Page 1 of Say It Slowly

CHAPTER ONE

Lux

I’m dead.That’s the first and only thought that floats through my mind as the darkness closes in and consumes me.

“Lux!” There’s a voice, a deep baritone drifting through the darkness. “Lux, wake up.”

The pressure on my chest is gone, and my body instinctively draws in a lungful of air, waking me up. I sit up abruptly as a coughing fit grips me, squeezing my lungs. I blink, and see Roman beside me, half on top of my body.

I’mnotdead.

I blink at Roman. “W-what happened?”

“Someone tried to run you over,” he answers, his gaze searching my face. “Are you okay?”

I pull away, and shake my head, pressing a palm against the gritty asphalt to steady myself. “Did you tackle me?”

I realize now, the impact I felt was Roman’s huge body. He must have thrown himself at me to get me out of the way of the car.

His breath is heaving as he studies me, and I know he’s waiting for me to tell him whether I’m okay or not. But honestly, I don’t know. My head hurts, and it feels like I’ve been trampled by a herd of elephants—or one very muscular rich boy.

Somewhere in the distance, tires squeal and the street goes dark again. Roman and I are lying at the end of someone’s driveway—and that someone comes out of their house to see what’s going on.

“Everything okay?” the guy asks.

I open my mouth to ask him to call the police, but Roman speaks before I can. “Yup, fine. Just some asshole speeding. Sorry to bother you,” he says, gathering me up and helping me stand. “Can you walk?” he asks in a low tone, for my ears alone.

I nod, and he helps me over to his car, opening the passenger side door, and guiding me inside. Only when I’m inside his car, staring out of the windshield, does it dawn on me exactly what just happened.

“W-who was that?” I ask when he slides into the driver’s seat, threading my fingers together to stop them from trembling. My whole body is vibrating, though—the adrenaline still pumping through my veins.

“I don’t know. The headlights were blinding. I couldn’t even see the make of the car,” Roman says, starting the engine. “But whoever it was is going to be sorry they fucked with you.”

As he peels out of the quiet street, I can see the anger pulling at his features—even in the near darkness. But is it anger that I was put in danger, or anger that he was forced to save me?

I still can’t help but wonder if he’s behind all of this somehow. I mean, it just so happens he reached me in time to shove me out of the way? Is he trying to play the hero, so I’ll trust him?

I lean back against the headrest, and push out a sigh, trying and failing to calm my rioting nerves. Is thereanyoneIcan trust? Roman’s words from the Prefrence Ceremony come floating back to me.

Careful where you step, Little Rabbit. There are vipers everywhere in this house.

No fucking joke.

At the time, I had no idea how true those words would be. In just a couple of days, I’ve been assaulted, my friend has gone missing, and someone just tried making me roadkill.

Either Roman Rush is a prophet or he knows because he’s the one backstage, pulling the strings. He doesn’t strike me as the spiritual type, so I’m betting it’s the latter.

We drive the two minutes to school, and he pulls into Rush House’s long driveway.

“Why are you bringing me here?” I ask, alarmed. “I want to go back to my dorm room.”

He shakes his head and parks in the back, killing the engine. “It’s not safe for you there.”

I twist in the seat, so I can look at him head-on. “How do you know that?”

His head lolls onto the headrest, and he looks over at me with a nonchalance I find infuriating, given what just happened. His dark wavy hair is mussed, and there’s a scratch running along his cheekbone. I swallow, averting my gaze. Why does the devil have to be so damn handsome?

“You think that asshole—whoever it was— is done with you?” he asks. “Nah, you’d better stick close to me.”

---