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"I understand." Shuffling sounds for a moment. "Maybe we can do something to get your mind off whatever is bothering you. We haven't hung out in a while."
"You're right." Everything falls quiet before she speaks again. "You know what? I want to party tonight. I don't even care where we go. I just want to dance, get drunk, and forget that some people exist."
Annoyance blooms in my chest as I hear her words, but I force myself to ignore them. She's only talking out of hurt and anger. Something about her being around other guys nearly makes me feral despite knowing that she's better off with them than she is with me. Why is everything so complicated lately?
"Lucky for you, I got an invitation to a party with the Gamma Phi guys tonight. I think it's a party to celebrate the new pledges. There will be plenty of hot guys and strong drinks to go around."
"Good. Count me in. I need an escape," she says.
"And I'll be right behind you," I murmur as I watch her and her friend walk arm and arm to their next class.
18
MORGAN
The moment I walk into the frat house, I immediately regret coming to the party.
It's been so long since I've gone to a party that I feel out of place. With the current situation that I'm in, it's so unnerving to have so many people know who I am when I don't know who they are, especially when they can be one of the people who's out to kill me. Even though every part of me is telling me to turn around and leave, I need the distraction so that I don't spend the whole night thinking about Trent.
He really had some nerve. Ever since he told me the truth about everything, he now acted as if I didn't matter anymore. He's now treating me like the fling I am to him, acting as if I don't exist unless I force myself into his space. The fact that he told me he was leaving in a text message instead of calling me was a major slap in the face. If I needed any more confirmation that I was nothing but a job to him, that was it. I'm angry that he can discard me so easily as if I'm just another bump in the road for him on his way to his next job. And I'm so damn angry that it's bothering me as much as it is when it's probably not even affecting him at all.
"Well, well, well. I never thought a celebrity would ever grace one of our parties," a deep voice says from behind me. I turn around to find Nathan, the head of the fraternity grinning at me as he holds a red Solo cup out to me. "Drink?"
"No, I'm good," I state, just as Veronica approaches me with a cup.
"One for you and one for me," she says, handing it to me before taking a sip from hers. "Jesus, this is strong." She eyes Nathan. "Is there even any actual punch in this stuff?"
"I don't know, is there?" he asks with a cheeky grin before walking away to another girl without a cup and offering her the same drink he'd offered me.
Veronica shakes her head. "It's only a matter of time before every girl in here is wasted if they drink this stuff," she says as she puts her cup down. "Since you're here as a distraction, I'll remain sober. One of us has to keep our wits about us."
"Good, because I don't want to remember a single thing about this night so I'm drinking." I take a big swallow from my cup and wince as the alcohol burns my chest as it goes down. "Jesus, you weren't kidding."
"Told you," she says with a giggle. "But pace yourself. I really don't want to have to carry you out of here if you get so wasted that you can't walk."
But I don't care what happens to me now. All I want to do right now is forget about Trent. I drink the spiked juice in my cup for taking a couple of shots that are offered to me. It doesn't take long before the alcohol coursing through my system begins to take effect. The room tilts a little each time I move, the heavy bass of the music seeming to put me in a trance. I make my way to the makeshift dance floor in the middle of the cleared out living room, my body moving on its own to the music as I lose myself. But it doesn't matter what I do, I can't get Trent off my mind. I can still see his beautiful brown eyes, and that boyishgrin on his that makes me melt every time I see it. I can still feel his hands and lips on my. body, hear his whispered words of comfort and praise. Why is he embedded so deep into my mind?
A warm body appears behind me, gyrating against me to the music. I look over my shoulder to find Brody, an upper classman who's been hitting on me every since I stepped foot on campus months ago. Brody murmurs things in my ear as we move to the music but I can't focus on anything he's saying. All I can think of is Trent. All I can think of is how I'd rather have Trent behind me instead of some random guy I'm not interested in. I wish Trent was the one whispering all the things he wants to do to me, that it's his fingers traveling to dangerous places that they shouldn't.
I grab Brody's hands and push them away from my body before turning to face him. Brody doesn't take the hint, his eager hands finding their way back onto my body.
"Knock it off," I state, though my words slur as I speak. Brody only laughs and reaches for me again.
"Oh, don't play hard to get, Morgan. We're just having a little fun," he taunts, roughly pulling me against him. "Matter of fact, we can take this fun upstairs."
I push against his chest to try to pull myself out of the viselike grip he had around my waist. "Get off me!" I demand.
Before either of us can react, I stumble back a few steps as Brody stumbles to the side. It's not until someone screams that I realize what's happened. Trent punches him in the face, sending Brody to the ground. His hard gaze falls on me as he tightly grabs my arm, pulling me through the crowd of bewildered partygoers as he drags me to the exit. While a part of me is happy to see him, I'm a little more angry that he's causing a scene after how he treated me earlier.
"What do you think you're doing?" I ask, finally snatching away from him when I get outside.
He turns to look at me as if I've lost my mind. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Morgan?" he snaps. "With everything going on, you think that it's smart to get wasted at some frat party? You have no idea who's watching you!"
"I don't know why you care," I fire back, folding my arms across my chest. "You told me to live my life so I am. You want me to be around guys more compatible with my life, so I am."
His chest heaves as his face turns redder with each passing second. Is he...jealous?
"You know it's not safe," he grounds out. "Being a brat doesn't change the dangers out here."
