Idon’t want to turn my back on him. What if he follows me? I can’t have him finding out which dorm is mine—
“Melody!” Kodi shouts from behind me.
I jump, turning to face her as she pokes her head out of the stairwell leading to our dorm. “What are you doing?”
I blink, my mouth moving until I can find the words. “There’s a man…” as I turn back to point out the stranger, he’s gone.
A late-night storm rages outside my dorm window, the wind howling viciously as a tree branch scrapes across the glass. I groan, rolling over as I tuck the covers tightly around me. Kodi’s light snores rattle across the room, and I’m sure she’s sleeping in some odd position like she always does. She’s worse than a heavy sleeper. The girl is practically dead to the world until the sun rises.
I sigh as I wiggle further into my blanket cocoon, comfort embracing me like a warm hug, and lightning strikes, illuminating our room with blue-white light. An unnatural shadow stretches across my wall, making my eyes pop open as I toss the covers aside and shoot up in bed. My pulse pounds in a quick flutter, making my skin buzz with adrenaline. There’s nothing in the darkness of my room.
I place a hand over my chest, a tired, shaky chuckle leaving me. “I’m losing it. I have to stop having caffeine and sugar before bed.”
I slide down from my high-rise bunk, slipping into my plush slippers. My nightie grazes the tops of my thighs as I shuffle quietly to the door that leads to our suite. It’s connected with our rooms, and there’s a small kitchen space and a quaint living room that barely fits more than four people at a time. It’s become my home over the last month, and seeing the little touches Kodi and I have added to it only makes me smile.
Our white sofa is a cheap one we bought online. It’s a little worn with a few poorly patched spots, but after a thorough deep cleaning and some TLC, we decorated it with plush throw blankets and added a matching antique coffee table that Kodi found in town. Our TV stands on a shelf that we transformed into an entertainment center, decorated with our sentimental photos and adorned with fairy lights.
I move into the kitchen, my eyelids heavy as I fix myself some water. The glass is cool against my hands, and I gulp it down until I almost give myself a brain freeze. As I set the cup down by the sink, a photo on the shelf catches my eye.
It’s the one Mom took of Kaden and me years ago, our clothes muddy and my eyes still red from crying at our nanny’s fussing.
He’s holding me closely, the smile he only wears around me, gentle and warm. It’s moments like these when I miss him so deeply that it makes my chest pang.
But I shouldn’t. I can’t cling to him, no matter how badly I want to. This forbidden thing between us could ruin our family, and our parents have suffered enough.
It doesn’t make it hurt any less, and every day without him is like a piece of me is missing. They say time heals all wounds, but I think I’m only making mine worse, picking at those tattered shambles like a vulture.
Chapter twenty
Melody
Someoneisfollowingme.
I sound crazy, but I canfeelthem. During every lecture, when I’m alone in the library, and when I wander around campus. There’s an unmistakable presence that lingers nearby like a phantom—haunting me.
I’m sure I look paranoid. Constantly glancing over my shoulder and zoning out while my friends are talking to me because I can sense eyes on the back of my head. I’m rattled and don’t know how to tell anyone without appearing to be the horrible cliche of a paranoid woman who thinks she has a stalker. I’ve remained silent, letting everything play out, because I don’t know what to do.
They haven’t hurt me. I can’t make a police report on anything but a creeping suspicion. I’mstuck.
I sigh, rubbing a hand over my face as I reluctantly pull my textbook from my bag. I’m seated in the library, trying to continue on with my life as if there isn’t someone watching me at all hours of the day. It’s hard to keep up the bravado, but I think I’ve done a pretty good job.
I bought a taser. Something I never thought I would have to do, but I refuse to be prey. If this fucker wants something from me, he’s going to have to suffer being pepper-sprayed and then tased in the ballsack to get to me.
Another student shuffles by, his arms loaded down with books as he takes the seat three down from me. He slaps open his advanced chemistry book before producing a whole pack of gum and chewing through three pieces with loud smacks and pops. Every bubble makes my eyes squint as I try to tell myself that he probably does it to help him study.
Still.
It’s so god-awful and annoying. I eventually give up, leaving my belongings behind as I wander through a few aisles in search of books on ecological explorations. One of my classmates has been raving about a researcher who’s spent his whole life traveling to document every plant he comes across. It’s become a buzz in my department, and I only hope they have a copy left as I trail a finger down the alphabetical order.
Row after row blurs by, and I end up further in the corner of the library where the laughably small botany section is. It’s barely a shelf full, and I grumble under my breath as I scan the author names. As I bend forward to pull a book from the shelf, my spine shivers.
I stop, staring at the brightly colored spines as alertness plagues me. There’s someone watching me right now. I swallow, blinking as my heart starts a quiet, frantic rhythm. I slide the book back into place, glancing down the aisle to see if there’s anyone nearby.
I’m alone.
Fuck.
My back straightens as scenarios flick through my mind.
