Page 48 of Drown in You

Once I finally hit the landing on the first floor, I’m already breathless, lungs aching and heart straining against my ribcage. Maybe he’s right not to worry about catching me.

No. I won’t let him get in my head. Won’t let him get his hands on me. I’m not letting my stepbrother fuck me against some tree or in the dirt. He may be bigger, faster, and stronger, but I’m smart. I don’t have to outrun him—I just have to hide from him. Long enough that he’ll give up and head back to the Devils’ house.

I burst through the door, scanning frantically for my hiding place. I can’t run outside. I’m in nothing but tiny shorts and a thin tank top. The cold will ravage me before Luke does.

The girls’ communal bathroom. It’s nearly one in the morning—there may not be anyone in there to tell him to get the hell out, but that’s where I’ll have the best odds of hiding from him.

Before he can burst through the door behind me, I take off down the hallway and skid into the restroom.

The toilet and shower stalls don’t do much for privacy, but they’ll have to be good enough for now.

I dart into one of the shower stalls and lock the door behind me, ducking back to the wall, heart jackhammering and chest heaving.

Ten seconds tick by. Twenty. Thirty. A small bubble of hope begins to rise in my chest. Maybe he lost me. Maybe he really won’t catch me in here.

How long should I wait before I head back up to my dorm? He could be waiting to ambush me. I can’t leave too soon.

Once my heart has finally slowed and my breathing evened, I step forward, reaching out to flick the lock.

Until the door creaks open.

Heavy footsteps echo in the silent room. Through the crack in the stall door, I spot the reflection in the row of mirrors on the opposite wall.

A masked man.

My stomach drops to my feet. He’s going to find me. There’s no fucking way I can hide from him now.

An insane part of me doesn’t want to. Part of me wants him to find me.

“Sienna.” He calls out my name not like a question but a taunt. He knows where I am. He’s simply a cat playing with its prey before delivering the final blow.

I squeeze my eyes shut as his footsteps approach and he smacks every stall door open with a clatter as he passes. Soon, he’ll reach mine.

I’ll do everything you want me to do to you.

There’s so much I want him to do to me. Everything.

“This is my new favorite game,” he croons. “Can’t wait for what we play next.”

Do I try to run now? Swing the door open and dart past him? Or do I give in? Let him do what we both want and hope no one walks in on us. My pulse echoes in my ears as his footsteps grow closer.

A squeal of the bathroom door opening.

“Hey!” A sharp, feminine voice calls. An RA. “What are you doing in here?”

Luke’s rumbling voice follows. “Just came in to take a piss.”

“Out. And take off that silly mask.”

To my relief, Luke’s footsteps retreat. “Come on, the mask is sexy.”

“Uh-huh.” The RA’s voice tells me she doesn’t care to hear his bullshit at one in the morning.

The door clicks shut behind them.

Every tight muscle in my body relaxes at once. Yet my stomach dips with disappointment that the RA on duty intervened. The horny part of my brain wanted to find out what Luke had planned for me in the shower stall.

With weak legs, I leave the stall and peek out of the restroom. No one in sight. No masked man waiting for me in the shadows. I escaped him.

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