Haydn squirms uncomfortably. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“Try me.” My voice has a hard gravelly quality to it that’s unusual for me.
“Look,” he says, exhaling loudly. “I’d like to hang out with you both.”
Diversion technique if ever I’ve heard one. I clench my jaw. “Honestly, Haydn? You seem like a decent guy, but anyone that hangs around with him”—I gesture up the way toward Logan—“and condones his behavior doesn’t earn the right to my friendship. Sorry.” Standing up, I hold my tray protectively against my stomach.
Fern rises too and moves beside me in a show of female solidarity.
“Bye, Haydn.” I start to walk away.
“Sadie.” Against my better judgment, I turn around. “I know he hurt you, but he’s a good guy, honestly.” Thrusting his hands in his pants pocket, he looks sincere and that throws me slightly.
Then I remember whom I’m dealing with here. If Logan is a skillful manipulator, what does that infer about his friends? As much as I’d warmed to Haydn—and honest to God, I had—he’s no more trustworthy than Logan. “I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on that point.”
***
My day goes from bad to worse after that. I’m seated at my desk in Government and Politics, waiting for the teacher to arrive, when Logan saunters into the room like a God. I don’t miss how every single head—both male and female—swivels in his direction. Haydn trails in his wake, like a loyal little puppy dog.
How I wish Fern were here for some moral support, but this is the only class we don’t share. So I’m flying solo.
Dipping my head down, I pretend I’m engrossed in my book. There’s a gentle whooshing of air as someone slips into the desk in front of me. I don’t need to be a genius to work out who it is.
“Sadie,” Logan says, tilting back in his chair. “Can we talk?”
“I’ve nothing to say to you.” I refuse to look at him.
“Please.”
“No.”
A frisson of electricity zings through the small space between us, and I curse my damned hormones.
A finger lands on my chin and my head is tilted up. Too shocked to comprehend his action, I do nothing but stare at him open-mouthed. My skin tingles from the brief contact. “I owe you an explanation,” he says quietly, his face earnest.
He’s a better liar than I realized. His warm breath skitters seductively over my skin, and I’m hypnotized all over again. Why is he torturing me like this?
Amusement dances in his eyes, and that’s all I need to snap out of it. I shove his finger away. “Don’t touch me!” I seethe. “I don’t need or want your explanation. I want you to stay the hell away from me. Comprende?”
His amused grin evaporates on the spot and a muscle pops in his jaw. “Loud and clear,” he grits out, swiveling around.
I stare at the back of his head, noticing how his hair is shorn much tighter at the back and sides. The skin on his exposed neck looks smooth and silky soft, and it begs to be caressed. I stuff a fist in my mouth as if that can halt my body’s natural reaction.
Why can’t my body just get with the program?
This is the worst form of torture and a girl can only demonstrate so much willpower in one day. I’m virtually crying inside at the thought of having to sit in this class for the next six months sharing the same air as him.
He cares for me.
The thought pops unbidden into my head and I straighten in my chair. I didn’t think that! Slowly looking around, I cast wary glances at anyone in my proximity. Then my eyes fix on Haydn sitting behind me. I stare at him and he stares back. There’s some kind of unspoken sentiment in his expression. Did he put that thought in my head?
Turning back around, I give myself a stern talking to because that’s preposterous. I clearly imagined it, or perhaps it was my unhelpful inner advisor trying to cling onto the last vestige of hope when it comes to Logan. Or it’s plain old tiredness playing tricks with my mind.
The rest of class is an agonizing lesson in self-control. I’m fighting a losing battle when the bell shrills. I hop up out of my seat as if there’s a bomb under it. Flying out of the room, I skip down the steps and run all the way to the RT station.
I make it back to the apartment in good time. Jenna isn’t due back from work for a few hours yet, so I take a leisurely bath and then jump into bed for a nap. It doesn’t take long for me to fall unconscious.
***
A dead weight presses into my spine, and I’m jolted out of sleep. A hand lands on my stomach, and my eyes dart wide open in extreme terror. My heart is beating so fast I fully expect it to blast right out of my chest. A low snicker sounds at my ear and I spring to life. Shrieking, I slap the hand away and stumble out of the bed. Frantically searching the room for something I can use as a weapon, I snatch up my desk lamp and weave it in front of me. Only then do I look at my intruder.
Dante is lying out flat on my bed with his hands resting behind his head. He examines me from head to foot, and there’s no mistaking the lustful look in his eye. I’d been too tired to properly dress for bed so I’m standing in front of him in only panties and a light camisole. I may as well be naked.
“Get out.” I wield the lamp as if it’s a sword.
He chuckles again and sinks back into the bed, crossing his feet at the ankles.
“I mean it. Get out now or I’m calling Vin.”
“Ooh. I’m so scared.” He doesn’t budge an inch.
“Jen will be home any minute,” I spit out. “How’ll you explain this to her?”
“I’m not worried about Jen. Come back to bed, you know you want to.” He pats the space beside him.
You want him. Jen will never know. The thought lands in my mind and I freeze. This is exactly like earlier. Either I’m losing it or there’s a malfunction somewhere in my brain. Irrespective, I’m scared out of my mind.
“Sadie?” Jenna calls out from the main living area.
Dante hops up so fast I can’t even track the movement. Ripping off his shirt, he stands bare-chested in front of me, smirking as he yells, “Stop it, Sadie. I’ve told you, I’m with Jenna. I don’t want this with you.”
I stare at him as if he’s unhinged. He most likely is.
“What the hell’s going on here?” Jenna stands in the doorway staring at both of us.
“Babe,” Dante says, striding toward her. “Thank God, you got here in time. Can you call her off, please?”
“Are you for fucking real?” I scream, too shocked to acknowledge that I’ve cursed. “Don’t listen to him, Jen,” I implore, focusing my full attention on my friend. “I was asleep, and I woke up to find him lying in the bed beside me. I’ve been trying to get him to leave but he refused.”
Jenna looks shell-shocked as she regards both of us.
“Babe,” Dante says, nuzzling into her neck. “You know I only want you. She’s lying. She’s been trying to get with me from the first minute she saw me, and she’s so jealous of you. I came over to ask if you wanted to go out for dinner, and she threw herself at me.” The whole time he trails kisses all over her flushed skin.
She stares at me with shock and confusion etched on her face.
“Jen.” I step toward her. “You know how I feel about him and my views on boys in general. You know this is bull. He’s manipulating you.”
She moves away, putting some space between her and Dante, and I sigh in relief. “You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?” She folds her arms sternly across her chest. “There’s no way Sadie could overpower you, and I don’t believe she’d throw herself at you. I know her”—she angles her head at me—“and she wouldn’t do this.”
“Baby.” Dante moves into her personal space. Grabbing her wrist, he makes slow circling motions with his finger.
Jenna checks out and her eyes glaze over. Rampant terror whips through me.
“You know I’m telling the truth. She’s no friend of yours because friends don’t
try to steal other girl’s boyfriends.”
Jenna faces me. She looks drugged, and concern for her overrides everything else. “Jen.” I step toward her and she slaps me hard across the face. So hard, that I stagger back with the force of her assault. Tears prick my eyes as I bring my hand up to cup my throbbing cheek.
“Leave me alone, you slut.” Her voice drips with venom and I shrink back. She may as well have slapped me again.
“Come on, baby.” Dante reaches around her, retrieving his ripped shirt from the floor. “Let’s get out of here.” Placing a firm hand on her lower back, he guides her out of the room.
He reappears, quickly putting his face in mine. “I’m not finished with you yet,” he growls. “Not by a long shot.”
CHAPTER 13
I’m not sure how long I stand there staring into empty space. No matter how many times I replay it in my mind, I can’t logically explain what happened. While I know I should be mad at Jenna, I can’t blame her because I know this isn’t her fault. Dante has her under some kind of spell, and I fully intend to find out how and why.
Fear for my friend propels me into action. Yanking on my jeans and a hoodie, I slip my feet into pumps and race out of the apartment. I sprint up the three floors to Vin’s room and pound on his door as if my life depends on it.
“Sadie?” A voice speaks behind me, and I jump, shrieking in the process. Twirling around, I come face to face with Haydn. He is standing in the doorframe across from me. “Vin’s not there. He left about a half hour ago.”
“Damn.” I flatten my back to the wall and rub my hands up and down the front of my jeans.
He inspects me carefully. “Can I help?”
“Nope.” I push off the wall. “Thanks anyway.”
I start to walk away but he reaches out, snagging my arm. “Wait a sec.”
I look up at him. “I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. I’ll talk to Vin later, or tomorrow.”
He scrunches his face. “You’re trembling and your cheek is flaming red.”
I open my mouth to deflect his concern but stop when I notice my quivering hand. I focus on steadying it, but my fingers continue shaking as if they’ve a life of their own. “Hmm.”
“What’s going on?” Worried eyes meet mine.
I nearly cave. “Nothing.” I impale him with a ‘butt-out’ stare.
A rustling at his door distracts him, and I seize my opportunity. Brushing off his arm, I dash down the corridor out of sight.
Back in my apartment, I’m on the verge of majorly freaking out. I’m terrified for Jenna and worried Dante will take things out on her. I know I should be concerned for myself, but that’s not what I feel. I’m scared for my friend. Scared because something strange is going on and she’s slap bang in the middle of it.
I’d presumed all the weird things I’d felt in the Mock-Up Facility were the result of being cooped up in such a confined, synthetic space, and honestly? I firmly believed I’d imagined half the stuff I felt. But now I’m not so sure. Dante is not right in the head, of that I’m one hundred percent certain, and his domineering fixation with Jenna is more than troublesome. That he’s trying to drive a wedge between us is not in doubt. While there was no mistaking the lustful glint in his eye earlier, I’m certain his agenda was to cause disagreement between us and monopolize Jenna completely. Well, I’m not going to allow him to do that. Despite the fact none of my previous interventions have achieved any modicum of success, I’m not giving up on my friend. There has to be a way to make her see Dante for what he truly is.
I’m contemplating contacting Jarod when a knock at the door startles me. My blood pressure shoots through the roof. “Who is it?” I call out.
“It’s Haydn. Can I please come in?”
God, that guy is stubborn. I could refuse to let him in, but he’ll most likely keep this up until I relent and explain what’s going on. And while I don’t like to admit it, it’s probably wise to tell someone else what happened in case things should escalate before I get the opportunity to notify Vin.
Opening the door fully, I step aside and allow him entry. Haydn strides into the center of the room. He surveys me with shrewd eyes. “Look.” He smooths a hand over his head. “I screwed up earlier today, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t straight with you, but I like you and …” He trails off as my eyes widen. “God, no, not like that!” He takes a step toward me.
Instinctively, I step back.
“Crap. I’m making a right mess out of this.” He scrubs a hand over his jaw. “Can we sit down?” He gestures toward the couch.
We sit down, side by side. “We were getting on well before I screwed things up today, right?”
I nod tersely.
“Can we rewind to the part before the cafeteria and erase the rest, because I think you and I’ll become close friends, and I’d like that, a lot.”
I slant a wary look at him. “Why does it matter that much to you?” I tuck my hands between my knees.
“I don’t have that many friends, and it was cool hanging out with you and Fern today.” His foot taps anxiously off the ground, and I see him in a different light.
He’s a kindred spirit. For unknown reasons, he doesn’t trust easily either. However, that acknowledgement doesn’t resolve the Logan issue.
“I’d like to be friends too, but I can’t be friends with him. So how’ll that work?”
“I can separate things out. No sweat.” He smiles confidently.
“Maybe we can hang out in class, but I draw the line at sharing a table with Logan in the cafeteria. That’s a no-fly zone for me.”
“Fine.” He lifts his palms in acceptance. “I get that. So now that we’ve got that sorted, will you please tell me what’s happened?”
“You have to promise not to tell anyone else and not to freak out. Okay?”
“Okay.” His eyes burn with curiosity.
I take a couple of minutes to collect my thoughts. Haydn waits patiently. “I’m worried about my roommate. Her boyfriend creeps me out and”—I stop, unsure of how to explain this without coming across like a total loon—“it’s like she’s under some kind of spell or he’s drugged her or something.”
Haydn gawps, shock rippling through him.
“I know,” I say, waggling my brows, “I sound like a crazy person. It’s just really hard to explain. It’s like when she’s with him she’s incapable of thinking for herself.”
He visibly stiffens.
“And she doesn’t act like herself around him. It’s as if he’s … hijacked her mind.”
He stares at me in a completely unnerving fashion. Jumping up, I pace in front of him, rubbing my fingers against my temples. I bet he’s already reconsidering the whole “friends” thing.
“Why is your cheek so red?”
I cup my cheek without thinking. I’d all but forgotten the stinging slap Jenna had delivered. Self-consciously, I bite down on my lip.
“You can tell me.”
My eyes lock on his and I decide to come clean. “I woke up to find Dante—Jen’s boyfriend—lying in bed beside me. He, um, was trying to make a move on me, and he refused to leave. Then Jen came back from work, and Dante ripped off his shirt and claimed that I was throwing myself at him. At first she believed me, but then she did a complete three-sixty, and she called me a slut and slapped me.”
I flop back down on the couch, drained, and glance at Haydn. His fists are balled tight at his side and a muscle flexes in his jaw. My gaze momentarily flits to the bullion at his wrist.
“Listen to me,” he says, taking both my hands in his. Warmth seeps from his skin into mine. “I know of him and he’s all you fear and more. Promise me you’ll stay away from him and keep him out of your bedroom. You have a bolt, right?” He jumps up and moves to the bedrooms. “Which one is yours?”
“That one.” I point to my room, “Haydn, I don’t understand. What exactly are you saying?”
He walks into my room and inspects the back of my door. “T
here is a bolt, but Dante could break through that in a second. I’ll sort something stronger out for you tomorrow.”
“I think you’re overreacting a bit. Dante isn’t interested in me. He purely wants to cause problems between me and Jen because he knows I disapprove of her relationship with him and that I think he’s a total jerk. There’s no need to read anything else into it.”
“Sadie, listen to me.” Haydn moves into my personal space and his eyes drill into mine. “Your instincts are right. Dante is dangerous, and you can’t underestimate him. Your primary concern should be your own safety at this point. Trust me when I say that this is definitely not solely about your friend. Promise me that you’ll stay away from him. Please.”
Now I am scared for me. I have the worst case of the heebie-jeebies known to mankind, and if I was shaking before, it’s nothing compared to how my body trembles now. “You’re scaring the hell out of me.”
“A healthy fear of him is necessary,” Haydn says ominously. “But don’t be scared. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
There’s another knock at the door and I jump. This place is quickly resembling Grand Central Station.
“Were you expecting anyone?”
I shake my head. Haydn walks to the door in three long strides. Forcing my feet to move, I follow him. Haydn opens the door and Jarod stands there, looking inquisitively between us. My shoulders slouch in relief.
I’m seriously starting to question the wisdom of confiding in Haydn. I was scared for Jenna earlier but more than capable of handling things. Now, I’m standing on the edge of the sanity ledge, all but ready to pitch myself off the cliff.
“Hey, Sadie,” Jarod says, in an uncertain tone. “Do you want to hang out, maybe grab a bite to eat? But, ah, if you’re busy …” He falters, his gaze settling on Haydn.
“Hi, Jarod. Come in,” I say, nudging Haydn aside. “That sounds good.” I look up at Haydn. “Haydn, meet Jarod.” They awkwardly acknowledge one another. “Take a seat, Jarod. I’ll see Haydn out.”
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