Page 16 of If You Dare

For a split second, I almost wish she wasn’t my roommate. Wish that being friends with Chloe didn’t mean being forced to be around her brother.

I’ve never been in love before, and I know I’m not now. I barely know Wes. This is just a crush, nothing more.

But there’s a reason it’s called acrushand not something nicer. Because falling for someone you know will never want you back is crushing.

Chapter10

After

Wes

The locker roomreeks of BO and ass. That’s how you know we went hard at practice.

“So is that Violet Harris chick kicked off campus?” Trey asks me.

The hairs on the back of my neck rise at her name. I hate the effect she has on me, even when she’s not around. The rest of the team listens in, and I slam my locker shut. “Nah, they’re letting her stay.”

Trey frowns, pulling his jeans up over his boxers. “That’s bullshit, man.”

“I thought so too. But now I’ve got new plans for Violet Harris.”

Twisted delight swells in my chest. Since I left Dean Forrester’s office, I’ve come up with a long list of ways I’m going to make Violet pay for what she did. Each bit of torment far more satisfying than getting her kicked off campus.

A wide grin spreads across Trey’s face. “Yeah? I want in on this.”

Of course he does. Trey is the most sadistic fuck on the team. His goal on the ice isn’t to stop the opposing team from scoring—it’s to wipe out as many of their players as possible.

Which means he won’t hesitate to follow whatever instructions I give him, no matter how fucked up.

Luke rounds the corner, leaning against the row of lockers with brows pulled together and mouth a thin line. “Let’s hear these plans.”

This time last year, he wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of doing anything to hurt Violet. To hurt anyone. He’s the goalie in a contact sport for a reason—he’s big enough to sideline a guy if he has to, but he’d rather keep his hands clean.

Guess Violet is the exception. Maybe his feelings for Chloe went deeper than I realized. He hasn’t been the same since we lost her.

I take in the faces of my teammates, my friends, all of them ready and willing to follow their captain's orders. Exactly as I expected.

The judge didn’t serve justice. But the Devils will.

“I’m going to get the justice my sister deserves, no matter what it takes. We’re going to make her life a living hell here. She’s going to regret stepping a toe back on this campus.”

* * *

Violet

If I’m not leavingcampus, I’ll just have to become invisible. Wes won’t torture me if he forgets I exist.

Despite the heat, I wore a hoodie and sweatpants to class today. I pull my hood up when I head for my dorm to hide out until dinner with Aneesa. This is how I’ll get through this semester and the next. Then Wes will graduate and I’ll finally be free of him. No longer have to worry about what he has planned for me.

Chloe would be so disappointed to see how I’ve regressed. She’s the one who pushed me to step out of my comfort zone freshman year, to help me stand out. But now that’s the last thing I want to do.

I hike up the straps of my backpack, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up like they do when someone’s watching me. I’m always being watched on this campus, but I naively hoped my feeble disguise would stop the stares this time.

Carefully, I peer around to see who might be watching. But the small grassy lots in front of the brick buildings are vacant, everyone in class.

I dare a glance over my shoulder. A tall, broad figure with his hood pulled low to hide his face is trailing behind me, hands in his pockets.

Wait. No. That’s not his face under the hood.

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