AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I never thought I’d have to be worried about walking around campus alone in the middle of the freaking day, but apparently I was wrong. I wish I did know who those assholes were, because I know the guys and Dante would tear them to shreds, then they couldn’t attempt what they did to me again, or try it with anyone else.
Though, the way they did it, so methodical, tells me I’m probably not their first victim.
"You going to be okay?" Dante asks when we reach the car.
"I’ll be fine, just a few scrapes. I’ve had worse."
His frown deepens, but he nods as I withdraw my arm from his and unlock the car.
"Thank you," I say to him before lifting up onto the tips of my toes and kissing his cheek. "If you hadn’t turned up when you did…"
I trail off, not wanting to think about what might have happened if he hadn’t been there.
"Well, I did, and that’s what counts. But you really should look into some form of self-defense. I might not always be there to save you." He watches me closely and I nod, knowing he’s right. I should’ve taken some form of self-defense years ago, but I never had the opportunity before, and stupidly, I thought being here I wouldn’t need it.
But the last few months have shown me otherwise.
"I’ll look into it as soon as I get home," I tell him. "Thank you, again."
"You don’t need to thank me, Briar," he says softly before opening the car door. "Drive safe, okay? And let me know when you get home."
"I will," I say with a smile before he closes the door. A look of determination skitters across his face as he looks out over the student body still milling around campus, but I try to put it to the back of my mind.
First things first, let's get home in one piece. Then, and only then, do I get to freak out about what just nearly happened.
* * *
By the time I get home, I’ve managed to calm myself down and brush off most of what happened. The only upside to the sheer amount of trauma I’ve experienced is the ability to epically compartmentalize all of the shit I’ve had to deal with, and this is no different.
It’s in a box, locked up tight, in a very dark corner in the back of my mind.
I enter the house as an alert goes off on my phone, but the news playing on the TV captures my attention before I get a chance to look. Closing the door, I step further into the lounge where the boys are already sitting, watching the news footage play out.
"Another body was found near the Saints U campus in the early hours of this morning. Details of the victim are yet to be released, but sources have told us that the body was discovered in a similar manner to the student whose body was found just weeks ago. Police are currently investigating the murder of Serena Dawson, with no suspect names released as of yet." The news reporter pauses, putting her hand to her ear, before her eyes light up.
"I’m just being told that the police have released information about the murder… Wait, make that murders."
Cole’s phone starts ringing on the coffee table, and he snatches it up and answers. "Wes, what’s going on?"
Travis mutes the TV while Cole speaks on the phone, but I read the subtitles, my stomach twisting with each minute detail I read.
The bodies are being linked to several that were found in the city earlier in the year. Serenity Falls Police Department is now working with the New York precinct that was handling the original murders. Stay tuned with us to get more information here, first.
Well fuck.
What the hell is happening in this tiny little fucking town and how is it linked to shit in the city?
I’d thought, until this point, that this has to do with me, but if it’s been happening since the spring, that can’t be right… right?
Sawyer pats the seat beside him, so I curl up in the space, trying not to overthink every single tiny detail of what’s happened since I got to Saints U. My mind races, but nothing seems to make any freaking sense at all.
This can’t be about me, so why the weird notes? Why Serena?
Cole wraps up his call, and for the first time since I can remember, he looks almost afraid.
"What happened?" Travis asks as Cole sits back down.
"They found DNA on the body…" Cole starts, trailing off before scraping a hand down his face.
