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Before I can question him about the contract and his knowledge of it since I had to sign an N.D.A, he swings the door open to my room. Excuse me, rooms, plural. A quick perusal shows a main living area, kitchenette, and several more doors I take to be the bedroom, bathroom, and maybe a closet, but I have no idea what would be behind the others. It’s awful big for one student.
“What the heck am I going to do with all this room? I have maybe three boxes and my suitcase in the car.” Ash side-eyes me, giving me a pitying glance. “What am I missing? I have roommates, don’t I? Of course I do, that’s how dorms work. Please tell me they’re not awful.” Ash’s eyes widen right before a voice speaks up.
“I’m sure I can be a pain, but I don’t know about awful. And Ash here doesn’t seem to have mistreated you so far.” The deep resonant voice of my older step-brother, Jaeger, has me spinning and losing half my papers I’d kept a deathgrip on up until now.
“What the fuck! Get out of my room. You’re not welcome here.” I start backing up in terror until I come up against a hard body where the open doorway should have been.
“Cora, calm down, you’re fine.” Strong, long-fingered hands grip my shoulder, and I twist around enough to find Drake standing in the open space. “We’re your roommates.”
The hell they are! I’m going straight back down to the counselor’s office to demand a reassignment.
“Nope. Not a chance in hell.” Pulling away from Drake, he eventually releases my shoulders, and I gather up my paperwork and fly out of the suite and into the elevator. Jaeger must not have thought I’d take off as he’s too slow, and I’m able to slap the close doors button before he follows me. The last thing I see is the panic in his expression as they shut and muffle his “Cora!”
I’m shaking and rehearsing my speech about my need to change rooms when the elevator arrives at the ground floor with a cheery ding. The doors slide open, and I make it two steps before it registers that Jaeger is blocking the entrance to the building. He must have slid down every banister on the way down to beat me here. He’s lucky he didn’t break his neck.
“Cora, wait. You can’t ask for a transfer.” I’m about to interrupt him when he drops a bombshell. “Compliance with all assignments, remember? It’ll break your contract.” His voice drops on the end as if he’s ashamed to be part of it, which he should be. It was his best friend and him telling said best friend that caused me to be here now.
“You can’t be serious. Since when are dorms that co-ed? I mean, yeah, there’s mixed housing, but actually sharing a suite, no.” Crossing my arms across my chest with my now raggedy papers, I wait for his answer.
“It was the only suitable room available on such short notice," he stiffly informs me. "The school was full up until we had an— opening.” At his reluctance to add the last bit, it dawns on me then that I’m taking Damien’s room. A shudder rolls through me, and I feel sick.
“You can’t make me stay in his room. That has to be a harassment clause or something. That’s wrong, and you know it.” I need my meds. I’ve made it six days without them, but I’m now at my breaking point. Meds and a nap. I’m going to have to go back up there.
“No, I switched. You’ll have my room. I sent all his belongings to his parents except the ones he wanted me to keep.” The grief he still harbors makes an appearance in his countenance, and I can almost have sympathy for him. Except, you know. They killed my baby and took Kael from me.
It’s an odd thing; Damien and Jaeger had been inseparable nearly from the moment they met. Had I not known for a fact they were into girls, I’d have thought they were an item. Case in point, bequeathing belongings after death.
“Fine, I need to lie down. I can’t take much more today.” That remorse pops up on his face again before he follows me back into the elevator.
“I shouldn’t have stopped you. You’d be better off away from here. You can go and try to change it if you’d like.” Whoa, have a one-eighty.
“If you think I’m giving up that easily, you’re delusional. I need to regroup and take a nap, then I’ll be just fine.” I flounce out of the elevator and don’t even have to use the keycard to get in the door as Ash is holding it open. Except I stall out inside, having no clue which room is mine. My head drops back in frustration, and a growl escapes, much to the amusement of Drake who is waving me into an open doorway. “Thanks,” I grudgingly offer before entering, immediately slamming the door shut behind me, and flipping the lock.
“That was rude, you know!” Drake's voice is only slightly muffled through the door, and I hope I don’t have to hear what they do in the privacy of their rooms. Taking in the room, I see a toilet through an open door, and I'm really glad to have my own bathroom. Sharing one would have been a catastrophe with five guys. Especially ones that I’d be perfectly fine with falling out of my life.
I don’t bother to respond and barely take note of the dresser, desk and chair, nightstand, and bookshelf before I go straight into the bathroom. Fishing tablets out of my purse, I swallow them with water out of the tap in my cupped hands and lay down. It’s not long before I’m out hardcore.
***
It's well after dark when I resurface. After shaking off the disorientation from waking in an unfamiliar place and washing my face, I quietly go out into the living room with my purse on my shoulder, determined to find the cafeteria and get my belongings from my car. At least I'm hoping the cafeteria will still be open, or at least a vending machine. However, stealth doesn’t matter when Jaeger is lying in wait for me.
“You’re still wearing his rings,” he says.
“What does it matter what I wear? And why is that your business?” I go to walk past him out the door when he snags my wrist.
“It is my business when what you do reflects on me, as the Headmaster reminded me while you took your nap. You’ll abide by the rules, or you’ll be kicked out, just like you were out of our parents’ house.” He’s stone cold serious, and I'm not sure if he realizes it, but his grip is getting tight enough to sting.
“Jaeger, I think you have a problem, and it’s not mine. Mom may kowtow to your dad, but the only man that I’d even consider obeying was yanked away from me on our wedding day. Don’t fucking try me, bro.” That manages to get under his skin. For whatever reason, he’s never liked the distinction.
“You know damn well I’m not your brother. We only met three years ago, so knock that shit off. Maybe it would be better if you left now since things are only going to get worse for you if you stay.” He abruptly releases my wrist— as if he's only just noticed he was holding it, and I pull it up to rub at the red mark his grip left. He’s never touched me in an ill manner before, even when his sidekick stalked my every move, and it's unsettling to say the least.
“Fine, you’re not my brother, but you can keep your hands to yourself all the same. And you can’t make me quit. I’ll get my grades, get my degree, and get the payout that’s the least Damien’s dickhead of a father could have allowed already.” I barely get the words out before Jaeger is advancing on me, menace in every step. My back hits the wall, and his palm settles over my racing heart, pinning me in place.
“Never, and I mean not ever, talk about Damien or his family in that manner again. Do you understand?” I nod, only wanting to escape.
I don’t understand what’s happened since I took a nap, but Jaeger has gone nuts. This is deja vu to the night I went to the lake house with Ash and his friends. It was like a switch had flipped in Damien, and now Jaeger is acting odder than usual. I edge away and slip out the door, heading for my car. I need a break already, and it’s only barely begun.
On my way down I plan how to make the situation palatable enough to get through it. Switching rooming assignments is a no go, but I can work with that. I’ll just have to learn their schedules and try to avoid them as much as possible. Which reminds me I haven't even seen the others yet. A sigh escapes me as I get in my car and start it up to move it to the student parking before hunting down the cafeteria.
They’re closing down for the night, but one of the workers takes pity on me and loads me up with an actually appetizing lasagna and a bag full of goodies she was going to have to throw out anyway. Making my way back to the dorm with my dinner, I take the opportunity to mark where some of the halls are by their names illuminated in the spotlights on the exterior. Most of my classes should be close together from what I could tell on the map, instead of across campus. This time around, I pass a few other students but avoid drawing attention to myself. Plenty of time later if I want to make friends.
The living room is empty, and based on the noises coming from the bedroom directly across from mine, I’d say someone has company. Ugh, boys. I nearly tiptoe to my room, trying to stay undetected, and manage to get into my room and close the door without encountering anyone. After stuffing my face with the surprisingly good cafeteria food, I stow the leftovers on the dresser, not interested in braving the living area, and half-assed brush my teeth with mouthwash from my purse and my finger.
