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The first week of classes was nearly over, and I hadn’t gotten another glimpse of Ash. It made me sadder than I was willing to admit out loud. You’d think being the only girl in a university full of guys would make her stand out, but it was like business as usual on campus and in class. Granted, I’d heard a lot of gossip about her during the week, but that’s it. Just gossip.
Who the fuck cared about gossip when the real thing was here somewhere?
I hated gossip and everything that came with it. Things always spiraled along the grapevine. Normal rumors always turned into freakish, outlandish ones, ones that could not possibly be real. You could never trust anything you heard from someone else. Hell, I didn’t trust more than half of the things Sawyer said, and I was his friend.
When Thursday came, I chose to sit in the student union, fiddling on my phone as I watched everyone walk by. So lost in their own lives. I spotted a few of the kids Sawyer had invited to his party—a party he was hoping Ash would come to. How the hell would Ash even know about the party if he was staying away from her?
If I was honest, I wanted her to come to the party too—but not so we could turn her against Declan. Just from our brief interaction a few days ago, I knew she was different. There was a fire in her eyes I recognized, and I was drawn to it like a moth. Even though I hadn’t spoken to her long, I was in the beginning stages of something I knew quite well by now.
Obsession.
I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know where she came from, what made her who she was today. I wanted more, and with the way Sawyer was so focused on revenge for Sabrina—something I could totally understand—it was the perfect time to get close to her. If he asked about it, I’d tell him I was turning her against Declan, going along with our plan, but really I just wanted to be near her.
Perhaps it was happenstance, or perhaps it was fate, but after two hours of sitting there, pretending to be lost in my phone, I spotted Ash walking in, heading straight for the food court. She went to the pizza place, putting her order in before sitting at a nearby table and waiting for it. I watched her all the while, feeling a hunger deep down that wasn’t meant for food.
Her head wore one of those stitched beanies, mostly her pink hair visible. She didn’t have her skateboard, I noticed, her feet her mode of transportation today. She pulled out her phone, her thumbs typing up something.
This was what I was waiting for. Or who I was waiting for, really.
I got up, sliding my phone in my pocket as I moved past the crowd of students eating in the back tables. A few of them spared a glance at me, mostly because they all knew I was Sawyer’s friend. That’s who I was to them—Sawyer’s friend. His tattooed, smoking friend who always seemed careless.
But these people…they didn’t know me. They never tried to know me. The real me was as hidden to them as it was to Sawyer.
I made it to the table Ash sat at, sliding into the chair across from her. She made no moves to glance up from her phone. At first, I thought it was because she was so lost in it—like ninety-nine percent of the other kids around here on their phones—but then her typing started to slow, and her legs shifted under the table. She didn’t look up at me, but she knew I was there.
“Hey,” I said. A single word, and I probably could’ve said something cooler, but staring at her while she was trying too hard not to notice me made me a little tongue-tied.
Eventually she gave in, bringing her grey eyes to me. “What do you want?” she said, sounding snippy, like I offended her with my greeting. She had plenty of attitude to spare, apparently.
I gave her a lazy smile. “Why do I get the feeling you’d rather be anywhere but here, talking to me?” I laid my arms across the table, waiting eagerly for her response.
“Because I’d rather be anywhere but here, talking to you.”
A chuckle escaped me before I could stifle it. “Damn. That hurts, you know.”
Ash was unimpressed. “I’m sure your ego can take it.”
“My ego is actually very fragile,” I said. “If you’re not too careful, you might just break me, Ash, and that won’t be pretty.” It was meant as a joke, but I knew from past experience it was also a warning. A promise that while I might have a nice smile and a handsome face, my insides were ugly. It was the reason I never showed my true self around other people. The bedroom was when I came closest to letting it out.
She deadpanned, “I don’t break people unless they deserve it. Do you deserve it?”
I couldn’t tell if she was baiting me or not. “I guess that depends.” Her phone screen darkened, meaning all of her attention was now on me. Fully, one hundred percent on me. Her grey eyes were like a storm, clouds on a rainy, dreary day, yet they were so full of life. “Do you enjoy breaking people? I could be into that.”
Her mouth puckered into a frown. “I know what you’re trying to do. I’m not stupid. And just so you know, I’m not going to fall for it. Believe it or not, I’ve seen worse than rich boys trying to get revenge.” Her order was up, and she stood, grabbed her bag and her phone, and went to get it.
I darted out of my chair quicker though, and was able to take it from the student working at the pizza joint. Two boxes. Was she buying dinner for both herself and Declan? I don’t know why, but the thought made me jealous.
Jealous. And I hardly knew this girl. Having jealousy so soon wasn’t a good sign.
“Let me carry these for you,” I offered. “It’ll be my limit for manual labor today, but I’m willing to put in the time.” My fingers were wrapped tightly around the boxes’ corners; I wouldn’t let them go even if she tried to take them from me.
“Oh, what a gentleman,” Ash said dryly, once more not impressed with my antics. Good. I liked that she wasn’t easily impressed. If she was just like any other girl, well…she wouldn’t be nearly as fun.
I followed her out of the student union, aware of all the eyes on us. Sawyer had made a decree of sorts—no one was allowed to touch her, besides him and I. Ash was off-limits to anyone who wasn’t us. Granted, no one knew why she was off-limits, but hardly anyone would go against him. He had the money, the power, the prestige—he could make any kid’s life a living hell like he was doing to Declan.
“I hope you know that just because I’m letting you carry those doesn’t mean you’re welcome in my room,” Ash said, shooting me a look as we headed across the giant sidewalk in front of the student union. The beanie held most of her hair in place, but the breeze still tickled its lower pink strands.
“I wouldn’t dream of barging in where I’m not invited,” I said. “In fact, I make a habit of getting invitations first.”
