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She glares when she sees me, but her eyes soften when she sees the state I’m in. “Summer, where the fuck were you? I’ve been freaking out for an hour.”
My high quickly evaporates, replaced by utter dejection. I cross my arms in a pathetic attempt to hide the gigantic hole in the center of my shirt. “I-I’m sorry,” I stammer. “I was dancing and got lost in it.”
A pathetic lie, one I’m sure she can see right through.
Her eyes finally graze up and down my body, lingering on my general ruffled appearance and the rip in my shirt. She pinches her forehead as she hands me my purse. “Why do you look like you made out with a meat grinder?”
A flush of heat hits my face and her eyes widen.
“Summer Landry, you did not.”
I cringe, wishing I could melt away. “No, I didn’t. I was just dancing with someone. It just got a bit out of control.”
She juts her hand on her hip. “With whom, exactly? Because it wasn’t Grant. He was looking for you for a while before he gave up and moved on. I think I saw him making out with someone. And now we can’t find him.”
“I’m not sure who it was.”
Her eyes gleam. “I danced with someone, too. I think it was Xander, but I’m not entirely sure.”
I blink at her. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
I cock a brow. “How do you know if he was wearing a mask?”
She grins. “His build was the same, and I recognized his sexy tattoos. This girl kept watching us as we were dancing, and it looked like that Bianca chick.” A blush hints at her face, and she bites her lip. “He kept asking me to do things.”
“What kind of things?” I’m happy for the digression of the conversation, and I’m genuinely curious what kind of interaction she had with Xander. Also, if Xander was there, Lincoln would be one of the faces hidden among the crowd.
She takes my hand. “I’ll tell you, if you confess why your clothes are ripped, you naughty girl.”
The color drains from my face and she frowns. “Summer, are you okay? You look…pale. Did something happen?”
Besides being marked by a satanic overlord who gave me the best orgasm I’ve had in years…no, nothing.
I wrap my hands around my shoulders, goosebumps pebbling my skin. “Grant drugged me,” I admit. “I’m not used to taking drugs. Can we go? I don’t want to be here anymore.”
Dani looks apologetic, but her pupils tell me she was on the same ride I was.
Misty walks up and frowns. “I want to go, too. I found Grant. He can drive us.”
I don’t miss the judgmental stare from Misty as she takes in my appearance. I wonder if she can smell the sex on me, or perhaps the stench of my burning flesh.
I follow the girls out to the vehicle, and the boys are already there. I pile in the back and sit in-between Grant and Dani. Luckily, Grant’s friend is sober enough to drive us.
Grant stares at me and fortunately, he can’t see my tattered clothes in the dark car. His hand finds my knee, and he leans into me. “Hey, where did you disappear to?”
His hands are foreign and clumsy, and after what I went through, I don’t want anything to do with him.
I face him and give a meek smile. “Sorry about that. It was hard to find anyone with the masks.”
He pulls his arm around me and shifts closer before I can stop him. “Come here. You look freezing.”
My bones bleed into ice.
It’s like my nameless monster is inside me. Like he knows Grant is touching me and is biding his time before he snakes in through the shadows and butchers him.
It has been just a few hours since we came here, and it’s as if I have been summoned to a higher calling. Experiencing emotions I shouldn’t be having. Something’s awakened inside me—something dark and sinister that I suspect has always been lurking in my core. It’s settled in my bones, my blood, and heart.
