“Come with me,” a voice said in my ear.
I twisted my neck back to catch a glimpse of short black hair rolling over my shoulder. My gaze darted over to my old table to see Tyler and Jake staring in Bria and I’s direction. She had weeks to come and talk to me, why now? “Miss me?”
“Hardly.”
My ass stayed put and my eyes locked on Ollie’s who fixed his attention on me from across the room. The slight shake of his head was subtle, but I caught it. A fire set ablaze in his two emerald gems beneath his hood, warning me. “Are you ready to put this nonsense behind us?” I asked.
Bria snorted. “Stand up, and let’s go.”
Rolling my head back, I stood. Bria linked her hand in mine, and I looked back to Ollie. His lips set in a hard line, jaw flexing, and hands ready to push off the edge of the table to stand. “What is this about?” I asked low, not wanting to draw attention. Security detail had gone rogue, and Tyler rose from my old table the same time as Jude stood from another, both following us out while Bria ignored me.
Side by side, Bria led me down Jude’s wing and through his door. Once we were both inside, she released my hand and plopped down over his mattress.
“What are we doing here?” I was losing patience. Tyler and Jude walk through the door, and Tyler’s eyes refused to meet mine as she took a seat on the mattress. Standing tall and on a mission, Jude stepped toward me until my back hit the wall. “Get away from me,” I gritted out.
Jude smiled and dropped his hands on both sides of me. I pushed against his chest, but he didn’t budge. He leaned one forearm over the wall, and his face came an inch from mine while his other hand fished for something from his pocket. “You know what snitches get ya, don’t you?”
Pale blue eyes bounced between mine. My heart leaped, but I didn’t dare show an ounce of fear on the outside. Jude dropped his mouth to my ear, and he inhaled a deep, sickening breath. My muscles went stiff as he dragged an object along the sliver of bare skin of my abdomen. “Now say you’re sorry to your friends.”
“Fuck you,” I spat, yanking my head to the side. Tyler and Bria watched us from the mattress in anticipation. Is this why they brought me here? For a fucking apology?
A smirk stretched across his face when he placed a cigarette behind his ear. His fingers wrapped around my chin, forcing my eyes on his. “C’mon, Mia. It’s not that difficult.”
“I didn’t do shit.” I pushed him off me, and he took a step back and held his arms out in the air. My chest heaved as I dragged my gaze between all three of them.
Then they all burst out laughing.
“You should have seen your face!” Bria struggled to get out through her fit and shoved Tyler in the back. “Ah, that was totally worth it, yeah?”
“You suck,”—I pointed at her— “I’m leaving.” I turned to walk back toward the door, and Jude jumped out in front of me.
“Aye, not so fast.” He tilted his head and dropped his chin to face me. “You still owe your girls over there, and I’m kind enough to give you two options.”
“Yeah? And what’s that?”
Jude’s smile reached his eyes when he turned his focus over my shoulder to Bria and Tyler. “Become one of mine, or don’t.”
“One of yours?”
“You see, Tyler and Bria came to an understanding. I can protect you, too, Mia. And from the looks of it, you need some protecting.”
“I don’t need anything from you.”
“Because of Ollie, right? If you haven’t noticed, Ollie can’t even protect himself.”
Bria, I could understand agreeing to something like this, but Tyler? She wasn’t the type. I looked her over, and she still couldn’t look at me directly. “Is this what you want, Ty?”
Her head snapped to Jude before turning back to face me. “I have two years here.”
Shaking my head, I faced Jude again, scanning him over. “What happens if I don’t?”
“Easy,” he smirked. “Bria and Ty are off-limits. But I promise it won’t be long before you come running back to me with your fucking tail between your legs.” He gripped my hip and shifted his pelvis across my abdomen as his tongue slid along his bottom lip. “And trust me when I say, I take care of my girls.”
I forced my body from flinching. Jude wanted to see me squirm, and I refuse to grant him that small victory. “I can take care of myself.” With that, I freed myself from his grasp and left, wondering if Tyler knew exactly what she had gotten herself into. You’d see these kinds of things in a prison, not here at Dolor, and I wondered how the rest of the students were going to take to it. Sure, relationships were forbidden, but this was something straight out of Prison Break.
The cold towel was like ice against my hot skin, and I wanted it to touch every inch of me. It started at my hairline, and over my face until the towel pressed against my lips. Cries echoed, and I couldn’t tell what was real anymore. The chill swept along my neck and my shoulders, and I shivered but wanted to dive into it and drown myself in the cold.
My brain protested, half of me held hostage in the nightmare, and the other half of me stuck in the darkness behind my stubborn eyelids. The cries somehow stopped, and I couldn’t fully gain consciousness, as if my soul left my body and watched me from above. My limbs were heavy and too tired to move. Trapped.
