Page 1 of Snake

Nim

“Hey, Nim? Let me get that for you.”

I spin on my heel, hand clenching tighter around the duffle bag’s strap when Silas reaches for it. It takes a moment of furious negotiation between my brain and my muscles before I let him take it.

I’m in Mason’s room. The Serpents are all here, watching as I get ready to leave, and when Silas speaks, my first instinct is to make a run for it, before they change their minds. I’ve had that urge the entire drive over here. In Knox’s X7, I had a death grip on my seat belt, my fingers itching to unlock the door and bolt away as soon as we hit a traffic intersection.

The presence of the three silent, brooding men in the cab with me was enough to set my teeth on edge. I couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d agreed to me moving out so I wouldn’t make a fuss in Mason’s house, but they were true to their word. As soon as we walked into the dorm room, the three of them went to work packing up my stuff.

Silas takes my duffle bag from me, and I watch him with wide eyes as he heads down the hallway with it. Mason and Knox remain behind, but their gazes bore into me as I follow Silas.

Scurry is a better word.

Silas walks me all the way back to Romi’s room, and waits with me until she opens the door. It’s late Saturday afternoon, so I’m surprised she’s even at the Academy, but judging from her rumpled pajamas and messy hair, I guess she caught up on some sleep instead of heading home for family time.

“Nim!” Her eyes fly to Silas, and she takes a hurried step back like she’s expecting him to push past me and do something violent to her. But at the same time, she’s plucking at her clothes and smoothing down her hair like she doesn’t want him to see her in such a state of disarray.I barely stop myself from rolling my eyes, although I can hardly blame her.

Her reaction sums up everyone’sreaction to the Serpents. Outright fear, swiftly followed with optimistic lechery.

“Still got space in here for me?” I peek past her into the room, hinting for her to move the hell out of the way so I can get inside and slam the door in Silas’s face.

“Wh—yes, of course!” Romi grabs my wrist, hauling me past her. I turn to take my bag from Silas, but like I’d feared, he decides the bag is too heavy for my weak female arms and brings it inside with him.

His piercing blue eyes scan Romi’s and my room like a Russian spy looking for bugs. I assume he finds nothing amiss, because he gives Romi a curt nod before turning to leave. I hurry after him, still determined to slam the door, but he turns around at the threshold.

Like an idiot, I run right into his torso.If he hadn’t grabbed my upper arms, I’d have ended up sprawled on the carpet.

“Keep this door locked at all times.”

“Unless you or your friends are planning to pay me a visit, I’ll be safe,” I grumble, pushing against his pecs to usher him out of the room.

He snatches my wrists, using that grip to draw me against him. When he glares down at me, the blood in my body drops seventy degrees. “It’s not just us you have to be careful of.” There isn’t a hint of emotion in his voice, only a faint scowl on his face. Which is a sight more comforting after the dead, expressionless mask he’d been wearing most of the day.Not that I can blame him…I went into a catatonic state when I found out my parents were dead. Who am I to say what he’s supposed to be feeling the day he pulled the plug on his own father?

“I’ll be fine,” I mutter, yanking my hands out of his grip with effort.

My arms are shaking so much that, when I finally get to slam the door, it’s not nearly hard enough. I doubt the sound even carries a yard.

God, I despise them.

I turn to Romi, who’d been standing right behind me. She has a worried look in her big brown eyes that disappears behind twinkling joy as soon as I face her. She squeals, enveloping me in a fierce hug.

“Thank God you’re back,” she says, holding me at arm’s length. “Does this mean they’re done tormenting you?”

“It fucking better.”

She grabs my hand, leading me deeper into our room. “Come on. I was like twenty episodes into Gilmore Girls. Let’s pop some popcorn and I’ll catch you up.”

I laugh, and it astonishes me that I can. But I’m done living in the past, or dreading the future. I think it’s high time I began living in the now.

And right now, there’s nothing I want to do more than forget all about the Serpents.

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