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No.
I shut down those thoughts.
I was wrong.
I misread everything. Every glance and touch and whisper between us.
While I was looking at him like he might be the one to keep my heart safe, he was looking at me as nothing more than a sister. A friend. An obligation.
I follow Mrs Danvers out of the building and across campus toward the dorm buildings. All Hallows’ is a beautiful place steeped in history and tradition. But it also houses some dark secrets. Whispers of secret societies and twisted games. It’s no surprise though, when some of the richest, oldest families in Oxfordshire send their children here.
Lawyers, businessmen, politicians, they are the country’s future leaders.
I never cared before, happy to hide in the shadows and avoid people’s stares. But then I befriended Olivia Beckworth, and she pulled me into her life. Their lives.
The Heirs of All Hallows’.
But the rumours and gossip do Reese, Theo, Oakley, Elliot injustice. Entitled and arrogant and dangerous, they are. But they’re also loyal and strong and protective. And if you’re welcomed into their inner circle, you’re one of them.
You’re family.
But after making the vital mistake of kissing Elliot the night I discovered my father had passed, I fear everything is ruined now.
He’s the last Heir standing.
The only one of them not in a relationship. And when he does finally meet someone, there’ll be no room for me in their circle of eight.
So it’s better really; better that I cut myself off and accept my fate now.
I’m not one of them, not really.
And I never will be.
But it was nice to pretend, for a little while, that I belonged.
“Your room is at the end of the hall and around the corner, next to the fire escape. So you’ll have plenty of space.”
“Thank you.”
We slip through the door separating the main hallway and small hallway where my new room is. She’s right, it is out of the way. Almost in its own annex.
“Here’s your key.” I take it from her, and she offers me a sad smile. “If you need anything?—”
“I’ll be fine, thank you.” I unlock the door and push open the door.
“It’s a little bigger than most of the rooms but given the circumstances…” She trails off, understanding glittering in her eyes.
“There’s no guidebook for this kind of thing, Abigail. But you have people who care. If you ever need to talk, you can come to me or Miss Linley. And I’m sure the girls are all eager to help in any way they can.”
I nod too weary to reply.
“Okay, well, I’ll leave you for now. Take all the time you need.”
“Thank you.”
She hesitates but doesn’t say whatever is on her mind. So I step further into the room and close the door behind me. It’s a nice, bright space, daylight pouring in through the window overlooking the campus grounds but it feels all wrong.
I throw down my bag and march toward it, lowering the blinds first, and then yanking the heavy curtains shut, plunging the room into darkness.
