Chapter 10
Skully
THE ROOM IS just a little smaller than my one at home, and probably the size of a standard dorm room on campus.
My dad would call it the size of a shoebox.
I love it. My boxes are stacked in the corner, and there is a double-size bed pushed against the wall.
The walls are bare, and there is a single window that overlooks the front of the building, giving me a sprawling view of campus.
It is everything I need, and I can’t wait to decorate it and make it my own.
“How’s the room?” Baylee peeks her head around my door, and I turn to her, smiling.
“Perfect.”
Her nose scrunches up. “I wouldn’t say it’s perfect. But it does provide enough privacy, unlike the dorms. No RAs checking on us either.”
“Exactly.” I nod my head and wink at her. “It’s perfect.”
This time, she laughs and makes her way farther into my room. “Do you need help hanging the curtains?”
“Yes, that would be helpful,” I respond and move toward the deep purple material that was sitting on the ground until I could figure out how to hang it up.
“The blinds should be dark enough, but they’re so bland.” She shudders and makes a face that has me cracking up.
“No, I agree. I want to add something to make it a little more decorative and feel like home.” My shoulders shrug, and we work together to hang the floor-length curtains on each side of the window.
Once again, my eyes catch on the ominous and inordinate building across the street; the one nestled back into a grove of trees. The dark stone and black iron fences that surround the area give it a gothic and mysterious feel despite the colorful fall landscape.
“Ready for classes tomorrow?” Baylee hesitates to ask, her eyes flash with concern.
“As ready as I’ll ever be. My schedule is pretty decent at least.” We finish hanging the curtains and take a step back to admire our work. “I haven’t seen them. And no one from high school has run up to me to gossip or throw blades, so I’m just rolling with it at this point.”
Baylee sighs, and her hand moves to her hip. “No one should say shit to you anyway, especially not any of the guys.”
I flash her a grin. “Easy there, momma bear.”
“Damn straight.” She laughs, and I laugh with her. “So, a couple of the girls from my econ class, I think I told you about them. They were on my dorm floor last year, and we became friends.”
“Yes, Baylee, because you were allowed to have other friends without me,” I remind her with a playful shove of my hip against hers. She huffs and rolls her eyes.
“It still sucks. We were supposed to be together. Anyways, they’re heading to the Deck for dinner, and they asked if we wanted to go.”
“What’s the Deck?” I ask her, trying to remember if I’ve heard of it at all.
“The local sports bar on campus. Aniya’s boyfriend bartends there, and he said they were looking for servers. I thought you could check it out, and we can eat. Two birds.” Baylee shrugs, like she didn’t just hand me the greatest gift ever.
I wrap my arms around her and bounce a little. “You’re the bestest! Yes, let’s go. Let’s go!”
Thirty minutes later, after we both change and freshen up, we make it to the Deck, which is less of a dive and more of the hot spot on campus.
The excitement I had been feeling before we arrived is slowly bleeding into nervousness.
I should have guessed by the name of the bar that it would be tightly associated with the swim community.
The walls are painted the pale blue of pool water, with marble and crystal accents.
Large, raven wings unfurled are painted on the ceiling, paying tribute to the college’s mascot.
The lights are red and white and mimic the look of the plastic discs of the pool dividers.
On the far wall is a stats board with the top five swimmers in each competition category.
Madden, Aero, Heath and Killian are all on the board.
“You could have warned a girl,” I whisper heatedly to Baylee, while pretending to smile as we weave through the crowd to where her friends are sitting.
“I figured you knew,” she whispers back, guilt resting heavily on her face. “In case you missed it, the whole swim team is highly idolized here in River Falls. Many of our competitive swimmers have made it to the Olympics in years past.”
Oh, I noticed. I also chose to pointedly ignore the large team banner outside the west wing of the university where the pool is located.
I purposefully chose not to take any path that led to the quad where their individual banners are proudly displayed on every light post. Seeing old pictures of Madden from high school is one thing.
Seeing him bare-chested, his face sharper, matured, those steel-colored eyes boring into you as you walk past, is another.
Waking up to his sinister smirk in the hospital is enough for me to know that I am not up for any type of socialization with him in the future
“Don’t worry.” Baylee reaches for my hand, grasping it gently while she pulls me closer to the table. “They’re never here. No way would any of them dine among us peasants.”
I scoff and laugh at her while she says the words with a dramatic flair and roll of her eyes.
I’m feeling marginally better by the time we get to the table, and she’s introduced me to each of her friends.
Aniya recognizes me right away from the old photos that Baylee showed her and easily slips into the seat across from me.
Within minutes, I’m pulled into conversations with all three of them and begin to relax.
I’m even hopeful when Aniya’s boyfriend, Topper, brings us our drinks and introduces himself to me.
He asks me to come back tomorrow for an interview before they open, and I eagerly agree.
I need a job to pay for rent and books, money I will not ask my dad for.
I wish I could pay my own tuition like I did back in California, but there is no way I can afford River Falls University.
Plus, part of the stipulation of my coming back is the guarantee that my dad will pay for my remaining courses until I graduate.
Knowing how good the school’s name will look on future job applications is the only thing that really swayed me to return. And only with Loreli’s support.
My gaze constantly flicks around the spacious building, gliding over the tables and groups of people, and not once do I see any of the boys from my past. By the time my bacon cheeseburger and fries arrive, I’m no longer worried at all.
It’s late by the time we get back to our apartment.
Baylee heads right to her room, and I slowly trail to mine.
For the first time since arriving back at River Falls, I feel lighter.
I head to the shower and wash off the day.
As I’m getting dressed, I hear our neighbors on the other side of the duplex come home and eventually the click of their door closing.
There’s a glow from the lamp in my room when I exit the bathroom and quietly shut the door behind me.
My eyes warily skate over the remaining boxes in the corner, and I vow to myself I’ll get them taken care of tomorrow.
The last few days have been eventful, and all I want right now is to close my eyes and sleep.
Walking to the window, I pull down the shade and close my curtains.
The second my back turns, I feel it. A cool air touches my neck, the damp tendrils of hair stir and cause chills to erupt over my skin.
That haunting, eerie feeling of being watched heats my chilled skin.
My breath hitches in my chest. I practically run to my bed and slump down in the pillows, bringing my blanket up to my chin.
The room stays silent. The air is still.
A sliver of courage propels me to flick the lamp off, plunging my room into darkness.
My eyes slide to the window, and I expect to see a shadow, someone watching, but there’s no one there.
My ears strain for any type of noise, but all I can hear is the voices of other college students outside, farther down the street.
My phone vibrates hard on the nightstand, and my body lurches in response.
My heart is racing in my chest when my fingers shakily grab the phone.
A text from an unknown number lights up my screen.
A couple of seconds pass before I tap it open.
UNKNOWN: There are different rules here. Behave.
I scan the words over again, imagining his gravely, smug voice typing the words out in my head.
This is Madden. It has to be. No one else would make it their mission to control me, even from a distance.
Anger pulses in my veins along with something close to pain.
I don’t understand it and push the feeling aside.
My fingers fly over the screen, typing a reply.
ME: Your ego is too fragile if you’re worried about me affecting any part of your life. I’d rather pretend you don’t exist.
I hit block on the number before he can respond and let my phone clatter onto the nightstand. The darkness surrounding me now feels suffocating. My body prickles with anger over and over. My magic pulses beneath my skin in agreement. We do not like being told what to do. Especially not by him.