“ In my opinion what you can't stand is abstinence. Tell me, how long has it been since you had sex with someone?"
"It's none of your business," I stammered uneasily, wondering how much Easton thought I was an expert in that field. If he had known the truth, he would have made fun of me endlessly. And the next time he kissed me, he would have understood that it was enough to continue beyond my initial hesitations, to take me to bed and make me live one of those experiences that I had dreamed of for years, since my high school classmate confessed to me that she was no longer a virgin.
"Whenever you want, my door is always open."
"I'd rather be locked up in a cloistered convent."
"You wouldn't last a month," he said, but I pretended not to listen to him and went to my room.
I urgently needed to be alone. I could no longer control the disturbance that Easton was unleashing.
Alice, calm down, tomorrow you leave for college and this will all be over!
6
ALICE
Finally, it was the time of our departure!
I was in seventh heaven. I hadn't slept all night because of anxiety.
I had checked my suitcase to exhaustion, the list of what I would need in college ... everything, in short.
And without being disturbed even once by Easton who had gone to have fun with his friends.
The next morning, I was happy and excited, until I found myself involved in the dispute between Easton and his father.
“ I'm not going by car with you! I can very well go to college with my own,” my furious stepbrother kept repeating.
“ It's a matter of good manners now that we are a family. It seems to me we should all go to the college together in my SUV and say goodbye to my brother who has already been kind enough to accept Alice, even if the request was made after the registration deadline,” Mitchell tried to explain to him.
"I don’t care! I'm not going to look like an idiot who goes to college with his father and sister in tow."
“ Easton is right. You don't need to," I added, but no one listened to me.
“ We will do as I say, or I will take measures. I remind you that your admission to college was accepted only because you are the nephew of the rector, since your grades in high school were bad, although you have great skills, according to your former teachers."
The fight escalated even further and nobody, neither I nor my mother, managed to act as a peacemaker.
Eventually Easton was forced to come with us, sitting in the back seat with me.
Throughout the trip I tried to distract him by talking to him about the courses I had chosen, but he only said to me that he would study economics and that we had only the American politics course in common.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered in his ear when I realized I couldn't get rid of his bad mood. I felt guilty. If it weren't for me, nothing would have happened.
"You have nothing to do with it," he reassured me, though his tone remained cold and detached.
It hurt me to see him like this and that I was unable to make him feel better, as he had done with me when I started to cry.
Distraught and worried, I turned away and stood with my eyes glued to the window, not saying a word until the end of the journey.
Even when we arrived, I was unable to enjoy the moment, since Easton went back to arguing with his father because he wanted to go immediately to see his friends and to the dormitory where they had assigned him a room, instead of staying there with us to wait for his uncle, Donald Carson, who came to welcome us personally.
I managed to breathe a sigh of relief only when my mother left with Mitchell, after making the latest recommendations and asking me to write them every now and then.
Together with Easton I went to the Sherman Dormitory and my room, 7A, three rooms away from his, 10A, which he found himself sharing with Logan.
I greeted him shyly and he just nodded at me.
From that moment on, my feud with Easton was over.
With trepidation, I arrived at the room that had been assigned to me which I would share with a Japanese student, Kira Yoshida, from Princeton, Kentucky.
I opened the door and an embarrassing scenario appeared before me.
On the bed on the right was who I supposed was Kira, lying down with a boy kissing her and trying to undress her.
"Lucas, no! You can see someone is here,” she giggled with a crystalline laugh.
"I like the risk," he provoked, lifting her skirt.
Before he could go any further, I cleared my throat, coughing.
Two pairs of eyes instantly stared at me and a scream ripped through the room.
“ Oh God, how embarrassing! You must be Alice Preston, don't you?” asked the girl, approaching and adjusting her skirt.
I nodded as I let my gaze run over that girl with oriental features, long and silky black hair, but with eyes of an intense green. She was as tall as me and this made me feel comfortable, but as far as beauty was concerned there was no comparison. She was beautiful and transmitted purity, delicacy, and sweetness. If Easton had seen her, he would surely have put her through hell just to take her to bed.
Then I looked at what her boyfriend was supposed to be.
My breath caught.
If she was ethereal and candid, he instead emanated a violent, aggressive, brutal, and suffering aura, as if a demon lived within him, to start a war against the whole world.
He also had a scar on his left eyebrow.
His closeness scared me and his hazel eyes, slightly hidden by brown hair, looked at me as if trying to evaluate whether I was a threat or who knows what.
“ I'm Kira Yoshida and this is Lucas Scott, my boyfriend. I apologize for what you just saw. I assure you that it will never happen again,” Kira introduced herself with a shy and embarrassed smile.
How does such a beautiful and sweet girl end up with someone like this?
"How long have you been together?" I asked, unable to restrain myself.
"I like to think that we've been together since we were nine years old," she replied with a broad smile full of happiness, hugging her boyfriend who in turn smiled at her. It was a faint smile, but his gaze was so full of love when it landed on her it made me want to be looked at that way too.
"Wow!" I exclaimed in surprise.
My life is fantastic!
My dream of going to college had become reality and nothing I had imagined could describe how wonderful it was as an experience.
There was nothing I could criticize or despise.
The classes were interesting and the teachers all very kind and helpful.
Kira was the best roommate I could wish for. She was very sweet, very nice, intelligent, a true genius in reality. She knew everything and was always ready to help me when I was in trouble. She also taught me her highly effective study method, very similar to the one used by Lucas, her boyfriend, who had problems with dyslexia but still managed to achieve great grades.
If at first, I thought Lucas was a violent and aggressive person, I eventually found out that I was wrong.
The only time I was afraid that I would see a fight was when a boy knocked on the door asking for Kira and started to flirt, even though Lucas was also with us.
Only Kira's intervention had managed to calm her boyfriend and bring him back to himself before it could degenerate.
Otherwise, Lucas was as fantastic as Kira! He was always extremely sweet and caring with her. He loved her so much and, since I was his girlfriend's new friend, he made me understand that if I had any problems, he would help me.
I knew that protection was due to Kira and I was grateful to her.
As for my bedroom, it was small, always clean, tidy, welcoming and Kira had the same taste in furniture. We had filled the room with rose-gold-colored objects, plush carpets, white blankets, and pillows that harmonized perfectly with the light beech-colored cabinets which we had covered with mirrors. The only flaw was that we didn't have a private bath
room. We had to share that with the other sixteen students on the floor, but luckily it was always clean.
When I wanted to be alone, I was lucky because Kira often slept with Lucas and I could enjoy the solitude after an evening spent studying or chatting with other students in the lounge.
As if all that wasn't enough, the cafeteria in my dorm also had a menu reserved for vegetarians and vegans. Everything was always delicious, especially the yogurt cake with strawberry compote. It was my drug and every day I took a slice of it, even if I could never finish eating it.
There was only one mole in my university life: Easton.
"Give me my cake back!" I was furious when I saw Easton pull the plate out from under my nose, just as I was enjoying that heavenly cake.
"No," he replied simply, placing a large portion of it in his mouth with his hands.
“ I haven't seen you for days, but then you come back just to steal my cake. Can you tell me what your problem is?"
“ Nothing, I'm just hungry. Or rather you. Every time I catch you eating this cake, you seem to be having an orgasm."
“ What an exaggeration! However, even if it were, it's none of your business."
"You need sex. A lot of sex. I would offer myself, but I have too much respect for my body to sleep with you. I'm not that masochistic."
"Don’t worry. I have no intention of having sex with you. I prefer my slice of cake. "
“ You are strange, Alice. Do you happen to have a sexual disorder that I am not aware of?"
"No, but you will soon have one if you don't stop bingeing," I threatened him. But he replied with an amused smile, as he put the last piece of cake in his mouth.
“ I'll wait for you in class. This time I’ll make room for you in American politics, so I can copy your notes,” he said, getting up and leaving before I could throw something at him.
Easton was proof that perfection was not part of my life. Everything that happens must have a negative aspect and he was mine.
When I got to class, I made room between two students and so avoided my dear half-brother.
I didn't even turn to see where he was.
I pretended nothing was happening and waited for the end of the lesson.
That was the only thing I could do to get that profiteer off me.
7
ALICE
When I went back to the bedroom, I found Kira in bed with Lucas while they studied. She was sitting in front of him, between his legs and with her back resting on his chest.
They always gave me such a feeling of tenderness but that day I was too angry to let myself be carried away by all that romance.
"Easton stole your cake again," Kira, my most trusted confidant, immediately understood.
"Yep. I can’t stand it anymore. He does it on purpose!"
"Did you try to explain to him that it bothers you?" Kira asked, sorry.
"Yes, many times, but he enjoys it even more when he sees me angry."
"And try to punch him?" Lucas tried, nudging Kira in the side.
“ I'm not that strong, unfortunately. Maybe I should quit yoga and try boxing. "
"Excellent idea!" exclaimed Lucas, taking another elbow.
"Violence is never the answer," Kira tried to make us think.
"Not even with poisoning? Alice could put cyanide on the piece of cake before he steals it."
"Lucas, you gave me a crazy idea!" Kira was thrilled, opening her drawer where she kept the first aid kit and an incredible supply of medicines of all kinds that her mother had given her when she left for the college.
To my surprise, Kira pulled out a bottle of laxative.
"Seriously?" I murmured hesitantly.
"Two tablespoons of that and Easton won't bother you for a month," chuckled Lucas, who was already imagining Easton struggling with powerful diarrhea.
I was not very convinced, and it surprised me that sweet Kira offered me something so dangerous to the health of others.
"Of course," Kira said, glancing at her boyfriend. "This medicine should not be administered."
"So, what should I do with it?" I asked, even more confused.
"You just have to make him believe it."
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“ Alice, don't listen to her. Two tablespoons and you'll get Easton off your case forever,” Lucas countered.
"Absolutely not," Kira said, now angry.
"Yes, she can," Lucas stubbornly said.
"Let's do it. I'll take it with me and think about it, okay?" I intervened, determined to make them stop fighting.
I had been carrying that laxative for two days.
Two days that I was always one step away from opening the bottle and taking a few drops, but then never had the courage, except after the arrival of Easton who always stole my cake.
On the third day, I was about to give in to my cruel revenge, but Easton anticipated me by a few seconds.
"Please don't eat it!" I asked him for the umpteenth time.
"Please shut up!" He replied amused.
"Aren't you afraid of becoming diabetic with all those sugars?"
"No."
"Well, don't complain if you get sick."
"There is no danger."
"You say that because ..." I tried to frighten him, but he finished the dessert and left as quickly as he had arrived.
I finished eating and took my things to go to my next class when I saw Easton chatting amiably with his friends.
With my hand clasped against the laxative bottle hidden in the bag, I went over to him.
***
EASTON
"Danger at six," hissed Ryo softly, interrupting Ant who wanted to convince us to go camping with him and his father.
Before I could turn around, I felt two slender arms holding me from behind.
"Good morning, boys," exclaimed Alice's voice, squeezing me even more in her embrace and placing her cheek against mine.
That display of affection set all my radars alert.
She hated me and I had just stolen her dessert, like I did every day just to spite her.
"What do you want?" I asked irritably and nervously, but she decided to ignore me.
"What are you talking about?" she said.
"Nothing special. It's just that I promised my father to accompany him on a camping trip and I was also asking them to come. I'd invite you but ...” Ant explained to me uneasily.
“ I don't like camping, but I'm sure my dear stepbrother will be looking forward to returning to his natural habitat, among the trees, in the middle of nowhere ... However, I only recommend choosing an area that is well-equipped with public services. "
“ On a campsite won’t be necessary to have a bathroom nearby. You can do it wherever you want,” Ryo explained, amused by Alice's ignorance.
“ I know, but not when it comes to what comes out of Easton's body. You don't want to scare the forest animals, do you? "
Here the young lady starts with her series C teasing.
"Especially after eating my cake ..." she went on, taking a bottle from her bag. "That I put this on," she said, pointing to what I recognized as a laxative. “I seem to have read on the leaflet that the effectiveness is 99% guaranteed and that the effects could persist for days, just long enough to empty the entire intestine. Stick to the toilet stuff that lasts for an awfully long time. "
The news made me implode but I was impassive, unlike my friends who were in shock.
I had to grip hands together to keep myself from carrying them to my stomach, as if with that gesture I could actually control a change in my bowel movements.
None of my friends dared to say a single word and I felt one step away from exploding with anger and venting it on that cursed witch.
“ Oh well, I warned you! Happy camping, guys! Easton, careful not to get lost while you are looking for a place to evacuate," she said, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
As soon as her arms left my neck, I turned to grab her, but Alice was already f
ar away. My dear stepsister understood that she had done it big and started running to escape from my anger.
With a leap, I ran after her.
I knew I was going to make it. I had already done it once and now I would have made her pay dearly.
Unfortunately, however, a professor got in the way and she immediately attached herself to him with a question about the course she was following.
I wanted to tear her to pieces, but I couldn't risk getting expelled.
When I saw Alice leave with the teacher, I sent her a murderous look, but she replied with an amused wink. On her face I could read all the satisfaction and pleasure she felt in having put me in difficulty. It was as if she were saying to me: "And now let's see if you still have the courage to steal my cake!"
Alice had won. I had to admit it.
And now let's look for a bathroom before that laxative takes effect.
***
ALICE
Easton was gone.
My nightmare was over, and I could finally go back to enjoying college and my piece of cake.
One afternoon, after class, I went back to my room to change and then went to do yoga.
With my magnetic card, I entered the room but what appeared before me made me scream: there was Easton, sprawled on my bed with my tablet in his hand.
"What the hell are you doing here? Who let you in?” I said in shock. I knew it wasn't Kira because she knew how much I hated Easton and would immediately notify me if she left Easton alone in our room.
“ Cute, this place. Did you decorate it? "
"Yes, with my roommate. Answer the question."
"I had your card cloned," he said, showing me a duplicate of my card.
"That's illegal."
"I know."
"I could report you."
"Do it," he provoked me with his usual arrogance.
Broken Rules (Love Storm series Book 2) Page 5