#Nerd (Hashtag #1)

by Cambria Hebert

  “Yeah,” I said. “That’s why I’m here.”

  He waited for me to continue.

  “I’m gonna do it without Omega,” I said. “I think I’m a good enough player. I want to know if you’ll help me get scouts here when the time comes.”

  He studied me for long, measured moments. I didn’t back down, not one inch.

  “This about a girl?”

  “No,” I said. Because in reality it really wasn’t. Yes, Rimmel played a factor in me not wanting to be associated with Omega, but this was about more than that.

  This was about me blazing a path to what I wanted, to my end goal on my own terms. When I got to the NFL, it wouldn’t be because I bent over and kissed some douche bag’s ass for a couple years in college so he would make a couple phone calls.

  I was better than that.

  “What I’m hearing is there might be some cracks in Omega’s foundation.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “There might be.” And his name is Zach.

  “You keeping your nose clean?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” I said. For now.

  He grunted like he heard my unspoken thought. “It takes a man with heavy balls to step away from something that could give him everything he wants.”

  I just sat there unflinching under his gaze. My mind was made up. He wasn’t going to change it.

  “I’ll make the calls. I got a couple favors in my back pocket,” he said finally.

  I stood and held out my hand to shake with him. “Thanks, Coach. I won’t let you down.”

  “Romeo,” he said when I would have stepped out the door.

  “Yeah?” I asked, turning back.

  “This crack in the foundation, is that something I need to have the university step in and handle?”

  “No,” I said. “I can handle it.”

  “The Wolves are behind you, son.”

  I grinned. I knew they were. It’s why I was able to walk away from such a jacked-up frat. I already had a family. And this family would accept Rimmel without a fight.

  “And, Romeo!” he yelled after I’d stepped out of his sight. “Don’t get caught!”

  It was pretty much Coach’s blessing to handle my business.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Rimmel

  I don’t like scary movies. I didn’t think it was fun to be scared. Because of this, Halloween was never my favorite holiday. I would much rather stay home and hand out candy while something not scary played on the TV in the background.

  Here at Alpha U, Halloween was just another reason to party. Every year the frat houses took turns putting together a haunted house, and students would swarm the place for a night of being scared and drinking beer.

  I never went last year. I stayed in and studied, which was precisely what I planned to do this year.

  Until Romeo showed up at my room.

  He smiled that charming smile, kissed me dizzy, and the next thing I knew I was riding shotgun in the Hellcat on the way to the haunted house.

  Braeden and Missy were still “having fun” and were currently in the backseat making out. Clearly she didn’t have a problem with haunted houses… or PDA.

  Romeo reached across the seat and tangled his fingers with mine. His grin was highlighted in the glow of the dash. “It’s gonna be fun. You’ll see.”

  I gave him a look that said I knew better, but his smile only got bigger. “You can hold on to me all you want.”

  I rolled my eyes. “If you wanted me to jump you, you could have just asked,” I muttered. “You don’t need to make me wanna pee my pants to get me in your arms.”

  He laughed, yet he still didn’t turn around.

  I resigned myself to my immediate future. I really hoped I didn’t embarrass myself.

  The haunted house was hosted by Beta House this year, and we had to pass by the Omega house to get there. I shivered a little thinking about the week before when I saw Zach at the game. I hadn’t seen him since, and I never told Romeo about the odd way he made me feel. Romeo already hated the guy enough without me adding more gas to the fire.

  The whole week had been drama free. Sure, I still got scathing looks from some jealous girls, but I ignored them. I never cared what people thought before and I wasn’t about to start now.

  We spent some time studying and even more time making out.

  Ivy, Missy, and I had pizza and soda one night while Ivy tried to make sense of my wardrobe and put together some outfits she liked. She gave up after ten minutes and told me we had to go shopping. Up until now, shopping wasn’t high on my list of priorities. ‘Course, given where Romeo was dragging me off to, I sort of wished I’d made plans to go with her and that we were there tonight.

  “I really don’t like Halloween,” I said, my stomach twisting a little as he parked the Hellcat. Creepy music and high screams pierced the air.

  “It’ll be fun,” Missy said from beside the car. “The scariest thing you’ll see in there is someone getting it on in the corner because they think no one can see.”

  Braeden and Romeo laughed. “Dude,” Braeden said. “Do you remember last year when that guy from Phi K was having sex with one of the girls supposedly working the house?”

  Everyone snickered but me. “What happened?” I asked.

  “Her fake arm fell off and he starting screaming and ran off with his dick flapping in the wind.”

  I giggled. Missy grinned. “Bet he won’t be coming back this year.”

  Romeo wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his body. I snuggled closer just because I could. The closer the four of us drew to the house, the more nervous I became.

  Braeden and Missy went ahead of us and stepped up to the line, but Romeo drew me back and turned so he was standing in front of me. “We can wait out here. We don’t have to go in.”

  “Isn’t that why you wanted to come? To go inside?” I asked.

  He smiled. “Yeah, but I really just wanted to be with you. And here you are,” he said, leaning down to kiss me.

  Inside the house, someone screamed and laughter rang out. I drew back and took a breath. “Let’s go in.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”

  I chewed my lower lip and then nodded. College was supposed to be a time to have fun and do crazy things. Plus, I knew Romeo really wanted to go in. “Yeah. But only if you hold my hand.”

  “I won’t let go.” He promised.

  Of course, the second Romeo stepped up in line, he got waved to the front. Part of me was really irritated because I wasn’t sure I was ready, but the other part was glad because at least I wouldn’t have time to stand there and doubt myself.

  The first room we stepped into was completely dark with only a strobe light set up off to the side. It went off randomly, lighting up the space with bright, quick strobes of intense light. The way it went off made it nearly impossible to see. The room was filled with cobwebs and silky thread-like material draped around the room, hanging in every nook and cranny. And as we went, the fine, almost hair-like material caught on our hair and clothes and brushed against our skin.

  Music full of moans and loud shudders filled my ears, and full-on goose bumps broke out across my arms and legs. My hand tightened around Romeo’s and I squealed as I walked right into a thick web.

  Romeo laughed and drew me back against his chest. His arms came around me from behind and I felt his warm breath against my ear. “I got you.”

  We continued into the next room, which was full of zombies that came dangerously close and smelled eerily of rotting flesh. Romeo laughed. I kept my eyes closed.

  There was quite a bit of screaming in the rooms ahead of us, and I began to wonder if maybe this was my worst idea ever. As if he knew, Romeo’s arms tightened around me and his shoulders hunched down, making me feel protected and secure.

  I sighed a little and leaned into him as we passed into the next room. Someone jumped down from overhead, landing with a startling thud. I screeched and stumbled back. The man
was dressed in a grim reaper’s outfit, and when he lifted his head, his face was covered in a gruesome light-up mask.

  He rushed us and I screamed again, turning in Romeo’s arms and practically climbing up his chest. He took my weight with ease even as I scrambled. The reaper thingy rushed past us with a high-pitched squeal and rammed into Romeo’s shoulder as he went.

  Though he teetered on his feet just a bit, he managed to take the hit, my weight, and carry me all at once. I ducked my face into his neck and shuddered.

  “That was pretty damn good,” he rumbled in my ear.

  My fingers curled into the hair at the base of his neck and he pressed a kiss to my head and started walking, carrying me through the next room.

  I have no idea what was in it. I didn’t dare look.

  “One more room,” he whispered in my ear as he continued to walk. I pulled my head back and blinked against the neon-green light and rolling fog, which I assumed was the result of some hidden machine.

  Weird high-pitched music pierced my ears.

  I leaned up and spoke in his ear. “Put me down.”

  He glanced at me. “I like carrying you.”

  I was tempted to settle back against him, but instead I shook my head. “No, if Braeden see’s this, he’ll never let me live it down.”

  Romeo’s white teeth reflected the green of the room. He put me down and we began walking again. I stuck close to his side. The room was some kind of alien autopsy setting. There was blood splattered around everywhere, leaving dark spots in the green. The fog was thick and it made the back of my throat burn. Off to the sides of the room, long hands reached up out of the mist. They were three-fingered and had extremely large knuckles.

  Against the wall was a large steel table with a body laid out and mad scientists and doctors standing around with all kinds of vile and tortuous instruments.

  My stomach twisted a little because it all looked so sick and so real.

  I pressed against Romeo and focused on the neon-orange EXIT just a few steps away. I stumbled and tripped, catching myself before I fell. Romeo reached out to steady me.

  “Stupid pants,” I muttered. I really did need to go shopping with Ivy. Falling over my clothes was annoying.

  I stepped forward, back to Romeo’s side, but I felt resistance again. I made a frustrated sound and looked down at my pant leg, thinking the wide hem had gotten stuck on something.

  It wasn’t stuck on something.

  It was stuck on someone.

  A large deformed-looking hand was wrapped around my ankle. I jerked my leg up, as if to shake it off, but it only grabbed harder. I kicked out and yelled, but it wasn’t enough to dislodge its hold.

  Panic flooded through my system like ice water, and I reached out for Romeo, who was turning around to help.

  Something seemed to materialize out of the heavy fog. Something covered from head to toe in some scary as hell alien costume. It had large black eyes, a bald head, and a scary grinning mouth.

  It lunged as I screamed to warn him. He jerked in surprise as it basically leapt on his back. The hand on my ankle yanked, and I fell to the ground. I cried out in pain as my hip hit the floor and took the brunt of my fall.

  I scratched at the floor, trying to crawl away. Whatever was in the fog had me by both ankles now.

  “Romeo!” I screamed.

  “Rimmel,” he called back.

  I glanced up as I was being dragged away and the fog swallowed me whole.

  “No!” I screeched and started kicking and fighting with everything I had. I heard whoever had me grunt in pain, and I struggled even harder. One of the hands dragging me disappeared, and I heard someone yell, “Get her!”

  I opened my mouth to scream bloody murder, but something was stuffed between my lips, a rag of some kind.

  Hands grabbed me by the wrists and bound them to the floor as more hands did the same with my feet. Panic was full-fledged now as I was being held down to the ground, lost amid a sea of fog in a dark, loud room.

  I used my tongue to try and force the rag out of my mouth, fighting and working my jaw and turning my head to dislodge it.

  A dark figure appeared over me, straddled my waist, and leaned down so we were face to face. My eyes widened and my heart about burst when I saw it was the person in the reaper’s costume, the one with the scary as shit mask.

  He laughed, a high-pitched, evil cackle, and my knees started to shake. He was practically lying across me as I struggled and was held down.

  The freaky mask sneered down at me even as he kept his body low, like he was afraid if he moved too much, the fog wouldn’t conceal us.

  “Ask your boyfriend why he’s really with you. Ask him about initiation.”

  I stopped struggling and looked up, not understanding what the hell was happening.

  “A guy like him doesn’t date a nerd like you unless he has a reason. Maybe you should ask him what that reason is.”

  I wanted to yell at him, but the stupid rag in my mouth made it impossible.

  “Rimmel!” Romeo roared somewhere close by.

  My eyes rolled toward the sound of his voice, and the creepy thing on top of me grabbed my hand and squeezed my jaw until I cried out soundlessly.

  “Ask him about the initiation. About the rush. He’s only using you,” the masked person growled.

  And then the weight on my chest was gone. The hands that held my ankles and wrists were no longer there.

  I shot to my feet and ripped the rag out of my mouth. I gasped and fell to the side, knocking into some decoration next to me. It made a loud sound, but I barely noticed.

  I was shaking so badly I could barely stand. My throat was burning and my eyes were watering. My jaw hurt where he squeezed me and my one wrist felt raw.

  “Jesus!” Romeo cried and scooped me up against him. I collapsed into his arms and gave him every ounce of my weight. “What the hell happened?” he demanded.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and shuddered.

  I was aware of him walking quickly, but I didn’t realize we’d left the house until I felt the cold night air against my skin.

  I lifted my head and breathed it in gratefully.

  Braeden and Missy rushed up to Romeo’s side. “What’s going on?” Braeden asked, his voice concerned.

  “I’m not sure,” Romeo said quickly. “We got separated. Some guy jumped me.”

  “What the fuck?” Braeden burst out.

  “Rimmel got pulled into all that fog,” he said. Then I felt his head tilt toward me. “Are you hurt? Did you fall?”

  I glanced up at him through watery, burning eyes. “I want to go home.”

  His entire body tensed, but he only nodded. I sank back into him as we went to the car. No one spoke on the way back to the dorms, not a single word. I could feel Romeo’s concerned gaze on me as we drove through the darkened streets.

  I only gazed out the window, my eyes not seeing anything at all.

  But I could still hear that voice telling me to ask Romeo, to ask about initiation.

  I had a very bad feeling I wasn’t going to like the answer.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Romeo

  One minute she was plastered to my side and the next she was jerked away. I didn’t think much of it at first. I mean, I just figured it was her being adorably clumsy as usual.

  But when I turned to help her, I was jumped. Attacked from behind. He almost brought me down out of sheer surprise, but in the end, I held my ground. He wasn’t that big. I must have outweighed him by a lot.

  He clung to my back like a stupid spider monkey, and I almost laughed because it was obvious he had no idea he wouldn’t be able to take down someone twice his size.

  I reached around my back and filled my fist with his costume. With one hard tug, I pulled him over my shoulder and drove him into the floor.

  He rolled and moaned, but he didn’t get up.

  I turned back to get Rimmel, knowing she was probably scared shitless and I�
��d never get her in one of these damn houses again, but she was gone.

  At first I didn’t panic. I knew the fog made it hard to see.

  But then seconds stretched longer and I still didn’t see her. I still didn’t hear her.

  I’d felt adrenaline pump through my body more times than I could count. I was used to a rush, the fast pace of football… but this was different. I’d not felt this before.

  Fear, dark and sticky, wrapped around my chest as I searched and searched and my eyes came up empty.

  When she didn’t call out for me, I got scared. I punched out a couple guys and threw someone into the wall while searching through the fog for her.

  And then suddenly she was there, stumbling around shaken and dazed. When I put my arms around her, she trembled so badly I knew she wouldn’t be able to stand.

  She’d barely said two words.

  That dark and sticky fear still clung to me. It seemed to get harder to shake the quieter she became. I waited until I dropped off Missy and Braeden at his truck near her dorm before I pulled near the back of the lot and shut off the car.

  “Hey,” I said soft. “They scared you bad, huh?”

  She nodded.

  “I’m sorry, baby.” I reached across the seat and put an arm around her. She stiffened.

  Something cold unfurled deep in my chest.

  “Rimmel?” I asked.

  She turned to me then. The moonlight reflected off her glasses and her eyes were wide behind the lenses.

  “Whatever happened with initiation?” she said.

  The random question threw me at first. I couldn’t understand why she would bring this up. “Initiation?” I asked.

  “Yeah. The frat you were rushing. Did you get in?”

  “No,” I said, caution in my tone. “Why are you asking about this?”

  “They dragged me into that fog,” she said, her voice breaking. “They pinned me down to the floor.”

  “Who?” I growled as the edges of my eyesight began to tinge with red.

  “They were wearing masks,” she said. “I couldn’t see. He sat on me. The one with the scary mask, the one who tried to knock you over.”