After a quick shower, I examined my bruises in the mirror, relieved that most of the swelling was gone. Now I just had a nice colorful remembrance of almost dying in a science lab explosion. The rest of the green and yellow bruises should be completely faded over the next few days. Unlike Laura’s. It was almost worth the punishment to know that she was heading for her plastic surgeon to get a nose job over the weekend.
Bitch.
When I couldn’t delay any longer, I threw on my clothes and headed downstairs with wet and stringy hair, no makeup, and a scowl that hopefully indicated I was in no mood to be fucked with.
The four guys were already seated around a table, which was clearly new, its surface smooth and shiny. A great contrast to the old timber boards under our feet. I’d had to put my slides back on as I was worried about splinters and tetanus.
“Evie babe!” Brodie crowed. “I missed you.”
“It’s been two hours,” I replied drolly. “But hey, funny how you disappeared right when all the cleaning happened.”
He slammed a hand against his muscled pec, a perfect look of heartbreak on his face. His acting skills were not in question at all, and I already felt myself softening, despite knowing it was all fake. “You wound me. Had I known you required my assistance, I would have been there without complaint. Your mess is my mess.”
I had to shake my head hard to clear the haze he created with his perfect existence. Pointing my finger at him, I said, “No! Stop whatever you’re doing. It won’t work.”
Before I thought it through, I jabbed my finger at each of them in turn. “All of you are in my fucking bad books, and I won’t be playing nice just because we’re roommates.”
While Brodie remained visibly heartbroken, Andrew stared at me impassively, and the big “janitor” was buried in his phone, not even bothering to acknowledge my existence. Connor was the only one who visibly reacted, his expression tightening.
Deciding I needed to stop calling him Janitor Boy, I turned and said, “Hi, sorry, I didn’t get your name the other night when you were vandalizing the school. I’m Eve.” I put my hand out to shake, pulling his attention away from his phone. “I’m assuming you’renotmaintenance staff?” Otherwise, he’d havesimply been fired, not made to move in with a bunch of college kids.
“This is Haze,” Brodie said, introducing the silent guy as I awkwardly withdrew my hand. “Um, what happened the other night?”
My eyes widened with recognition of his name. “Haze,” I repeated, mood souring. “You’re the one who exploded the science lab on Monday and nearly killed me.”
His unblinking stare was becoming unnerving. “I saidsorry.”
That was it. I blinked a couple of times, remembering his vaguesorryright before he’d disappeared into the darkness with pockets full of candy. Hardly an apology fitting of nearly killing someone, but that was just my opinion.
A chair screeched as Connor pushed it back, getting to his feet slowly, as if he really couldn’t be bothered with myfemale hysterics.“I have an NDA for you to sign and I won’t accept a refusal.”
I gaped at him, wondering if my ears had malfunctioned. “What did you fucking say?”
The smile that crossed his face was not nice. “You heard me, Cinderella. Before you get back to your fucking chores, you need to sign an NDA, so that nothing that goes on in this house is revealed to the world.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I shake my head. “Yeah, not happening.”
Before I could blink, there was a gun pointed at my head, and I had no idea where he’d pulled it from or how he moved so fast. “If you don't sign the NDA, I have no choice but to take you out.”
I opened my mouth, but my throat was too tight to even make a sound. We remained in a standoff as seconds ticked by, and with it, the pounding of my heart increased.Thump, thump, thump, thump.It slammed so brutally in my chest, that thecavity around it started to ache, like I was experiencing the early symptoms of a heart attack.
“Eve.”
Whoever called my name sounded as if they were miles away, and there was an echoing in my head that slammed as hard as my heartbeat. For a moment in time, as ragged breaths heaved in and out of me, all that existed were panic and memories.
The screams. That cold voice calling my name, getting closer and closer as he took out students, searching for me. A shooter that no one could find a motive for. The burning rip of pain as bullets pierced my flesh, and I felt my life fading on a cold ground, in the middle of my college. Alone.
I’d almost bled to death without a single person I cared about even knowing I was in trouble.
“What’s happening? She’s hyperventilating. Get her down on the floor before she passes out.”
Their voices briefly broke through as gentle hands touched me, and then all I could hear was screaming. A high-pitched wail that took me forever to realize was coming from me. “What the fuck did you do, Connor? I'm going to kill you!”
For the first time, there was a sliver of clarity through my panic. A slight relief from the pressure crushing my body. Maybe because he’d eased my last attack, or maybe it was that he’d gotten to me after the explosion making sure I was safe. Either way, as soon as I heard Ethan’s voice, I lurched desperately toward him.
His woodsy scent and expensive cologne filled my nose, and instinct controlled my actions as I dropped my head against his firm chest, desperately hoping I wouldn’t pass out or vomit on him.
“Breathe with me, sweetheart,” he whispered, his husky voice close to my ear. “In and out, regulate your breathing. No one will hurt you. I promise. I will destroy anyone who tries.”
