AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Trust me, I think my sister quickly found out. It’s probably why she left and didn’t look back.”
“And it’s why you need to stay away from Garret. He’s one of them.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“It is. Don’t fuck the students who go here.” I look out the window at the moon in the sky between the branches of the trees. “If they say they like you or you’re pretty, it’s a lie. This is a game to them.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m sure you can’t withdraw without owing your life. It wouldn’t be that easy once you agreed to come here and then wanted to leave. The only way to survive in this situation is to play their game. Fuck or be fucked.” I get up and drop the thick, leather-bound book on her desk with a thud. “And I’m tired of being fucked with.”
After class the next day, I’m seated at a table in Babylon. It’s pointless to hide or return to the trailer where he can find me. If he shows up, which he is bound to do, he will never think to find me here. Waiting. Watching. It’s not what Prey usually do. The Prey never becomes the predator. It’s usually the other way around, and I’ve been preyed on before. I’ve been hunted by their kind. In the past, I was a victim of my own ignorance. Now, it’s their stupidity to think I’m a victim.
I ordered the same thing. French fries and water. It is the most I can afford. I haven’t told Mr. Crosby I quit the hardware store, afraid he will raise the rent. I was trying to buy myself some time to come up with more money before he found out.
I watch people trying to pick out the players versus the non-players. Basically, predator versus prey. I have come to the conclusion that all the guys are part of the predator club play pool. The girls and guys watching are all prey. Some girls are part of the predator club, but you can pick them out a mile away with their flashy designer handbags and clothes. All students that stay in the dorms are Prey.
“Is this seat taken?”
Melissa takes a seat across from me. Her glossy red lips over straight white teeth. Blond hair that spills around her shoulders. If you want to know what evil looks like, just look at Melissa, and you’ll find it. Her smile reminds me of the mother in the movie Evil Dead Rising. The expectation is for a woman to embody goodness. Motherly, even, but not Melissa. You can tell everything she does has malicious intent.
There is something about her I don’t like, and it has nothing to do with the jealousy licking my gut from the way Valen chose her over me. It’s obvious they have something going on. I don’t need an explanation or an excuse to see they have a special agreement. It is bigger than an alliance.
"How's your freshman year? It’s an important year,” she continues, like I give a fuck about what she has to say. “In my opinion, it’s the most important. It’s where…” She pauses, and she looks whimsical. “Where you break out of your shell and become an adult. A real grown-up compared to when you were in high school and every feeling was magnified, only to come to college and realize how juvenile it all was.”
“Is that how high school was for you, juvenile?”
“In some ways, but the sex with Valen wasn’t.”
She watches me for a reaction.
“Oh, is this your way to warn me off him? Am I supposed to cry now?”
"Now, why would I do that?”
“Isn’t that why you’re sitting here?”
“Not really. I like you. I think you’re pretty.” She laughs to herself. "Weird, isn’t it? You expect me to be some jealous girlfriend when all I want to do is get to know you better.”
The server places the french fries I ordered on the table, and Melissa helps herself to the ketchup, dips a fry, and places it in her mouth. “Mmm… I forgot how something so simple can taste so good.” She closes her eyes like she’s eating a delicacy and not a greasy french fry.
I can tell it’s all an act. Melissa says I’m pretty, and that could only mean one thing. She’s into women, and I’m Prey. It’s why she’s sitting here, trying to intimidate me. To convince me. Feel me out.
“Have you ever been with a woman before? Or…a man and a woman?” she asks with a flash in her eyes.
“No,” I say flatly. “I like big, pierced cocks.”
She swallows thickly, almost choking on the french fry, and chuckles. “Oh…” She swallows.
She knows whose cock I’m talking about. If I let her think I’ve seen it, in her mind, it means I fucked him. I want to know what her deal is.
“So... have you been to any parties off-campus?” she asks, changing the subject.
“No. Why?”
She smiles, but there is a hunger in her eyes when she shrugs. “Oh, I don’t know. Being a freshman and all, I thought you would have gone to one by now.”
“What year are you?”
