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“See, that’s where you’re wrong. You’re to follow all university directives, and you’ve been directed for the five of us to chaperone you. Damien was a big presence on this campus, and his father is on the board. There are more than a few board members and students very unhappy with you being here.” He's matter of fact in his delivery, bored even, as he dashes my hopes to avoid them like the plague.
“All of you? I have to be in the vicinity of one of you the entire time I’m here?” My raised voice brings the attention of a few students wandering the halls, and I shut up before my business is all over campus.
Fishing out my ID, I swipe it to unlock the door and beeline for my room, ignoring the occupants still sitting around and the shadow behind me carrying the rest of my supplies. Jaeger comes in right behind me, depositing his armful on the bed next to mine. I turn to face him, hands fisted on my hips, waiting on his answer.
“Yes, unless there’s a class or extracurricular that one of us doesn’t share, someone will always be on duty to escort you. Even to and from those classes you’re in alone. The only exception is when we’re in our meetings once a month. During that time, you’ll be in your room.” He’s barely done speaking before I let loose.
Aggravation shines clear in my voice as I follow him back out. Fuck the audience. “I’m not a damned pet, Jag, and I don't need to be treated like one. Where do you or the administration get off on making me one?”
The girl perched on Riggs’ knee snorts indelicately. “Don’t pets wear collars? Shouldn't you have picked one up with your supplies?” The bitch doesn’t understand that I will fuck up her veneers.
Riggs does though, and he pushes her off onto the floor to intercept me. “Cora, enough! It’s what we’ve been instructed. Kelly,” he addresses the girl on the floor, “make yourself scarce. I’ll call you later.” Not even a reprimand, just a promise of a booty call. What a douche.
“What happened to you all, Riggs?” I whisper furiously at him, trying to avoid the others hearing me. “None of you used to be this way, not until Damien. Not until that night at the lake house. Why?” I should have known not to show vulnerability, but I still care for those boys I used to adore when I was part of their circle.
One cool fingertip traces my cheek from the corner of my eye to the fullness of my lips. “Don’t you know, Cora? You happened. You wrecked our boy, then you spread your slut legs for your dead baby daddy.” His hand trails down to my chest as I stand in stupefied silence, only to have him shove me backward into the chair he’s just vacated. “Karma, bitch.” His parting words echo in my head as he grabs his keys off an end table and walks out of the suite.
Hitting me would have been preferable to his comments. Struggling to control my emotions and not cry in front of everyone left, I rush into my room, slamming and locking the door behind me. I can’t believe he’d said those things. Riggs is a playboy, but I didn’t think he was malicious. Not like that.
His rakish dark looks had always been intriguing, but I wasn’t that kind of girl. The kind that pines for their boyfriend’s best friend, so he’d been firmly in the ‘safe-to-flirt-not-to-touch’ zone.
While it was Jaeger and Damien in their own little bubble, the others were a posse. Drake, Ash, Riggs, and Blaise. Riggs is technically Calvin Rigby III, and Ash is short for Ashton, but everyone calls them by their nicknames. They're all varying shades of darkness. Pale to swarthy skin and eye color aside, they could all be related from appearances alone.
Actually, Kael had fit right in too with his black hair and blue eyes. A tendril of grief snakes its way around my heart, crushing in its intensity, as I struggle for composure. I try so hard to avoid any triggers that might lead to a breakdown, and if today is any indication, being here is going to be more difficult than ever on my emotions.
I wait, silently weeping for all I've lost until I hear the girls depart, and the noises cease on the other side of my door, before getting up from where I'd stationed myself in front of it on the floor. After splashing cold water on my face, I find my list of things I still need to do and hook my purse over my head and across my body before braving leaving the tentative safety of my room.
Cracking the door and finding the area in my line of sight clear, I quietly slip into the living room, making sure to keep the knob twisted then slowly releasing it so that it catches without a sound. Muffled music is coming from what I think is Ash's door, and other than that, it doesn't appear anyone is around.
Halfway to the door, I remember Jag's warning about going around without an escort. Him and Riggs have been complete assholes, and I'm not sure if Ash's music is covering up naked activities, but I don't particularly want to find out. Drake has been okay, but even though him and Damien were first cousins and not actual brothers, it's still enough to wig me out. Which leaves me with Blaise.
If there was ever one of the guys that I hadn't gotten along with, it was him. And to find his room I’m going to have to pick one of three doors. I'm fairly certain the one directly next to me is Jaeger's and the other door a small closet. Beyond that is Ash's with the music. Feeling like an idiot, I move to the door next to Jaeger's and press my ear to it, trying to decide if there's anyone in there. When it's silent, I tap a couple times and wait. No response comes, and I move to the next. Noises seem to be coming from inside, and I knock, this time getting an answer.
The door swings open, and a scowl settles onto Blaise's face. "What do you want, Cora?"
Spitting it out before he slams the door in my face, I tell him, "Jag said I can't leave the rooms without one of you escorting me, and I need my things out of my car. Please." I add on the last when he steps back, and my foot moves forward.
With his raised brow and direct stare at the offending appendage, it's hard to maintain my confidence. But him being pissy is better than any of the alternatives. Waiting for someone else or not getting my things. Neither will work with classes tomorrow.
"What's in it for me?" I raise shocked eyes to his hard ones.
"Are you extorting me over something I have no choice in?" I'm not really surprised, but damn. "How much? I'm not exactly well off, but I can swing twenty bucks if you're going to be an ass about it." Devilment lights his eyes.
"Oh, Cora. I don't need your money. I was thinking something more along the lines of--" He brings his fist up and pokes his tongue into his stubble-covered cheek as he mimes the universal motions of a blow-job.
Without thought, my foot comes straight out to kick him in the shin. I'd have aimed higher, but the door is in the way.
"Fucking pig! Screw you, Blaise!" I turn on my heel to stalk to Ash's door, uncaring what state I might find him in at this point. Except dumbass can't keep his mouth shut.
"If you insist," he calls out. "Hey, can we do bareback since I don't have to worry about knocking you up? I have it on good authority you're clean, barren, and a good lay."
Shame, sorrow, and finally fury ignite in my veins. Grabbing a standing lamp and heading in Blaise's direction is the last thing I remember. After the haze clears, I find myself being held back by both Drake and Ash in Blaise's destroyed bedroom with a bent and broken lamp pole on the floor at my feet. Kinda like me.
It takes a few quick blinks to register the mess, and I don't know what to say. The shock of losing it so badly is quickly overshadowed by the fact that I probably just got myself kicked out before school even starts. Hell, I’m even still packed. I start to giggle uncontrollably until I sag in the guys’ grip, burying my face in my hands while mirth dissolves into sobs.
"What did you do, Blaise?" Distantly, it registers that Drake is demanding answers, and Ash is taking on my full weight and supporting me. "You said what? Are you serious right now?"
Ash swings my legs up, carrying me bridal style, before I can hear what Blaise's reply is. Not that I particularly care at the moment. Ash carries me into my bedroom, sitting me on the bed after pushing aside some of the books, and kneels on the floor in front of me.
