7. Chapter 7
Chapter seven
Jinx
I feel like I’m stuck in the movie Groundhog, where I live each day repeatedly until I figure out where I went wrong. The merry-go-round of dread never stops spinning, and I’m afraid if I jump off, I’ll never recover.
After staying the night with Maddox, I called an emergency meeting with the board members. I need to sort some shit out, especially with Maddox, and now that Cam is back. That requires dealing with. His grandfather needs to answer some questions. He can’t go behind my back and bring his asshole-raping grandson back into this school. Maybe I didn’t express myself in the last meeting. I’ll try harder today.
I carefully climb over Maddox; he hasn’t moved an inch all night. I don’t think he noticed that I climbed into bed with him. Ashton said he never came out of his room all day and wouldn’t tell me what exactly happened for him to be in this state.
“Be safe today, Maddox. I’ll be back, I promise.” I kiss his forehead briefly, grabbing my pack before waking in the living room.
“Where are you off to?” Atticus says oh so fucking casually, without looking over at me. It irritates me.
I glare at the back of his head. “If you must know, to my dorm to change because I have a meeting that you peasants aren’t welcome at.”
Ashton chokes back a laugh.
“Don’t start, or I’ll drag you down too.”
He raises his hands in surrender. “Hey, I wasn’t going to. I’m on your side, Little Swan.”
I sidestep toward the door, nodding like I’m paying attention when in all honesty, I’m counting down the time before I need my ass inside that board room. These guys don’t give a shit about time management.
My foot hits the door, bringing the guy's attention to me.
“Jinx, you aren’t going alone. You have a slight problem with that memory of yours. Just because you don’t get text messages always doesn’t mean your stalker isn’t watching you. You let your guard down, and that is the minute he’ll step out of the shadows.”
“Thanks, Atticus. You don’t think I remember; maybe you should get yourself a fucking stalker.” I open the door, and without turning around, I tell him, “It’s the worst thing you can imagine, living your life like you are afraid to breathe. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.”
I calmly make my way upstairs. I know Atticus cares somewhere deep down; he does. His execution needs heaps of work. It’s annoying how he thinks. I don’t know how to care for myself. I punch in my door code and place one foot inside. My body froze instantly.
A trail of black feathers leads from the window to the bedroom, and still, my body won’t move. I know only one animal in this place with those feathers, but why would there be so many? How did he get in here? I always have the window closed when I leave. What the hell is going on?
And then I hear it, the ding from an incoming text. My senses know before I dig my phone out who it’s from. My legs lock into place, clenching my muscles tight. I try to focus on the window, hoping it’ll distract me enough from going into full panic mode. But then another message comes in, and my heart speeds up.
Breathe in and out. That’s all I gotta do.
My muscles gradually loosen up, and I feel like I have run a marathon. I grab my phone and open the messages before I can think twice about it.
Unknown: Odette, you still haven’t taken my warnings to heart. Next time, it will be your bird.
I run into my bedroom and fall to the floor. A bloody bird lies in a circle of black feathers on my bed. But it isn’t Edgar, thank God. With shaky fingers, I open his following message.
Unknown: Attached Image. Nice view of you and Atticus in the woods. Be careful, being the owner of an elite school, you wouldn’t want this picture getting out, now, would you?
I lean over and throw up.
He was in my dorm. He broke into my dorm. My private fucking space, how was it possible? Out of the twins, I settle on Atticus, even though I want Ashton’s calmness right now. I need Atticus.
“Jinx, did you change your mind?”
“H-he was in my dorm.” The words barely come out.
“What do you mean, in your dorm?” I can hear Ashton asking questions before the door slams shut. “I’m running up the stairs. Where are you?”
I swallow hard, looking at the bed. “In my room.”
“Don’t move. I’m almost there.”
I bend over, placing my head on the floor, trying to calm myself. This wasn’t how this morning was supposed to go. Why can’t one thing go my way for once?
“Jinx?” Atticus calls out.
“Here,” I mumble. His footsteps vibrate under my forehead the closer Atticus gets.
His hand lands on my back, yet I don’t move. I still can’t move.
“Jinx, what happened here? Are you hurt?” His voice trails off. “That’s not.”
“No, it’s not Edgar.” Not yet. That is, if my stalker has anything to do with it, at least.
Atticus kneels before me, lifting my face, and I have no choice but to sit up until we are eye to eye.
“Tell me what happened. You were only gone for five minutes.”
I blow out my cheeks, a deep exhale. “When I stepped into my place, there were feathers everywhere. I thought for sure it was Edgar, but it didn’t make any sense because I always close the window.” I tilt my head back, dreading telling him about the text messages. “And then, I-um got some messages on my phone.”
“From him? Where’s the phone now?”
I watch his jaw clench when I don’t answer right away. I looked around for my phone but must have dropped it somewhere. The thought of the last message turns my stomach again. Closing my eyes, I take a deep, calming breath.
“Atticus, can we not right now? There is a dead bird on my bed, my stalker broke into my dorm, and I need to have a meeting with old ass men soon. I’m emotionally drained and don’t have enough to deal with your temper.”
“Okay, if that’s how you wanna play.” He moves back, pulling his phone out. His fingers fly over the screen. Not once does he look at me.
I can’t stay in this room anymore. With shaky legs, I push myself upright. I force myself to look anywhere but the bed. What if that was Edgar? I don’t know what I would’ve done. I make my way to the closet, mindlessly grabbing clothes.
“Jinx. Ashton and Maddox are coming up. One of them will be with you all day, don’t worry about the mess. We’ll take care of it. Do you need help to get dressed?”
The soft side of Atticus is rare, but it’s lovely when it happens. If only it would happen when I wasn’t in crisis mode.
“I’ll be fine. Thanks.” Still avoiding the room, I head for the bathroom. Perhaps alone time will do me some good. I need a break is what I need. The girl staring back at me in the mirror is not the same girl that started this school year. That girl had a fucking dream.
This girl is living each day like it’s her last. And maybe I am. My parents are dead now. Who says I have much more time left here? It’s my curse.
I toss my shirt to the floor, glancing at my selected outfit—a short black dress. Perfect. I’ll need a little more. Slipping it over my head, I slip my leggings off and peek out the bathroom door. All three guys are now crowded around my bed. Ashton looks from the corner of his eye, raising a brow. I shake my head, hoping he knows I’m fine. He nods in return before turning back.
Without a sound, I leave the comfort of the bathroom and just make it to my dresser.
“Jinx. I found your phone.”
Of course, Atticus did. I open the top drawer, pulling out a pair of tights. “Find anything of interest?” I know he did. The picture of him slipping his dick into my pussy. I’m sure everyone in this school would pay money to see that. They would call him a champ, and I would be called a slut. What a wonderful world we live in.
I open my closet and find my gray cardigan and a pair of Converse.
“Don’t be like that. You know what I fuckin’ found. You have to take this seriously.”
I swivel around fast. “Fuck you. Shoving your words down my throat every chance you get isn’t helping me either. Why don’t you understand that?”
“Baby, that’s not what Ace means,” Maddox calmly says.
I crack my neck, restraining myself from chewing Maddox’s head off. He shifts from one foot to the other, waiting for me to explode. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but the sight of him breaks me. His dull hazel eyes won’t look at me, and there’s something different that I can’t quite place my finger on. I need to know what the hell went down beside him trying to kill Von.
Still staring at Maddox, I ask, “I’m leaving. Who’s my bodyguard?”
“I am, Little Swan. Let’s get you to your meeting. Don’t wanna keep the old bastards waiting.”
When Maddox does look at me, his eyes are gutted with pain. I crossed the room, pulling at his shirt until he crashed into me. His hand wrapped around my head and the other around my waist.
“If anything happened to you, Jinx. I wouldn’t stay in this world a minute longer.”
Shivers shoot down my back at his words. I wrap my arms around him, squeezing him tight.
“Maddox, please don’t say that. This world needs you.”
“It’s shit without you, be careful.” He tilts my chin back, placing a small kiss on my lips. “I mean it. I’m already in trouble with the law. I can’t afford any more problems if I have to kill someone.”
A small laugh escapes. “I’m working on that, I promise.”
“I believe that. Go. I’ll see you later.”
I smile at Atticus, and he rolls his eyes but gives me a smirk in return. “Listen to Ash, Little Grim or else.”
I flip him the middle finger as I walk out.
Bossy asshole.