Chapter 52
Everly
What the hell was that?
I sucked a ragged breath into my lungs and hurried along the path, pulse pounding so loudly in my ears that it almost drowned out the annoying squeaky wheel on my suitcase.
Once I’d counted out two minutes in my head, I risked a look over my shoulder to see if Rhett was still following me. Thankfully, he wasn’t.
Despite the relief flooding my veins, a tiny, treacherous part of my mind was weirdly disappointed to see the empty path behind me.
Oh my god. Why?
I knew fear could make a person do crazy things, but I’d never experienced it doing something like this to my brain—drawing me to danger and making me crave the presence of a psycho like Rhett.
Every single thing about him disturbed me, from the violence I’d initially witnessed down to the way his mask of harmless jocularity dropped the second he realized I wasn’t falling for his bullshit.
Even his attempt at a friendly smile came across as predatory, sending shivers down my spine.
But despite all that, there was an undeniable pull there; a heat that lingered on my skin long after I’d walked away.
I took another deep breath and tried to focus my thoughts on something else, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling my encounter with Rhett had left in my chest, like a jagged splinter lodged too deep to reach.
The way his dark, intense eyes seemed to look right inside me, seeing things I wanted to keep hidden from the world, had left me shaky and uneasy. It was beyond unsettling. He shouldn’t have been able to do that. He was just a stranger.
Ah.
That had to be it. That was why I couldn’t shake the thought of him.
I was pissed as hell that someone who barely even knew me had so easily teased out the truth about me.
So easily deduced that my confidence was just a show.
Something I put on to prove to others, and myself, that no one could get to me anymore.
Rhett got to me, though, and he did it in record time, because he gleaned the truth about me in five minutes flat. And that truth was exactly what he claimed it was—at the heart of things, I was just a scared little girl, trying to survive a world with countless horrors.
“Asshole,” I mumbled, heat rising in my cheeks. I had a feeling tonight wasn’t the last I’d hear from him, and I also had a feeling there wasn’t much I could do about that.
I could tell as soon as I made eye contact with him that it was a mistake for me to approach him.
He’d seemed so enraged at that Ryan guy before I made him aware of my presence, but the second he caught sight of me, he’d seemingly forgotten all about his hapless victim, not even caring as the smaller guy fled the underpass.
Then, as I stepped closer, and our eyes finally met for the first time, I instantly felt like I’d been caught in the gaze of a predator who’d just chosen its next target.
That campus cop was right—I should’ve known better than to walk into a dark tunnel just because I thought someone needed help.
My Taser was a godsend for making me feel safer as I navigated the world, but it had clearly made me reckless, resulting in me launching myself right into Rhett’s crosshairs.
Ugh. Why didn’t I just mind my own damn business?
I finally arrived at Ashcroft Hall and let myself in with the code the college admins had sent me prior to my arrival on campus. Then I made my way to my new dorm, wishing the stupid wheel on my case would stop squeaking.
As I fumbled in my pocket for my new keycard, the door opened, and a tall girl with curly red hair in pink and white heart-print pajamas greeted me. “Hi! I thought I heard someone out here!” she said, smiling brightly. “Are you Everly Marlowe?”
I smiled back at her. “Yeah. Are you—”
“Tessa Morgan. I’ve been waiting for you.” She thrust her hand out, motioning for me to let her take my tote bag. “Please, let me help.”
“Thanks.”
She glanced at me over her shoulder as she stepped toward the bed on the right side of the spacious dorm. “I’m so glad to finally have a roomie. Last semester was so boring without anyone in here.”
“Glad to be of service.”
Tessa set my tote on the end of the bed and looked at me again. “So, not to be awkward, but… are you okay?” she asked, brows knitting. “Did something happen?”
I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“Yeah. I was supposed to get here around five, but there was some sort of incident on the highway, and they ended up closing every lane, so I had to double back and take a totally different route. Then I ended up getting totally lost for a while. Sorry if I woke you, by the way. I know it’s pretty late. ”
“Don’t worry, I was still wide awake. But I wasn’t talking about the time. I meant, like… did something happen just before you got here?” she said, tilting her head. “You kinda look like you’ve seen a ghost, as majorly clichéd as that sounds.”
As soon as she said it, I glanced in the mirror to my left and felt a jolt of surprise at my reflection.
My face was pale and drawn, and my eyes were opened wider than usual, giving them a distinctly haunted look.
On top of that, my hair—which was perfectly smooth earlier—was now disheveled from all the sweat on my scalp, with a few damp strands sticking to my forehead.
“Oh, um…” I briefly bit my bottom lip. “I ran into this guy on my way here, and it ended up turning into a whole thing. But I’m okay.”
“Ooh, was he hot?”
Yes.
The answer floated unbidden into my mind before I could consciously think of a response.
I hated to admit it, even to myself, but Rhett was damn sexy.
Tall and broad-shouldered with tousled dark hair and full lips that seemed like they were designed to be spread in a perpetual smirk.
Heat unfurled in my chest as I pictured him, and this time, it had nothing to do with my earlier fury.
“He was one of the biggest assholes I’ve ever met,” I said. It was an avoidant non-answer, but Tessa didn’t seem to notice.
Her thin brows rose. “Oh, so it wasn’t a meet-cute situation.”
“Definitely not.”
“Damn. What happened?”
“He was beating up some guy. I stepped in to make it stop.” I lifted a hand as my new roommate’s mouth dropped open. “I know, I know. It was stupid. But I have a stun gun, so I thought it would be okay.”
Tessa’s eyes were like saucers now. “Oh my god. That’s so badass. Did you use it?”
“No. I didn’t need to. The guy didn’t actually attack me, or anything like that. He was just…” I trailed off, slowly shaking my head. “He was really scary.”
“Did he threaten you?”
Rhett’s words swept back into my mind, along with the memory of his dark gaze when he said them. You have no idea about all the things I could do to you, princess.
My stomach flipped again, as if I was standing right back there on that path with Rhett looking down at me. I swallowed thickly and shook my head.
“No, he didn’t threaten me. Not exactly, anyway. I don’t really know how to explain it,” I said. “He was just so… intimidating. Arrogant, too. Like he just knows the whole world revolves around him.”
“Ah.” Tessa nodded sagely and leaned back against the pale blue wall. “Sounds like you encountered your first Wilder.”
“My first what?”
“There’s a secret society here called The Wild Hunt. Don’t ask me why they’re called that, because I honestly don’t know. But the members are called Wilders for short.” Tessa paused, lips thinning. “Most of them match the description you just gave.”
Of course. There were a few secret societies at my old college, and they were filled with arrogant assholes too. Guys born with the world at their feet, willing to do anything and everything it took to ensure the world stayed that way.
“Mental note: avoid all Wilders,” I said.
“That could be a little hard, given that they throw the absolute best parties. But let’s not think about that right now.” Tessa waved a dismissive hand. “I want to know all about you. I’m guessing you’re a sophomore like me?”
“Yup.”
“Where’d you transfer from?”
“Blackwood.”
“Oh, wow. That’s a great school! Why’d you leave?” she asked. “I mean, Hollingsworth is obviously great too,” she hastily added before I could reply. “But it’s just so far from Blackwood. I’m way too lazy to make a move like that.”
“Yeah, it took a while.” I flashed her a rueful smile. “As for why—long story.”
“Spill the tea, girl.” Tessa’s lips stretched into a playful grin as she sat up straight. “You’re eventually going to realize that I simply need to know everything about everyone. So you might as well make it easy for yourself and fill me in now.”
I laughed softly and sat down. “All right. As stupid as this sounds, I switched schools for my boyfriend,” I said. “Well… ex-boyfriend now.”
“Ouch. What happened?” Tessa raised a palm. “Wait, no, let me guess. He cheated?”
I pursed my lips. Jake did cheat multiple times, as I discovered after our breakup, but that wasn’t the catalyst for the destruction of our relationship.
It was only the tip of the iceberg, and not even a tenth as bad as the other fucked-up stuff he did.
But I didn’t want to go into any of that right now.
Especially not with a girl I’d only just met, friendly as she was.
“Yup.” I nodded slowly, lips pressed in a grim line. “I guess it’s pretty common with long-distance relationships, huh?”
“Unfortunately, yes. Hence that being my first guess.” Her brows dipped in a frown. “But why are you only arriving here now? After the breakup?”
“Like I said… long story. Sure you want to hear it?”
“Of course.” Tessa waggled a finger. “If I ever say no to hearing a story, it’s because I’ve been replaced by alien body-snatchers.”