10. Tristan
10
TRISTAN
S omeone rings the doorbell. Aggressively. Over and over again. The furious ding-dong , ding-dong , ding-dong echoes through the house and silences the conversation around our kitchen table.
Standing by one of the counters in the kitchen, I pause with the ladle halfway between the pot of rice and my plate, and glance towards the front door. Then I look back at my housemates who are already seated around the table.
They all shrug, silently answering that they’re not expecting anyone.
I set down my half-full plate on the counter and roll my shoulders back as I start towards the door. The person outside continues abusing the doorbell. I shake my head. The incessant noise is giving me a headache.
Reaching the door, I unlock it and then throw it open with enough force to make the annoying person outside jump back.
Surprise shoots through me when I realize who it is.
Elle Summers is standing there on our porch .
And she looks furious.
Her blue button-down shirt is slightly rumpled. Her hair is a mess, looking as if she has been raking her fingers through it repeatedly. Her hands are curled into fists. And her brown eyes are blazing with fury.
The sight of it stuns me so much that I forget what I’m supposed to be doing. So when she stalks forward, I just let her back me into the house.
“This was your doing!” she screams at me.
Actually screams .
In all the years I’ve known her, she has never raised her voice like this. Never caused a scene. Never been anything less than perfectly composed in every single situation.
I had no idea that she possessed this kind of fire.
It’s kind of… hot.
“You planted those drugs in my room. You tipped off campus police.” Rage burns in her eyes. And then she shoves me in the chest. “And you?—”
The feeling of her hands on my body snaps me out of my stupor.
Electricity shoots through my veins at her rough touch, but I ignore it and instead yank my hands up and grab her wrists before she can finish shoving me.
She starts in surprise and tries to yank her hands back. I just tighten my grip around her wrists.
“Careful with those accusations, sweetheart,” I warn, putting a dark edge to my voice.
To my surprise, she doesn’t flinch in fear like I had expected her to. Instead, she bares her teeth at me while rage flares across her features.
“It’s not an accusation if it’s true,” she says, practically spitting the words at me. “It’s a fact. You planted drugs in my room and then tipped off campus police. And now, I’ve been kicked out of my sorority!”
Satisfaction courses through me. So, my plan worked.
After breaking into her room and then handling that job for Bracken, I had desperately needed a couple hours of sleep before classes, so I hadn’t been able to get up early and watch the street to see if campus police acted on my anonymous tip. And hanging around their building today would’ve just drawn unwanted attention. So I didn’t know if my plan had worked. But now, I do.
Releasing her wrists, I instead flick a dismissive look up and down her body before flashing her a vicious smile. “What you do in your spare time is your business. Don’t try to blame me for your mistakes and your embarrassing failures.”
She flinches.
It shocks me enough that I lose track of what I had been about to say next.
She didn’t flinch when I threatened her. But this somehow makes her stare at me as if I have just slapped her across the face. It makes no sense.
However, before I can figure it out, she gives her head a quick shake as if to clear it. In a matter of moments, she has composed herself.
“This was your doing,” she says, her voice now calm and smooth. Gone is the wild fury. Only perfect composure remains as she holds my gaze. “So you are going to come with me and tell them as much.”
The sight of that composed mask on her features makes me irrationally angry. Giving her another dismissive once-over, I snort and reply, “I don’t think so, sweetheart.”
“Then I will just tell them to come here and search your house. Then they will find all your other drugs and see that they belong to you.” A hint of lightning returns to her eyes for a brief second as she adds, “And don’t call me sweetheart .”
A sly smile spreads across my lips. There are no drugs in this house. Amir and I don’t handle that shit, and Paul, Jonas, and Ian would never be dumb enough to keep their stash in the house. If we were that stupid, we would never have gotten away with studying at Bercester U and working for the White Serpents at the same time.
“Tell them to come and search all you want, sweetheart ,” I reply, adding emphasis on the mocking nickname. “There are no drugs here.”
She holds my stare. “I don’t believe you.”
I take a step forward. She instinctively steps back. A faint thud sounds as her back connects with the pale wall behind her.
She glances over her shoulder, as if surprised to find the wall there. I use that second of inattention to move closer.
Bracing my forearm on the wall next to her head, I lean forward until my face is only inches away from hers.
She turns her head forwards again, and then jerks in surprise at finding me so close.
Her breath hitches, and she stares up at me with wide eyes.
Then her gaze slips down to my lips for a second.
Electricity shoots through my spine.
It’s ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous that one single glance can cause such a reaction. I don’t even like her. In fact, I hate her with every fiber of my being. The only reason that my body is reacting like this is probably because of her brief display of unhinged rage earlier. That wildness, on someone who is usually so composed and polite, was just objectively hot. That’s all. It has nothing to do with her as a person .
And I know that. But it still makes me angry with myself for reacting like that. So I decide to return the favor.
Leaning forward, I place my lips right next to her ear. Then I make sure that my breath caresses the shell of her ear when I breathe.
A shudder rolls through her whole body.
It makes me feel better about myself, and I smirk even though she can’t see it.
“Tell campus police to come and search, if you want,” I whisper in her ear. “They won’t find anything.”
“Because you will get rid of it before they come?”
“Because there is nothing to find.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Before I can reply, she abruptly ducks under my arm and darts down the hall.
Surprise flickers through me. She’s more tenacious than I gave her credit for. Too bad it’s all in vain.
While letting out a huff of amusement, I walk back to the front door and close it. Then I lock it as well. Right when I’ve finished, a squeak of surprise or panic, or both, comes from the kitchen.
I chuckle. So, Elle has found my housemates.
With a smirk on my face, I saunter back towards them right as Elle darts out of the open doorway to the kitchen and skids into the living room. She whips her head from side to side, but she is no longer trying to search for drugs. Instead, it looks as if she is desperately searching for a way out.
Her panicked gaze lands on me, who is blocking the hallway to the front door, before it flips to the door to the basement, and then finally to the open back door on the other side of the living room. She sprints towards it.
But she’s too late .
Ian is already out of the kitchen and halfway to the door. Jumping over our dark gray couch, he takes the final two steps to the back door and shoves it shut.
Elle screeches to a halt.
Paul, Amir, and Jonas stroll into the living room too. They spread out until we box her in from all sides.
Crossing my arms, I lean my shoulder against the doorframe and cock my head as I lock eyes with her. “Did you really think this through?”
She flicks a panicked glance around the living room, but no help is coming. Swallowing, she drags her gaze back to me.
“Coming here, to our house, alone?” Shaking my head, I flash her a wolfish smile. “It would be so easy to kill you.”
Fear floods her features, and she once again glances at my housemates in terror.
I would never actually let any of them touch her. I’m not an animal. But she doesn’t know that.
Pushing off from the doorframe, I leave my spot in front of the hallway and instead start towards her. She takes an instinctive step back before remembering that Ian is standing there. After casting a worried look over her shoulder, she snaps her gaze back to me.
I keep the wolfish smile on my mouth as I advance on her. “After all, that’s what happens to rats. If they sneak into a house, they get killed.”
She bolts.
And God damn, she’s fast.
Sprinting forward, she manages to skirt around me and reach the hallway to the front door before I’ve even realized what’s happening. I throw my arm out to grab her, but she ducks underneath my hand while still racing towards the door .
Stunned disbelief rings through me, but I whirl around and start after her. I will be able to catch her at the door. She doesn’t know that I locked it, so she will try to just shove it open and sprint outside. When that doesn’t work, she will lose precious seconds in which I will be able to reach her.
And then, I am going to show her who holds the power now. Back in high school, she might have been the untouchable one. But here, I make the rules. I’m the one who can ruin her entire life with one sentence. So I’m going to make her grovel and beg me for mercy before I finally allow her to leave this house.
Anticipation ripples through my chest at just the thought of it.
A few steps ahead, Elle finally reaches the door.
But she doesn’t just shove down the handle in blind panic. Instead, she reaches forward with both hands at the same time. One hand grabs the handle. The other unlocks the door. And then she’s out.
I trail to a halt right inside the door and stare in shock as she sprints across the lawn and towards the road.
She anticipated my move.
Even in such a high-stress situation, she managed to think things through enough to understand that I had most likely locked the door.
Shaking my head, I watch her brown hair whip in the wind as she disappears down the street.
Fucking hell, I hate to admit it, but I am actually a little impressed.