There are plenty of women he can choose from to take care of that problem for him. Why the fuck would he chooseme? And why the fuck did I let him?
Especially after terrorizing me with those girls and forcing me to lie in a grave while they threw dirt on me.
God, I can't even say I hate him. Now, I just hatemyself.
I didn’t even know he returned from his trip until I saw him storming up to Luke and me, looking every bit the psychopath he is.
I wasn’t prepared to see him, and when he started acting like he had some weird-ass claim over me, I wanted to prove to him he doesn’t get to control me.
Yeah, that ended really fucking swell, didn't it?
Idiot.
All my regret has fused to my skin like a skin tag. I’ve tried over and over to justify it, but they all fall flat. Thereisno justification for letting the beast maul me—or for humping him like a sex-deprived succubus.
My stomach flips from that particular memory, and I quickly shove it away before the heat returns to my blood. I donotneed that man having any more of a hold on me than he already does. It’s bad enough that he pushed me into a pool and somehow made me forget about my terror within minutes.
How dare he invalidate years of trauma with a single kiss?
I should’ve just bitten his tongue off while I had the chance.
A complete missed opportunity for real vengeance.
Sable: Pretty sure your tongue flirted with him plenty, whore.
Bitch.
I’m so kicking her in the vagina when I see her at work tonight.
Just as I start typing out a message to let her know exactly that, a sudden silence descends over the room. It’s stark enough to lure myattention away from my phone and to the source standing at the door.
I immediately look away, trying to decide if the universe is working against me, because how the fuck did my worst nightmare materialize just like that?
Dread casually saunters into the room, and just that easily, he suctions all the oxygen out of it.
“Mr. Sharpe?” Dr. Camry questions, his thick black brows furrowing in confusion.
Of course, the professor knows Dread—everyone does—despite having no business being in this class.
“Sorry to interrupt, Doctor. I came across your article inTheNew York Times, the one diving into the psyche of serial killers, and I found it so enlightening. I’ve been wanting to listen to a lecture of yours since. Hope you don’t mind.”
Dr. Camry’s eyes light up from the compliment, and my heart picks up speed, as if it's desperately searching for a way to get us out of here.
“Of course. Take a seat anywhere you’d like.”
In a room of over two hundred students, Dread’s stare scans the sea of bodies for all of ten seconds before they find mine. It instantly makes me sick, having his attention on me.
The energy between us is poignant, and naturally, several pairs of eyes follow the trajectory of his gaze, landing on me before flickering back to him.
I force my focus back to my laptop screen, despising that he grew up to be a goddamn prodigy. If it were anyone else, Dr. Camry might not have appreciated him crashing his lecture midway through. But Dread? He’sspecial.He can get away with anything.
Each time he proves rules don’t apply to him here, the more I feel like I’ve found myself in the center of a maze built purely for Dread’s entertainment. No matter where I run and where I find an escape, the exit will always lead straight back to him.
Whispers rise, students murmuring to one another as he makes his way toward me. There isn’t a single chair open surrounding me, but I already know that won’t matter.
I close my eyes when Dread stops next to my row and spears the guy sitting to my left with his ice-blue stare. I think his name is Stanley, and while we’ve been sitting next to one another since the semester began, we’ve never spoken more than a handful of words. My reputationprecedes me no matter where I go, and he’s yet another person who avoids me at all costs.
Dread says nothing, and after a few awkward beats of Stanley shifting uncomfortably, glancing around and searching for some type of direction, he relents. Quickly, he gathers his laptop and stands with a sigh.
