Page 13 of Pretty Little Psycho

If I hadn’t already been defiled by those douchebags, I would have wanted him to defile me. There had been something electric between us. Something tethering us to each other for the briefest of moments. My fantasies since then consisted of him. But last night all that shattered. Riot, Atlas, and Valentin are nothing but over-privileged rich kids with control issues and a sick fascination with trying to intimidate freshmen.

Fuck them. If they think I’m scared of them, they have no idea who the fuck I am.

After taking a long hot shower, I throw on a pair of ripped jeans, brown leather riding boots, and a beige wool sweater. I crack open my bedroom door and breathe a sigh of relief when I realize Libra is nowhere in sight. Maybe she’s still sleeping but hopefully, she’s just out. I don’t have the mental capacity to deal with her right now. That girl seems to have only two speeds—a lot and a lot more.

I throw my leather bag over my shoulder and head for the elevator. When the doors slide open I start forward then jump at the willowy figure standing inside. “Fuck. Jessamine, you scared the shit out of me.”

The girl giggles. “Sorry, Maur. When I’m bored, I ride the elevator up and down. Did you know they sealed it off once? Because of the fire. They were trapped up here. I heard them choking. It’s better now. No more smoke.” She rocks back and forth on her feet, smiling like she’s remembering a good dream.

Something in my gut twists. My skin prickles. There is something so off about this chick. And I don’t like how casual she is with me. “Don’t call me Maur. Only my best friend calls me that.”

Jessamine’s mouth gapes. Her eyes water. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “Professor Erebus always warns me about my manners.” She drops her head down, and I feel like shit for snapping.

I let out a deep breath. “Fuck. It’s fine. Sorry. Call me whatever you want. I just had a weird night. It’s hard getting acclimated here.”

Her smile returns, and she goes back to bouncing from side to side. “You should stay away from Nocturnus. The ravens might not let you leave next time.”

I can’t believe this girl is a student here. She is sweet but disturbed. She seems too young to be here and yet too old at the same time. “When was there a fire up here?” I find it hard to believe that my pristine apartment had been rebuilt recently. While the appliances and furniture were super modern, the windows and floors look antique.

The elevator doors ding open, and Jessamine hops out first. “Oh, it was a very long time ago. Like a century ago. I can’t remember.”

Um, what? “Wait. A hundred years ago? Jessamine, you’re not making any sense. I thought you said you could hear them choking.” I step out and look around at all the curious faces, their scrutiny aimed in my direction, and realize the strange little girl is gone. Again.

What the actual fuck? Now I look like a weirdo talking to myself again. She has got to stop doing that to me.

“I see you’ve met Jessamine. She must really like you.” A striking girl with black hair and big brown eyes blocks my path.

“What makes you say that?” I almost made the poor girl cry in the elevator.

“She doesn’t let everyone see her. But you can. Hence the liking you part,” she teases. Her voice is warm and inviting. It makes me miss home. She sticks out her hand. “I’m Villette by the way.”

I shake her hand, noticing how her flawless brown skin is makeup-free and gorgeous. How the hell does she keep that glow with all this rain and fog every day?

“I’m Maureen Bla—just Maureen.” I shake her hand and cut myself off before I have yet another stranger look at me like they want to kill me. “I still don’t understand what you mean about Jessamine.”

Villette smirks. “I get it. My last name comes with baggage too. But, um, yeah so Jessamine is dead. She’s you know, a ghost. Most of the students here think she’s a myth but I’ve fed the birds with her on many occasions.”

My stomach drops. Everything that has come out of Jessamine’s mouth suddenly makes sense. “Fuck. How’d she die?”

Villette arches an eyebrow at me, a look of amusement in her eyes. “You believe me just like that?”

It was my turn to giggle. “Girl, I’m from Wickford Hollow. My best friend is a ghost.”

Villette’s grin widens. “I think I’m really going to like you.”

A little bit of weight dissipates off my shoulders and for the first time since I arrived at Tenebrose, I’m excited to make a new friend. “Same. Wanna show me where the library is?”

Villette loops her arm through mine. “Be happy to.”

Once we are outside, she tilts her head toward my ear and whispers, “Jessamine was murdered by the way. A long time ago. And she’s not the only one.”

A knot forms in the pit of my stomach. “By whom?”

Villette shrugs and quickens her pace, forcing me to do the same. “She says it was for the ravens. Some kind of sacrifice or something.”

A tingling breaks out in my feet as my adrenaline surges. What the fuck was up with this town and their ravens? And did this have anything to do with the fire she mentioned earlier? “Did she tell you how she died?” I ask quietly.

She nods. “Poison.”

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