Page 159 of Damaged Protector

“Mallori, can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Tired,” she rasped. “So tired.”

That’s when I noticed the dark circles ringing her eyes. Poor thing. She wasn’t hurt; she was exhausted.

Standing, I paused at the doorway. Should I take her to my bed or to the living room to let her rest? Deciding putting her in my bed would be a bit presumptuous, I headed to the left and settled on one end of the couch with Mal’s head in my lap. After covering her with a blanket, I stroked her hair and let her sleep.

For two full hours, she dozed deeply, our breathing being the only sound in the room. Jesus, how do they expect their students to function when they overwork them like this? The harder she slept, the angrier I became. I mean, I knew this was a doctorate-level program, but fuck. This was bordering on abusive.

When her eyelids finally fluttered, I figured she’d wake up disoriented, so I whispered, “It’s Hawk, baby. You’re at my house.”

A soft smile curved her lips, and she rolled toward me and nestled her nose against my stomach. I continued rubbing her hair for a few more minutes until she finally opened her eyes.

“Hey, sorry,” she said, her voice sounding like she’d swallowed a desert full of sand.

“It’s okay. You needed the rest.” I fought the urge to kiss some moisture onto her dry lips. “When was the last time you got a good night’s sleep, Bee?”

Tears pooled in her beautiful eyes. “It’s been a while. They’re horrible people.”

I wanted to fucking punch someone. “Is it studying or assignments?”

Her face crumpled, and a sob erupted from her chest. “No, I’m doing good in school. It’s my roommates.”

Wait. What? I lifted her to sit in my lap, and she buried her face in my neck. “You have more than one roommate? There are only two beds in your room.”

Mal shook her head. “Starla is my legal roommate, but her boyfriend lives there too. They keep me up all night, every night.”

I was so fucking confused. “You need to tell someone, sweetheart.”

She lifted her head and glared at me through her tears. “You think I haven’t tried that? I go to the housing office several times a week, but they say there’s nothing they can do. “Starla and Donner—”

“Wait, did you say Donner? Like Santa’s reindeer?”

Mallori let out a little hiccuping laugh. “That’s what I said. He’s more like Satan’s spawn.”

My blood began to simmer in my veins. “How are they keeping you awake?”

“They have sex a lot, and when they’re done, they turn on the TV. Sometimes they’ll doze off, and I sneak the remote from them and turn the volume down, but a few minutes after I get back in bed, they turn it back up. None of Starla’s classes start until afternoon, so she’s able to sleep in the mornings after she’s done torturing me.”

I was completely flabbergasted, and my simmering anger turned into a full-fledged flame. “They have sex with you in the room?”

She nodded. “I tried to talk reasonably to her, but she just acted like a bitch, so I finally reported her. That pissed her off, and now they’re trying to make me think I’m crazy.”

“How?” I gritted out, clenching my fist against the couch cushion.

Mallori closed her eyes and shook her head. “Just a bunch of weird little things, but I know it’s them. Like I’ll be gone from the room for twelve hours, but when I return, my toothbrush is wet.”

My mouth dropped open. “You didn’t use it, did you?”

She shook her head vehemently and scrunched her cute nose. “Hell no. I went and bought a new one, and I keep it in my backpack, which I keep on my bed while I sleep. Or while I try to sleep. And I think they’re moving my underwear.”

Red colored my vision. “That motherfucker touched your underwear?”

Mallori’s face looked pained. “I think so. That’s what I mean about trying to make me think I’m losing it. I always keep my panties on the right side of the drawer, but when I come home from class, they’re moved to the far left.”

“You’re moving back in here,” I blurted out, and her eyes widened.

“I-I can’t do that.”

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