"What thehellwere you doing in my room?!" he yells, his tone sharp enough to cut through the noise.
The girl pressed against the wall flinches, her head ducked, her voice barely audible. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to—I just—I must've fallen asleep, I didn't know—"
"Sam?" I call out, moving closer.
Her face turns toward me—eyes wide, guilt written all over her expression.
She looks small, cornered.
"And you expect me to believe that shit?!" Elijah bellows, his voice shaking with anger.
"Whoa, hey—what's going on?" I cut in, trying to keep my tone steady even though my pulse is spiking.
Every instinct in me is screaming to drag him away from her, but I force myself to stay calm. I need to know what the hell happened before I lose it.
Elijah's voice is tight, seething. "Your sister came into my room—when she knows damn well she's not supposed to. I've told her that from the very beginning."
I glance between the two of them—Elijah, jaw clenched, eyes blazing, and Sam, pale and small against the wall, her shoulders drawn in.
The whole scene feels off, wrong.
"Angel," I say slowly, "just tell me what happened. Is that true?"
"Of course it's true!" he snaps, his voice rising.
I throw him a sharp glare. "Man, can you please let her talk?" My patience is thinning fast.
Elijah exhales hard, dragging a hand through his hair. He takes a few steps back, jaw tight, still visibly worked up.
Sam, meanwhile, doesn't move. Her head's still down, eyes fixed on the floor.
When she finally speaks, her voice is small, trembling. "I—I wasn't feeling good earlier," she starts, stuttering. "My head was spinning, so I came upstairs to lie down for a bit... every room was occupied except Eli's."
She glances up at Elijah briefly, her face red with shame before looking back down.
"You could've gone to your brother's!" Elijah cuts in sharply.
"I... I know," she says quickly, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. There's a sheen of sweat there, and I notice how her fingers tremble. "But he was with Care, and I didn't want to bother them. I just needed to rest for a few minutes until I felt better."
She swallows hard, her voice shaking. "I didn't even realize I fell asleep."
Elijah scoffs, a harsh sound that makes Sam flinch. "Bullshit," he snaps.
"If you were sick, you could've gone back to your dorm and slept there. Don't feed me that crap. You went in there because you saw me earlier with someone else and couldn't stand it, right? You just had to ruin another night for me again."
Sam shakes her head fast, eyes wide. "No—no, Eli, that's not what happened," she says, reaching out toward him, her hand trembling as she tries to touch his arm.
Elijah jerks back instantly, swatting her hand away like the thought of her touching him sets him off even more.
"Don't," he snaps.
Sam flinches, her hand dropping to her side.
Her voice cracks as she tries again, desperate. "Please, believe me. I know I've done a lot of things you didn't like—crossed lines I shouldn't have—but I swear this isn't one of them."
Her voice breaks as she forces the words out. "You told me never to go inside your room, and I took that seriously. I really did. I never broke that rule. Not once." She swallows hard, tears welling in her eyes. "Until tonight."
Caroline moves instantly, stepping forward to Sam's side. She wraps an arm around her shoulders, murmuring something soft, trying to comfort her.
