Conflicted (The Corded Saga Book 3)

by Alyssa Rose Ivy

  “Not if you let me braid in some gold strands.”

  “Deal.” I took a seat on a stool. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Alda working on my hair.

  “All done.”

  I opened my eyes. “It looks great. Thank you.”

  She beamed. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” I ran my fingers over the gold.

  “But sad.”

  “I am sad.” Without thinking I spoke my thoughts out loud.

  “Try to be happy tonight.”

  “For Caspian. Yes.” I would do what I had to do.

  “And for yourself. You can be happy in this life.” She kissed the top of my head before leaving me all alone in my room.

  Noah

  “It’s not mine.” I looked down at the cluttered counter top rather than at the girl behind the help desk. A placard listing the technology center’s hours was knocked over, a pile of neon orange pamphlets advertising a computer service plan strewn on top of it.

  “The computer isn’t yours?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “No, the computer is mine. Uh, the virus on there. That stuff. It’s my roommate’s,” I muttered, wishing I was anywhere but here at the help desk. I was also wishing the one hot girl who worked there wasn’t the one who happened to be on duty.

  “Does your roommate often borrow your computer to watch porn?” Her voice rose. A few snickers of laughter from behind me let me know we were far from alone.

  “Only when his laptop isn’t working.” I knew how lame I sounded, but it was the truth. I was also wishing I’d had a better password because borrowed wasn’t exactly the right word for when someone takes your things without asking.

  “I see.” She typed something into the desktop computer. “This might take awhile to fix. Want to leave it here?”

  As if I had a choice? “Yeah. Sure.” I needed my computer if I wanted any hope of getting my history paper done, but it was useless to me now that it was frozen on a screen of a naked chick.

  “You sure you are—I’m sorry— your roommate is going to be okay without this for a day or so?” Her lips twisted into a smirk. She was enjoying my torture entirely too much.

  “A day or so?” Shit. I was going to have to step foot into one of the archaic computer labs. Dale was going to pay for this.

  “We’ve got quite a few computers in front of yours.” She was still smirking. She no longer seemed hot.

  “Yeah. Whatever.” I waited for the email receipt to show up on my phone before leaving the help center behind.

  I was going to kill Dale when he got back in town, and if they couldn’t fix my laptop, he was buying me a new one. I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

  I kicked a stray beer can with my sneaker as I made my way down the side street toward my house. The night was surprisingly cold for March in New Orleans. It was only a few weeks after Mardi Gras, and beads still hung from the trees at every turn, blowing every so often as the wind hit them.

  I put my hands in my pockets, glancing around the dark night. Walking alone at night was a stupid idea, but getting my computer fixed was top priority. If I wanted to get into my top choice law school, I needed to ace all my classes, including Modern American History. That meant blowing away the professor with this paper.

  The house came into view, and I heard a noise. A faint rustling. Last time I checked people didn’t hide in bushes before they robbed you. It was probably a squirrel or something. I was being an idiot, but I’d been paranoid for the past few years of my life.

  I picked up my pace a bit and kept moving.

  Another rustle.

  I glanced over my shoulder again as I ascended the rickety old steps to the house I rented. I was careful to skip the top step. That one was probably going to fall through one of these days.

  I pulled out my key and inserted it into the lock. I turned it a few times as I always had to. If there was one thing I learned from my seven months of living off campus, it was that some landlords sucked. Mine fell into that category.

  I got the lock to turn, pushed open the door, and heard the rustling again.

  I glanced over my shoulder and saw only darkness.

  I could have called out and asked if anyone was there, but I wasn’t the idiot in scary movies who did that and then got killed. Instead I got right inside and closed the door behind me. I flicked on the lights and locked the door. I hated how paranoid I was, and despite wanting to ring Dale’s neck, I was glad he hadn’t been there to witness it. He’d have never let me live it down.

  I pulled back the vinyl blinds and looked out at the darkness. Nothing. No masked figure running up the porch stairs. Not even a raccoon coming out of the bushes. I was losing it.

  I set down my now empty backpack. I really wasn’t looking forward to having to spend hours in a computer lab.

  Moments later I was back at the window because I heard a creak on the stairs. There was someone out there.

  Despite it being an unquestionably stupid idea I swung open the door while holding absolutely no weapon. I stared out into the darkness again. “Is there anyone out there?”

  “Hi,” a distinctly female voice answered.

  I squinted, looking for the sign of anyone in the darkness. “Umm, where are you?”

  “Here.” A figure stepped out of the shadows. My body tensed. Just because it was a girl didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try to kill me.

  My jaw about dropped as the girl walked into the light coming from inside the house. She was easily 5’9 or 5’10 with long dark hair that fell in waves all the way to her waist. She was dressed in a fitted black jumpsuit that hugged her body like a glove. The outfit might have been odd some places but not in New Orleans, especially at night.

  She smiled in a forced sort of way. “Do you live here?”

  “Hi. Yeah. Why?” Technically she could have been looking for Dale, but I doubted it. Not this girl.

  “I think I used to live here.” She stared at the old shutters leaning against the side of the house.

  She thought? How didn’t she know? Was she that drunk? “Oh. Well, you don’t live here now.”

  “I know.” She cracked a small smile, this one less forced than the first. “Or wait. Was that supposed to be a joke?”

  “Yes, no.” I let my awkwardness take over. Great. At least I probably wouldn’t see this girl again to have to care about it. And at least I wasn’t showing her my porn-filled laptop. “Can I help you with something?”

  “I need to find my brother.”

  “Oh.” I looked out into the night again. I saw no one. “Do you need to borrow my phone or something?” I wasn’t thrilled at the idea. She’d probably steal it and then I’d be without a computer or a phone, but what other choice did I have? If she was legit and not trying to rob me, I’d be a total jerk not to offer.

  “No.” She shook her head. “Unless you have his number?”

  “What’s your brother’s name?” There was a small chance he was an acquaintance.

  “Benjamin Miller.”

  The name didn’t ring a bell at all. “I don’t know him.”

  “Oh.” She leaned on the stair railing.

  “No!” I yelled a little too loudly. “Don’t do that.”

  “Oh.” She straightened immediately. “Sorry.”

  “No. Don’t be. It’s just that railing is going to break. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

  “Oh. Thank you.” She looked down at her shoes—shiny black boots—and then back at me. “This is the only address I have… could I come in?”

  “Come in?” I asked. “Here?”

  She nodded.

  “Now?”

  “Would that be okay? I promise I don’t mean you any harm. Please.” Her eyes were wide and honest, if eyes could be honest. “I have nowhere else to go.”

  Any ounce of resistance disappeared when those eyes locked on mine. Puppies had nothing on this girl. Nothing. “Sure. Come on in.”
<
br />   I held the door open wider, and she hurried in. Likely she wasn’t going to hesitate long enough for the offer to be rescinded. It wouldn’t have been though, and that had nothing to do with the way that tight black outfit hugged her body. Nor was it due to her haunting brown eyes. No. The reason the offer wouldn’t be rescinded is that I was a good person. Okay. Maybe her eyes had something to do with it.

  She walked around the room before stopping suddenly near the TV. “Nothing. Nothing at all.”

  “Hmm?” I watched her without really watching her. There’s a fine line between checking someone out and ogling.

  “There’s nothing here that reminds me of anything.” She buried her face in her hands.

  “Are you okay?”

  “No. Not in the slightest.”

  Not the answer I was expecting. “Oh. Well, then can I help in any way?”

  “Help me find my brother.” She gave me those damn eyes again. “Please?”

  “Benjamin Miller, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Does he go to Tulane? Loyola?” Considering most of the houses on my street were rented by college students, I assumed that’s the demographic she was looking for.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know anything about his life now.”

  “Oh.” Ok, this was getting more difficult. She was confused, but she wasn’t acting drunk at all. Her speech was clear. She was standing up straight. She didn’t appear disoriented in any physical way. “Is there anyone else I could call? A friend or a roommate?” I wasn’t trying to get rid of the girl. But I also didn’t know what else to do.

  “I know no one else here.” She took a seat on our ancient black couch. It was left behind by the last tenants, and I didn’t want to know what some of the stains were.

  “Okay… so you’re from out of town?” I remained standing. I wasn’t sure if sitting down next to her would freak her out.

  “Yes. From out of town.” She looked up. “I’m Rachel.”

  “Hi, Rachel. I’m Noah.” I held out my hand.

  She accepted my hand and shook it, holding onto it a moment longer than necessary before letting it fall.

  “Where are you staying?”

  “Staying?” She furrowed her brow.

  “Yeah. What hotel or whatever? Or with a friend?”

  “Oh, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I guess I assumed I’d find my brother… I guess I didn’t think things through at all. It was all such a rush.”

  “Well, you can stay here for the night if you want.” What had I just said? Was I insane?

  “I can?” Her eyes lit up.

  “Yeah. You can take my room.” If I was offering her a place to stay, I needed to make sure it was decent.

  “Where will you sleep?”

  “Out here.” The couch was safer than Dale’s bed.

  “Oh. I can’t ask that of you.” She pressed her lips together, pulling my attention to them. They were light pink and all natural. It didn’t look like she was even wearing lip gloss. Considering her over the top outfit the lack of makeup was surprising.

  “You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

  “Oh.” She seemed to think it over. “Great.” Her stomach growled.

  “Are you hungry? Have you eaten?” Okay, here was my chance to find out a few things. “Were you out drinking tonight?” That would explain her confusion even though she still really didn’t seem drunk.

  “No. I haven’t had anything to drink today.”

  “Not even water?” Maybe dehydration was the problem.

  She shook her head. “No. I left in a hurry.”

  “Oh. Well, I’ll get you some water.” I walked into the galley kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the giant pack in the fridge. I handed one to her.

  She took it and stared at it a moment before twisting off the cap.

  “Yeah, it’s the generic brand. From Winn-Dixie.”

  “Generic brand.” She repeated my words.

  “Yeah, you know the store brand. It’s like half the price of the brand name stuff sometimes.” And now I sounded cheap. Good thing I wasn’t actually into this girl.

  “Good information to know.” She sipped the water. Then she sipped again before downing the entire thing. She crushed the empty bottle in her hands. “Thank you.”

  “You really were thirsty.” I was winning at this awkward thing.

  “May I truly spend the night here?” She brushed some of her brown hair behind her ear. She was wearing this unique kind of earring. It was black and wrapped around the edge of her ear and seemed to dip inside the ear too.

  “Yeah. Absolutely. Just don’t try to kill me.”

  “You make jokes a lot.”

  “Evidently not funny ones.” Usually my jokes landed okay. Not tonight.

  “I’m not the best at picking up on humor. Caspian tells me that all the time.” She adjusted a metal chain necklace around her neck. There was something on it, maybe a pendant, but it was hidden underneath her bodysuit.

  “Caspian?” I tried not to react to the name. It sounded like some brawny warrior or something. Knowing my luck he was her boyfriend and would show up looking for her and beat the crap out of me thinking I’d hurt her.

  “Oh. He’s my friend.” She looked down. “You wouldn’t know him.”

  “Got it.” I did my best to hide my momentary panic. “Can I get you anything else? I don’t actually have much food here. Cereal, peanut butter. I could make some eggs. That’s about it.”

  “The water was fine.” She held up the empty bottle.

  “Want another one?”

  “Yes, please.” She smiled.

  I retrieved one from the fridge and handed it over. She made no move to open it.

  I led her down the hall to my room. I pushed open the door, relieved I’d at least made my bed that day. “This is my room. It’s not much, but it’s a place to crash.”

  She studied the room before turning to me. “Thank you. Is there a place to… to?” She tapped the side of her head with her finger. “A bathroom. Yes, a bathroom.”

  Did she really take that long to remember the word for bathroom? There had to be an explanation. She was speaking in English. Maybe there was a faint accent there? Maybe it wasn’t her first language?

  “Yeah. Down here.” I led her out of my room and pointed to the door at the end of the hall. “It should be decently clean.” Thanks to me. Dale never cleaned.

  “Thanks.” She smiled before brushing past me.

  I tried not to notice the way her ass looked in the tight material. I had no idea what was going on with this girl. But from the small glance I allowed myself, the rear view of her was just as pleasant as the front. That meant I had to get her out of there before Dale got home tomorrow. I didn’t want to know the things that would come out of his mouth around her.

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