When he smirks, we both laugh, and as soon as we are chilled, he speaks again.
“Well, did he agree to come?”
I shake my head slightly.
“Not fucking yet; he might not come, but I guess he will get back to me when he can, or he might not at all. You know how he is.”
He gives a small nod, and I hold my hand out for him to shake.
“I’ll see you later?”
He takes it before winking and once we break apart, I turn away.
As I make my way down the quiet dormitory corridor, I notice Lucy standing outside our door, her posture rigid, her gaze fixed on something inside with a look of alarm. A sense of unease gnaws at me, causing me to slow my pace.
When I reach her side and peer into our room, my heart sinks. The sight that greets me is unsettling—our bedroom trashed, with the furniture flipped upside down and our personal items strewn around.
“What the fuck?”
I cautiously step past her, but she abruptly grabs my wrist in a panic, preventing me from going any further.
“What if they are still in there? Maybe I should call Cody.”
I pull my wrist from her grasp with furrowed brows.
“Let’s check first if anything was taken; we could have just been pranked or robbed. You know what people are like.”
I draw my eyes away from hers and step inside hesitantly while Lucy follows behind me. I quickly scan the area, ensuring it is safe, and then check the bathroom to confirm that no one is there anymore. It appears whoever it was has left.
“Whoever it was is not here now, Lucy. Check if anything of yours is missing.”
I have a sinking feeling that this might be a reaction from my stalkers, and to confirm it, I start searching through my belongings and with each passing minute, my heart pounds faster. I frantically rummage through, but I can't find them. Oh shit, someone has taken all my letters and poems from my stalkers, along with other items from my Nana that I have cherished for years. Panic sets in, my chest tightening with each breath, until suddenly, Lucy speaks from behind me.
“It looks like nothing has been taken from my side; what about yours?”
I snap out of my trance instantly, tears welling up in my eyes that I try to hold back.
“Nope, nothing.”
After a moment of silence, and with an effort to compose myself, I continue speaking, still avoiding eye contact.
“This could just be a prank; maybe someone has found out that I am dating Chaos. You know how jealous people can get.”
“Hmm, could be, but I think I should still tell Cody. Something doesn’t feel right.”
I quickly wipe my cheeks when tears drop from my lashes onto them before I respond.
“Okay, why not?”
I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. Did I push them too far? What if the masked man I saw by the forest last night was not just my imagination, and they saw me with Reign? Oh, fuck. My heart pounds against my ribs, and I struggle to inhale through the panic that overwhelms me.
I can hear Lucy on the phone with Cody, but it is all a blur; I do not understand anything she says. To keep my mind off things, I start cleaning up the mess on my half of the room and start putting everything back where it belongs. Then, I hear Lucy call my name, snapping me out of my trance.
“Char, what are you doing?”
I respond my back to her, stuffing my clothes back into the drawers, trying not to show her my emotions.
“I want everything to go back to how it was.”
