“I want to be stuck with you, too.”
We clasp our hands together again and make our way to the dorms. The second I walk through the door, I see the envelope on the floor, and I freeze, all the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
“That wasn’t there when we left this morning,” Ash says.
“No. It wasn’t.” I bend over to pick it up, hands shaking slightly when I open the envelope.
Zuri,
Women like you are all the same. You hate men. You make hating us your whole identity. Stop your stupid rallies and blaming us because women can’t keep their legs closed. You don’t want to know what will happen if I have to tell you again.
SLUT!!!!!!!
My skin goes cold, prickles of nerves racing up my skin. I’ve seen stuff like this on TV, of course, read about it in books, and have even heard of it happening in real life, but those things are abstract—things that happen to other people and not to me.
“Close the door.” I push it hard, realizing it’s open and suddenly feeling very on display, like someone could be watching me, like my safe place has been compromised. “Who the hell is this motherfucker?” I say, pacing the room. “I’m not going to stop. I don’t care what they do, but…” But someone has it out for me. Are they watching me? They’ve been to my door. What if they’ve been inside? “I…”
“Hey. Shh. It’s okay. I’m here. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.” Aislin hugs me, one of her hands running up and down my back as I let myself lean into her, trust her, in this way I could only do with her.
I hate that a few tears fall. I don’t want to give this piece of shit that power over me, but this is very real and very scary and, sadly, not surprising in this world. “We should call the police,” I finally say, which isn’t something I’m excited about doing.
“No,” Ash says, and I stiffen. She pulls back to look at me. “I mean, we can if you want, but my family doesn’t do real well with the authorities…and honestly, I trust Tiernan, Dean, Cillian, Rory, and Shai to take care of this more than I trust them.”
Take care of…what does taking care of a situation like this mean for Ash and her family? And do I care?
I’m not sure yet. But I do know I trust her, and she trusts them—and there’s nothing they won’t do for Ash—so I know they’ll care about keeping me safe in the way cops won’t, if only because they know how Ash feels about me.
And fuck this guy, whoever he is. He’s clearly a piece of shit, and if he’s willing to do this to me, what else would he do to a woman? What has he already done?
“Yeah,” I answer. “Okay.”
“Thank you for trusting us.” Aislin pulls out her phone and makes a call. Whoever it is answers immediately. “T, I need you,” she says. He must say something because a moment later, she says, “Zuri’s dorm.” Then ends the call…that quick. That’s all she had to say. She didn’t even have to give him any information.
“Wait. Don’t you need to tell him which building and room I’m in?” I ask.
“No.” She shakes her head. “We have each other’s location on our phones, and even if we didn’t, they would have looked into you, Zuri. I’m sorry I didn’t mention that earlier. It’s what we have to do to stay safe.”
What they do to stay safe. It’s another reminder about how different their world is from mine, but if I’m with Ash—and I will be; I want to be—this will now be my world, too. “Okay,” I say, unsure of what is even normal in a situation like this. What doesone say when they learn their girlfriend’s family did a deep dive into who they are? “That’s a lot.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” she says again.
“You just always need to be honest with me from now on. I want to know everything possible when it’s not about me and everything if it is. That’s the only way this works, baby.”
She nods. “I promise.”
It feels like no time at all passes before there’s a knock at the door. Ash and I step away from it, and I let her open it. Tiernan is the first one inside, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit he scares me the most. He’s just so stoic most of the time—cocky and arrogant, but closed off and more serious than the others. Dean is right behind him, followed by Cillian and Rory.
“What happened?” Tiernan asks the second Rory closes the door behind them. Dean crosses his arms. He’s wearing one of his standard hoodies. Rory is bouncing around, Cillian looks serious and concerned, and I don’t know whether to laugh at this whole scene out of a movie, be scared, or appreciate these four men being here for me.
“Can I tell him?” Ash asks, which I appreciate.
“Go for it,” I tell her.
She gives them the rundown of the flyers, the messages, and the note under the door. Tiernan takes it from her, the four of them huddling close to read it.
“Sounds like a disgusting, loser, incel, red-pill motherfucker,” Cillian says.
“When we find him, can I kill him? I really want to kill him for messing with our Ash and Zuri,” Rory says, bouncing on his toes. “I like Z. We became best friends today.”
