“I love you. Study hard!” she shouts as I stand up and start to walk away, making me grin.
An unkindness of ravens perch at the edge of a large tree branch, beady eyes burning holes into me as they observe. I fight the urge to meet their stares, but it’s a losing battle when they croak in unison, a shiver slipping up my spine. Forced to look up, their striking, inky eyes meet my own, and for a moment, I feel locked to the spot, an ominous feeling consuming me, dread seeping into my bones.
This is what I wanted to avoid. It’s bad enough that I feel like a marionette, my father the controller of my strings. I don’t need the school interfering in my life, too.
Chapter 4
Parker
As soon as Monday rolls around, I can’t stand another minute away from her. After watching her Friday night in the garden, I’m practically feral. Like an animal that’s been caged and kept from food, I’m desperate for her.
I should head to my class, but I’ve got no interest in focusing on literature when Mia is in a botany class, away from me. Saying I miss her is a drastic understatement. She consumes me, my thoughts, my decisions, my actions. Everything I do is for her. I’ve been in love with this woman since the first moment I laid eyes on her, and I’ll love her until my very last breath. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for Mia. Which is why I stand by and wait for her to come back to me, time after time after time. Knowing that while we’re apart, she’s with someone else.
Mia and I started dating our freshman year here at Corvus, and we were inseparable. Until Leo came along last year. At first, they were just friends, but I saw the way she lookedat him, and I knew she wanted more. When she broke up with me to see him, I was devastated, my world crashing down all around me. But a month later, she came back. Slipped into my dorm room in the middle of the night and fucked my brains out, promised me she’d never leave me, and that we belonged together. Until she did it again, running back to Leo. At least I was prepared, knowing she’d find her way back to me, and accepting her heart was torn between both of us.
I could never be mad at her. We can’t help who we love, and sometimes that just ends up being more than one person. The heart was created to beat, to feel, to love. I’m of the belief that we could have multiple true loves throughout a lifetime, if only we’re open to finding them. Mia just happened to find two at the same time. I can’t fault her. But I fuckingmissher.
Which is why, instead of giving her space, since she’s with Leo right now, I’m going to her, done waiting.
I pull myself together, putting on a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and a jacket, styling my blond hair just the way I like it. Then I’m leaving my bedroom and heading into the main living area. Asher is sitting at our bar eating a bowl of cereal, his black hair drooping over his forehead and into his eyes. He looks over at me, milk dribbling from his lip as his eyebrows pinch inward.
“Dude, it’s only October, why do you look like you’re ready for a Nor’easter?”
I look down at my outfit and shrug.
“It’s fucking cold, that’s why.”
“You’ve lived here for years now, you ever going to get used to New England weather?”
“I was raised in Hawaii, what do you think? Temp drops to sixties, and I’m putting on a hoodie, for fuck’s sake. It’s like forty-four outside right now. Cold is cold.”
“Alright, buddy.”
“Everything going okay with you? You seem a little tense. Well, more tense than usual.”
“Uh, yeah. I’m good. Nothing to worry about. Just that the change into Professor Thorne’s Fear and Ink course wasn’t really on my bucket list to have to deal with. Then again, probably wasn’t on Professor Mortwood’s bucket list to die, so here we are.”
“Yeah, welcome to the club. I’ve had him twice now.”
Asher and I are both Gothic literature majors, and Professor Thorne is notorious for being the strictest, most mysterious teacher on staff here. All of the professors at Corvus have a Gothic, brooding, sinister vibe to them. But none more than him. There are just as many rumors floating around about Professor Thorne as there are about Corvus College itself. My favorite is that he’s as old as the school is and drinks the blood of students to keep himself alive. Whatever you believe, there’s always a flickering candle that sits in his office window, and it never goes out. Just one of the mysteries of Corvus. Asher is convinced the grounds are haunted, but I don’t believe in that shit. I’ll leave the make-believe to my books.
“I’m heading out, we’ll meet up later?” I ask him as I shove my feet into my shoes.
“You don’t have class yet. Where are you going?”
“Where were you last night?” I snap back.
“Touché. I was out.”
“Then I’m going out, too.”
Asher rolls his eyes and digs back into his cereal. “Fine.”
“Fine,” I echo with a smile.
The walk from Crimson Keep to Thorne Hall doesn’t take long, and the anticipation of getting eyes on my girl has me rushing across campus. Rich leather and sage fill my senses as I enter the building, students hustling through the stone hallways, our footsteps echoing off the old walls. I keep my head down, easily slipping into the lecture hall and finding a lone spot off in the corner to wait. I just need to get my eyes on her, just need to see her before I can relax.
I’m quick to pick her out of the crowd, her long hair hanging loose, her bag slung over her shoulder. She’s wearing a black skirt, a deep red sweater, and knee-high boots. She’s a fucking knockout. She’s also incredibly smart, and funny, and too damn good for the likes of me.
