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The hallway is empty, thank god. I take off running, dashing down the stairs with my backpack slung over one shoulder. At least I get to leave. I don’t know where I’m going, but I have a little bit of money in the bank. I can figure things out once I’m away from here.
But the sight of my two worst enemies standing in the driveway makes me stop short and backpedal a little. Nix is standing at the open driver’s door to the truck while Colt steps forward, closer to me. “Come on.”
“Go to hell,” I fire back. “Like I would go anywhere with the two of you—you fucking liars. You sick fucking liars.”
“Get in the truck,” Colt growls. “Or I’m going to put you in it.”
“You know where you can put your truck? Right up your ass. See how you feel.” I begin to walk around him in a wide arc, but of course, it does me no good. He picks me up and unceremoniously dumps me in the back of the truck before slamming the door. By the time I sit up and reach for the handle, Nix has already engaged the locks.
“This is kidnapping, you assholes. What, do you want to add that to your list of crimes? It wasn’t enough to rape me. Now you have to fucking kidnap me? I bet this is your father’s way of keeping me quiet forever, isn’t it? Are you supposed to take me somewhere, leave me there to rot?”
“Are you finished?” Nix mutters as we drive away from the house. I don’t bother looking back. I’ll never see it again, anyway. Not once they’re finished with me. Considering everything that’s happened, I don’t think the idea of them murdering me at their father’s command is that far outside the realm of possibility.
It’s not a very long ride, but it’s a silent one. I don’t say another word until it’s clear they’re not taking me out to the woods or anything like that. No, in fact, we’re rolling through a cute little college campus with pubs and shops sprinkled around the outside. People are all over the place, wandering in and out of restaurants and cafés, hanging out at tables on the sidewalk.
This is where I’m supposed to be starting school. Not for another few days, but this is the place. “Why are you bringing me here?” I finally have to ask.
“Why do you think? A deal is a deal.” Nix pulls to a stop in front of a long, three-story building on the edge of campus.
Colt turns in his seat and holds out a key. “Your room number 312. This is the key to your door.”
I feel like I’ve walked into a movie halfway through, and I’m the only one who isn’t caught up on the plot. “I don’t get it.”
“You’re here. You’re at school. And you’re all set—everything is paid up, and there’s money in your account, so you can go to the cafeteria, the bookstore, or whatever. It’s all there.”
“Like I said, we had a deal,” Nix reminds me. “And we confirmed everything is set up for you. Go ahead. Take the key and get out of here.”
Can this be true? I want it to be, but it all seems so sudden. Like being thrown from one insane situation into another with hardly any time to gather my thoughts in between.
“You’re sure about this?” I whisper, staring at the key in my palm. “This isn’t a trick?”
“You’d better hurry,” Nix grunts, staring straight ahead. “We’ve got to get back home. We’ll be missed.”
“It’s for real,” Colt tells me in a quieter voice. “Go on. Go, like, be a college student.”
Even though I should be happy, all I can do is hate them. They’ve even taken this from me. I should be joyful, full of hope, and looking forward to the next phase in my life. Instead, I’m afraid to get out of the truck because I just know I’ll end up finding out this was all a trick.
Still, I have nowhere else to go, do I? I guess I’ll find out whether they’ve been fucking with me all this time if I try to use this key and it doesn’t work. Maybe I didn’t really believe they would follow through with their part of our agreement. I mean, it’s not like they’ve ever given me a reason to believe they’re sincere.
I climb down from the truck without saying a word and slam the door for good measure before starting up the pathway toward the entrance to the building. People walk in and out, some carrying boxes, and the energy is happy and upbeat. Even though class doesn’t start for another few days, today was the first day we were allowed to move in. To think, all these people were finishing last-minute stuff before moving in while I spent the day dreading having my ass fucked.
I take the elevator to the third floor and walk down to room 312. I’m still holding the key in my palm, my fingers closed tight around it. Is this for real? If I try this key and it doesn’t work, that might be what breaks me. I might finally fall to pieces here in this hallway with a bunch of strangers wandering back and forth.
But it does fit, and it turns in the lock, and the door opens to reveal a room that’s actually a hell of a lot nicer than I ever would have expected. There are two beds, one on the left-hand wall and one on the right, two dressers, and two nightstands. There’s plenty of space, lots of room in the closets, and the windows overlook the campus.
There are also two desks; on one sits a new laptop and a new phone. I can’t believe I forgot my old laptop. Luckily, everything is saved on my cloud.
Since the other side of the room contains no items—the closet’s empty, and nothing is in the dresser—I’m assuming it’s supposed to be mine.
Is it really over? Did they really let me go and make sure I’m set up comfortably here? There are even clothes in the dresser and hanging from the rod in the closet. All of it is new, with the tags still attached. Like whoever bought it went by the sizes of the clothes in my room. But which one of them would be that thoughtful?
It’s almost too much to be believed, but the evidence kind of speaks for itself. I’m still waiting for somebody to jump out and yellGotchaand laugh themselves sick while I fall to pieces, but that’s not happening. The bed even has clean sheets on it, the whole nine yards.
I think this is it. I want this to be it.
But instead of releasing the breath I’m holding and letting myself relax, all I can do is sit down on the bed and stare at the new computer and wonder if this is all part of their fucked-up game.
CHAPTER35
