Page 197 of Seeds of Malice

Ivy puts a cold cloth over my neck. She crouches down by me and strokes my head.

I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling like I might need to hurl again.

"Are you okay?" she questions.

I sit back and slide against the wall. She follows. I put my arm around her, my skin covered in sweat, breathing hard. "I'll be fine."

"Did you drink too much?" she asks.

This has nothing to do with alcohol, but I nod. "Yeah, I must have."

She sighs and puts her head in the curve of my neck.

I slide my hand over her ass, wondering what the fuck I've done and how I'm going to reverse this. But there's no going back. I know it deep down.

I sit there for several minutes and then make Ivy get up. We go back to the bedroom.

Her phone lights up and vibrates on the table. She grabs it, then exclaims, "Oh my gosh, Dax!"

My stomach dives again. "What is it?"

"I got in."

It's a stupid question, but I ask it anyway. "What do you mean you got in?"

"To the sisterhood! Avery just texted me. She said they accepted my bid. They're excited to welcome me into Gamma Sigma Phi!"

I feel like I can't breathe. My chest tightens, and the air in my lungs turns stale.

Ivy peers at me closer. "Why do you look like you aren't happy?"

I stay quiet, trying to figure out my thoughts. Emotions I don't ever have plague me, and I wonder why I no longer want this.

It will be the beginning of her demise.

No, I'm going to stop her from joining.

"I don't want you accepting it," I tell her.

She jerks her head backward, scrunching her forehead. "What do you mean? I only rushed because you told me to. Everything I did last night was because you told me to do whatever I needed to in order to get in."

Her words are a slap in the face.

"Why aren't you happy for me? We left before Bobby said we could leave the room, and they still want me."

I stay quiet, unsure what to say or how to explain myself.

Ivy's voice shakes, but there's a firmness in her tone. "Don't tell me I did all that for nothing."

I'll figure out later how to get her blackballed.

I release a breath and force a smile. "No, baby girl, I was just teasing. Congratulations."

Her smile returns.

I pull her into me, stroking her back, wondering how the hell I'm ever going to keep her as mine.

The end is near.

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