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CHAPTER42
Evie
I stare at the box on my bed with a strange tingle working its way through my body. “What’s this?” I try for casual, but even I can hear the unsteadiness in my voice.
Sharon doesn’t even look up from her books. “Someone delivered it this morning.”
“Who?”
“If I knew, do you think I would have used the word ‘someone’?”
It’s a big box. Very similar in size to the one I received my Firefly Ball gown in. My first instinct is to take it down the hall and throw it in the nearest trash can—even if I have to stomp on it a few times to make it fit. But I know the minute I touch it I won’t be able to resist looking inside.
“I’m going out,” I tell her.
“Bring me a sandwich.” There’s not even a hint of a request in her voice. I sniff, but we both know I’ll be bringing her that fucking sandwich.
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother pretending I have a backbone.
You put up a fight with Owen.
I shove away the voice. I was pretending back then too. I’m nothing but a whimpering, weak-willed baby. I don’tdeservehappiness, because I don’t have the guts to reach out and grab it.
If someone actually offered me happiness on asilver platter… I’d still be too nervous to take it.
I stomp down the hall, trying to put the image of that big box on my bed out of my mind. I get Sharon’s sandwich, grabbing another one for me too, and find myself creeping back upstairs.
Weak-willed baby.
She takes the sandwich without a word of thanks, but I’m used to that now. Doesn’t even bother me anymore. Whatdoesbother me is the shiny box gloating at me from the bed.
“God, could you not breathe so loudly?” Sharon pushes away from the desk, turning to face me with her hands on her hips. “Just open it already.”
When I give her a defiant stare, she rolls her eyes at me, snatches her sandwich off the desk, and leaves our dorm room, slamming the door behind her.
The crash is still echoing through our room when I rip the big satin bow off the top of the box and flip open the lid.
On top of the pale pink tissue paper hiding the contents of the box is a gleaming black envelope. There’s a symbol pressed into the gold wax seal—Pinecrest’s rearing stag.
I crack the seal, my heart practically jumping into my throat when I take out a piece of paper with the wordsFollow The White Rabbitwritten on it in thick black marker. I’ve never seen Owen’s handwriting… but I have no doubt he wrote it.
“What?”
I tuck the note back in the envelope and carefully peel away the layers of tissue paper. Shiny black latex greets me, and I stare down at it in shock. I’d been expecting another a ball gown or something… but this?
Swallowing, I unfold the garment inside. It’s a shiny PVC jumpsuit, almost like the one Catwoman wears.
No… not Catwoman.
Follow The White Rabbit
I yelp when someone knocks. Hurriedly shoving the catsuit back into the box and ramming on the lid, I hurry over to open the door. “Did you forget your keycard?”
But it’s not Sharon standing in the hall. It’s a freshman wearing a white bunny mask. As soon as our eyes lock, she races away down the hall.
I frown as she runs all the way to the stairs. She stops there for a moment, looking back as if to see if I’m following, and then disappears down the steps.
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
I close the door, shaking my head as I retreat into my room. My eye catches the box on the bed, the black envelope with Owen’s handwritten note.
Follow The White Rabbit
This is beyond fucked up. What the hell makes him think I’d willingly go along with this stupid Matrix cosplay bullshit? There’s no way in hell I’m walking out of this room wearing a shiny black catsuit. Or following a stranger around campus. For all I know, I’ll end up in the bell tower again.
The thought makes me shudder. I grab the box, toss the envelope back inside, and shove it under my bed.
Good riddance.
Going back to the door, I make sure it’s locked before climbing back onto my bed and opening one of my textbooks. I have an assignment due Monday, and I plan on working on it the whole weekend. Even if I wanted to, I don’t have time to chase bunnies.
