Page 71 of Glass Omega

Despite being able to swim for long stretches, on land she could barely run a mile without needing a break and more often than not she was left wheezing by the time we finished the more complicated maneuvers of self-defense.

Eli had told me after her clean bill of health at her check-up that her body could take years to build the kind of stamina a completely healthy young adult should have again and to take it easy on her.

Which meant thatifshe was alone and being attacked, I highly doubted that she’d be able to defend herself against an assailant bigger than her which was most people seeing as she was barely five-foot-two and it seemed like a stray wind could take her away.

Perrie’s gray eyes lifted to meet mine, practically pleading for me to agree. “And we’re just going to be at Kailey’s house. You and the security guys you pretend aren’t on campus everyday with us can sit outside in a van or something.”

I frowned. Perrie wasn’t supposed to know about the team of five that were on standby in case I needed them. We were supposed to be playing along with the illusion that it was just me on campus protecting her.

“Please, Rhodes, I’ve never been to a sleepover before.”

Perrie’s words shot right through my resolve. I should have said no again and left it at that, but the memory of how she’d looked the first night we’d met rose unbidden in my mind.

She’d only been eighteen then and had been about forty pounds lighter, but she’d had that same look in her gray eyes. Like life was busy passing her by and she didn’t know how to stop it.

“Fine,” I finally gave in with a sigh. “But you will keep your phone on you at all times and if I see anything weird happening, we go.”

Perrie squealed and threw herself out of her chair at me, her arms linking around my neck. “Thank you, thank you,thank you!”

Strawberry mixed with vanilla filled my nose as I held myself stiff in her embrace. I hadn’t really smelled it up close since Edison had confronted me in the locker room and I wanted to pull her fully into my lap and press my nose to where the mingled scent was the strongest.

But Kailey was already returning with a fresh coffee in hand and a squeal of her own.

“Did he say yes?”

Perrie nodded and slumped back into her own seat, her pale cheeks flushed pink as her brows drew together into a momentarily confused expression before Kailey was also wrapping her up in a hug.

“This is going to be so fun!” The beta looked over at me with dancing eyes. “Thank you, Mr. Knight-in-shining armor. You won’t regret it!”

But two days later as I stood in Kailey’s living room staring at Perrie’s cell phone on the coffee table and none of the girls to be found, I realized just how much I’d fucked up agreeing to let her go.

Pressing call on Edison’s number, my words caught in my throat when he finally answered.

“Hey, what’s up? I’m in the middle of a meeting right now. Is sitting in the van boring you more than you thought it would?” Edison was in the next city over for a meeting with Shuuhei Saito who’d apparently dug something up—something that had put Edison in a good enough mood to agree to let his wife hang out with her friends for the evening.

“Edison,” I began, my words choked. “I lost her.”

Twenty

“Istill don’t think this was a good idea, Kailey,” I told my friend as she dragged me up the steps of the fraternity house that was currently packed to the brim with people.

“Oh come on, live a little, Perrie! Every young woman needs to experience a college party at least once in her life,” Kailey said as she blew a kiss to the frat pledge dressed in aMagic Mike-esque costume complete with a set of bunny ears. “Besides, we’re just going to go in and spend, like, an hour before sneaking back into my house and your knight-in-shining-armor will never realize we’ve left.”

Guilt at leaving Rhodes and the rest of my security team sitting outside of Kailey’s house filled me as we stepped into what could only be described as pure chaos. Not only that, they’d convincedme to put on one of Kailey’s too-short skirts and a halter top that was showing off far too much of my skin.

I was desperately missing the sweatshirt and jeans that I’d shown up in at Kailey’s house as we stepped inside and eyes turned to stare at us.

The large living room of the house was packed full of people dancing as a DJ, perched precariously on the massive stone hearth of the fireplace bumped music so loud that I swore the window panes were shaking.

The stairs leading up to what was assuredly some of the dirtiest college boy bedrooms were littered with couples making out with the occasional drunk girl trying to crawl her way up to one of the restrooms and needing to basically parkour over the lip locked pairs.

Then there was the scent of the place. Bodies crammed together, each with their own personal scents mixed in with the level of body odor that could only be achieved from so many people being hot and sweaty in one, confined space. The air was also hazy with the smoke of marijuana that was so potent that I was half-afraid I was going to get a contact high just from being inside.

It was so immediately overwhelming that I nearly tucked tail and ran out to try and retrace my steps a couple of streets over back to Kailey’s house.

“Yeah, princess, live a little,” Dahlia, one of Kailey’s friends who I’d met for the first time tonight, said as she gave me a not-so-gentle push into the midst of the crowd.

Out of the three girls that I’d met tonight, Dahlia was my least favorite. At least Jessica and Annie seemed to want to be friends with me, but Dahlia had made it clear that I didn’t fit in with them.

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