger licking at my back the whole way. The car I’ve ordered is five minutes away and I watch as it inches closer, still reeling from the date.
While Chase isn’t my favorite person, he still lost his mom in a tragic way. Liam brushing that off so casually is a huge red flag, and I’ve learned my lesson about not paying attention when someone shows you exactly who they are. If he doesn’t care about his supposed friend’s mom’s death, he doesn’t have the capacity to care about me. A few years ago, I might have ignored it and made an excuse, trying to see the best in him. But not anymore. I deserve someone who’s going to treat me the way I should be and not settle for scraps just because they give me attention.
The ride back to the room is quiet, which is fine with me. I don’t have the energy for small talk with a stranger. I half expected Liam to follow me out of the bar, but he sat right back down and ordered another round. Disappointment and anger linger in my chest as I walk up to the room.
Chase is sprawled out on the couch wearing low cut gray sweats and no shirt. His dark hair is wet from a recent shower. A violin sits across his lap, the bow discarded to the side. Chase’s gray eyes widen with surprise at seeing me then peruse the length of my body. My skin heats under his gaze making my stomach flip. I brush it off, knowing he doesn’t mean anything by it.
“Dates over already?”
I plop my purse down and shrug off my coat. “Yep.”
He looks at the time on his phone, eyebrows pulling into a frown. “That didn’t last very long.”
“No shit, Captain Obvious.” I pad over to the fridge and find an unopened can of beer. My nails scrape against the metal as I open it with a satisfying burst.
He pushes off the couch and follows behind me. I’m in no mood for his shit though, feeling my shoulders tense as I swig a large gulp of the amber liquid. The alcohol flows into my veins warming my chilled skin.
“It wasn’t something I said, was it?” He looks practically giddy at my misery.
“No, dickhead. I just didn’t feel like sticking around. I’m tired.”
He smirks, laying a hip on the counter while crossing his arms over his broad chest. Three dark music notes glisten on his still damp skin, sitting right above his heart. I flick my eyes away, not wanting him to think I’m staring at him.
I go to bring the beer up to my lips again, only Chase swipes it from my hand.
“Hey!”
His eyes dance with mischief as he takes a huge gulp. I try hard not to think of his lips being where mine just were because it’s inappropriate as hell, and because I hate him. Right? Yes. I absolutely hate Chase Milford.
I glower up at him, hands on hips before I step closer to him, intending to grab it back, but my nostrils flare as I smell something familiar.
“Did you use my body wash?”
“You drank my beer, call it even.”
My mouth hangs open and he takes a finger and chucks it under my chin, closing it for me. I’m fucking seething.
“You asshole.” God, he gets under my skin. He’s so… so … insufferable! “That’s my stuff not yours! And now you smell like me!”
“Good.” His eyes are practically dancing with amusement. It makes me so mad that I shove at his chest, managing to unbalance him. He drops the can of beer and grabs me by both wrists.
“You wanna play with me, princess?”
I find myself suddenly turned around facing the counter, his front pressed hard against my back, my arms crossed against my chest with his hands holding them in place tightly. His breath is hot against the back of my neck sending shivers down my spine.
“You want to know why I smell like you?” His mouth is right next to the shell of my ear as his chest rumbles with each word, vibrating my back. I feel the unmistakable pressure of his hard cock digging into my ass. It takes all my will power not to press into him. A rush of wet heat fills my core and desire fogs up every rational thought.
“Why?” I ask, sounding breathless.
“Because I fucked my hand with your body wash so I could picture you writhing beneath me.”
Then as suddenly as he was on me, he’s gone, leaving me with whiplash gaping after him.
His words echo in my head on a loop, and I feel as if the world tilts beneath me.
The door opens and then slams shut, leaving me alone in the dorm wishing his body was still pressed against mine.