Chapter 16
SIXTEEN
GRACIE
My entire body trembles as I empty last night’s dinner into the toilet, unable to take my eyes off the bracelet attached to my wrist.
It’s a beautiful piece of jewelry, I’ll give him that. It’s a delicate silver chain with small diamonds attached. Only, when I looked closer, they weren’t only diamonds.
The asshole got me a bracelet with tiny purple skulls on it.
And yes, it’s pretty, but that doesn’t mean it’s welcomed.
He was… he was in my fucking dorm room.
While I was sleeping.
I was blissfully unaware that someone had broken in, watched me sleep, attached a bracelet to my wrist and did God knows what else.
Jesus, I’ve been so stupid. I should have put a stop to this entire thing from the very beginning, but I didn’t.
I didn’t do a damn thing about it other than telling Freya what happened at the beginning and ignoring him when he texted me.
I had so many opportunities to do something about it, report it to someone, tell someone what was happening, fucking anything, but I didn’t.
Instead, I avoided everyone I care about and shut down.
But not anymore.
Him breaking into my safe space is him taking things too fucking far.
I know it’s insane, but I can’t help feel a little grateful that him giving me the bracelet is all he did.
At least, that’s the only thing I’m aware of.
It could have been so much worse, he could done something far more nefarious, and I wouldn’t have been in the position to fight back.
I would have been his for the taking and I wouldn’t have been able to do a damn thing about it.
But still, the fact that I’m grateful that he only broke in here and watched me is seriously fucked up. Am I really so messed up that I feel that way? What the hell is wrong with me? And what the hell is wrong with him that he thinks it’s okay to do that?
I knew he was crazy, but I didn’t realize he was this goddamn certifiably unhinged.
Does this really surprise you? He followed you, watched you through the balcony window, approached you in the parking lot and—
Nope. I am not going there right now.
I need to do something.
But what?
I don’t particularly want to report it to the college or the police because it’ll become a public spectacle and Cole and my parents will lose their shit, but what the hell else am I supposed to do about it?
I can’t go directly to Cole about it because he’ll no doubt go full on scorched earth, find the guy and murder him.
I suppose I could go to one of the other guys, but there’s always the risk of one of them telling Cole anyways.
Still, I think it’s probably my only option right now if I don’t want it to become a goddamn media fiasco or a murder investigation.
I can’t go to Logan, since he won’t be able to hold himself back from doing something stupid.
His temper is like a hair trigger and that’s not what I need right now.
He’s clearly the most unhinged one of the four of them and I really don’t want to end up finding out what he gets up to in his free time because I’ve always had the feeling he gets up to some fucked up things.
Harley is out too, since I’m not sure if he’ll be able to handle himself if he needs to.
He’s tough, yes, but he’s not a fighter, not like my brother or Logan.
That, and he’s honestly far too flaky to be able to help me.
It’s like ever since a couple of years ago, his mind has been elsewhere and he’s unable to focus on anything for too long.
That leaves Noah. I know he can keep up with my brother when sparring, so I know he’d be able to protect himself if my crazy stalker somehow got to him, and he’s the most sensible of them all.
I think his levelheadedness is exactly what I need right now.
He’ll know what to do, and while I’m sure it’ll be a struggle to get him to not tell the other guys, I think he’ll probably put my wishes first if I make it clear that them knowing is not what I want.
Yeah… I think Noah is exactly who I need. Now, I just need to find him.
I scrape myself up off the bathroom floor and rush through my routine, not caring about my appearance so long as I’m wearing appropriate clothing, my teeth are brushed, and my hair is out of my face before I leave.
I make sure to lock the door behind me, though I’m not sure what good that will do because clearly the masked guy knows his way around the system that’s in place since everything was as it was when I went to bed last night.
Maybe he’s some sort of hacker or something if he was able to get around the security measures the guys put in place?
Now that I think about it, I’m sure Cole told me that there was also a security system in place on the balcony window, so it would make sense if he was since the guys should have been notified of the disturbance on the balcony and they definitely would have said something to me.
I think the one at the front door works differently, since I’m always coming in and out of the dorm and I’m sure they wouldn’t have wanted to be notified every time I come and go.
They’re overprotective, not insane.
Not too insane, at least.
Still, I know that if Logan finds out what happened, he’ll blame himself since he’s the one who installed all of my security measures.
I pull out my phone and send a text to Noah.
Where are you?
He doesn’t respond straight away, so I head to the coffee shop near my dorm while I wait for him to reply. I order us both drinks and check my phone while I wait for them.
Noah
Home, what’s up?
I bite my lip and debate for a moment. It would be weird to ask him if he’s alone, right?
What if he tells one of the others about my text and then they all want to know what’s going on?
What if I give him the wrong idea? God, I hate all this secrecy, it’s really starting to stress me out.
The barista calls my name, and I take both drinks from her with a smile before balancing them both on top of each other as I type out a response.
Is everyone there?
There, that sounds okay, right? That way, if the other guys find out about the texts, then I can just say I tried getting hold of Cole first or something, right?
It’s not uncommon for Cole to not answer his phone straight away, and I’m sure I can spout some story about me trying to call him and the connection not working if I need to.
Oh Jesus, I’m not built for sneaking around.
Luckily, he replies straight away this time, and I let out a breath of relief as I read his message.
Noah
Just me, little one. You okay?
I smile at the nickname. The others all either just call me G or little Aston, but not Noah. He’s always called me little one.
I head straight there, figuring I can skip class for one day. Having a creepy stalker break into my dorm is extenuating circumstances, isn’t it?
Not like I’d ever actually tell the professors that.
Still, I’m at the top of most my classes, and it’s very rare that I skip any of them, so I’m sure it won’t hurt if I miss today.
I don’t bother knocking when I get there and the door is unlocked so I just let myself in, finding Noah lying on the sofa in the theater room watching something on the screen.
He looks like he’s not long gotten out of bed himself, since his hair is messy from sleep and he’s wearing nothing but a pair of gray sweatpants with his abs on display.
If he was anyone other than my brother’s best friend and someone I grew up with, I’d probably find him hot as hell, but I’ve never looked at him in that way.
Still, I can still objectively say he’s good looking with his wavy brown hair, sharp jawline and piercing blue eyes.
I can see why all the girls want him in the way that they do.
His brows crease when he spots me and he sits up abruptly, quickly pausing the TV before giving me his full attention.
“What’s wrong? I figured you were looking for Cole when you messaged.”
I heave a sigh and place the drinks on the coffee table before flopping down on the sofa beside him.
“It’s you I was looking for, actually.”
He stares at me silently, an impassive look on his face as he waits for me to continue.
“I need to talk to you, and I need whatever I’m about to say to not leave this room. I need your help,” I murmur and squirm in my seat. Nerves filling me as I gear myself up to spill all of my secrets. “Please.”
He contemplates me for a moment before nodding slowly and I blow out a breath before telling him everything.
And I mean everything.
I don’t hold back anything, knowing Noah would never judge me and his expressions change as I explain my predicament from shock, worry, anger, and pure unadulterated fury—it’s strange seeing the usually so put together, levelheaded one of the group so emotional, but it makes me feel better knowing that he cares so much about me.
By the time I’m finished, I’m almost shaking in relief at having someone else know everything that’s been happening lately.
Especially it being Noah. Out of all my brother’s friends, he’s probably the one I’m closest to. Don’t get me wrong, I love Harley and Logan, but sometimes I just feel like Noah understands me more than they do. Hell, he probably gets me more than my own brother does.
“So, will you help me?”