Page 17 of Corrupt Me

He stood to his full height, towering over me. The girl in his lap had been discarded. “We need to hash this out now, seeing as we’re going to be housemates.”

The fuck we are.I jerked my arm out from under his fingers, scowling at the tingles rippling up my skin and into other partsof my body. Damn him and the stupid effect he had on me. How could my body be so traitorous? “You appear a little occupied at the moment. And what do you mean housemates? You can’t be living here,” I snapped, sharpness lacing my tone.

He arched a mocking brow. “This is my school, Ever.”

Like hell it is.I wanted to smack the smirk off his face. “Since when?” I countered, hands flying to my hips.

“I transferred last year, remember?” he quipped, folding his arms over his board chest.

Transferred? I vaguely remembered Anna and Blaine mentioning Tristan changing schools, but I was damn sure it wasn’t at FSU.Right?I felt like that was a bit of information my brain would have retained except this year I hadn’t been myself.

Blaine and Anna didn’t talk much about Tristan’s school other than to complain about how Blaine was throwing his money away so his eldest son could major in partying and whoring. With Tristan, his life was always so secretive. It was as if he hadn’t wanted me to know.

In truth, I’d never really asked. I’d been relieved he was gone, taking my temptation to sneak into his room with him. When Tristan was home, I never felt like me.

No. I felt like someone who was starving for him—for his touch—his attention. He had a way of looking at me that made me feel as if he was seeing deep inside, past the walls, to the bits I hide, even from myself.

Was this part of his blackmail plan? I didn’t understand. The idea of living in the same house with him was unfathomable. I couldn’t. I refused to. First thing Monday morning, I was marching down to the housing office to straighten out this mess. Until then... “Just stay out of my way,” I said.

He put a hand on the wall, blocking the exit, and managed to make me feel caged in by his body. He smiled in that way of his that made most girls trip over their feet. Me included. “Thatmight be hard considering we live in the same house. Just like old times, huh, Ever?”

I could feel my face turning shades of red. He made me so mad I could scream right in his too-gorgeous-for-his-own-good face. That’s what he thought. I spun on my heels and stomped into the hall.

eight

My breath came out quickly, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I stomped down the hall, heading for the exit. I needed fresh air. Open space. No walls. And a new fucking house.

Living with Tristan wouldn’t cut it.

How the hell had this happened? No way was this a coincidence. I wasn’t buying it. Tristan had orchestrated this arrangement. I was sure of it, just as I was sure the damn grass was green. But why?

What did he want from me other than to make me miserable and torture me?

I cursed myself for not paying more attention. Had Anna mentioned Tristan transferred to FSU over the summer? Or during the car ride here? Had Preston? I couldn’t remember. I’d spaced out so often, my mind trailing off into those dark corners I tried hard to avoid. Or perhaps my subconscious had known Tristan attended FSU and buried it so my conscious mind wouldn’t object. I was convinced my subconsciousness was obsessed with Tristan.

Sam would lose her shit when she found out we were rooming in the same house as Tristan Fucking Malone. Should I call her now? Break the news over the phone or wait until tomorrow? Then we both could march down to the admissions office together and demand, threaten even if that’s what it took, they move us.

I didn’t see the point in unpacking since I wouldn’t be staying more than a night.

I shoved open the front door, inhaling long as I tossed my head back to the late afternoon sun. Orange, red, and splashes of yellow streaked across the soft blue canvas above. Puffy white clouds moved lazily in the sky, forming and reforming in a variety of shapes. Birds chirped in the nearby palm trees, and a faint trace of orange lingered as a breeze blew past.

I started walking, not caring where I went as long as it was far from Thorn Hall.

Was it too late to for me transfer to another university? Nothing was impossible, right? Surely, I could start applying now, if not for this semester, then the next, because I could not be on the same campus as Tristan—as the guy who blackmailed me. Who had gone from a friend to...someone I didn’t know anymore.

I felt the tears rising. The very point of coming to college had been to leave my past behind me, not drag it with me. That’s what Tristan represented. All the shit I wanted to forget. Mom. Preston. Who I’d been.

Sam didn’t count. She was the only part of my past I wanted to tow with me into my future—the one constant in my life that I needed to remain. I wanted to embrace change and roll with the punches. No, I wanted to punch Tristan right in his smug, pierced mouth.

Lifting my scowling gaze from the ground, I noticed I’d stumbled onto Greek life, the sorority and fraternity houses ofFSU. They lined the street on both sides, large Greek letters posted onto the front of the homes in various colors and shapes, all unique and structurally interesting.

It provided a momentary distraction as I slowly strolled down the path leading to campus. I walked around the grounds, studying the buildings and familiarizing myself with the layout for when classes started. This was something Sam and I planned to do together, but it didn’t hurt to get a head start.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee enticed me as I hooked around the corner, and once my nose got a whiff, the craving wouldn’t be tamed until I got a fix. Following the scent, I stumbled onto a little coffee café, Java Break. If the caffeine was strong, this might become my morning stop before class.

I was surprised to see a bit of a line this time of day, but with nothing else to do, I was happy to wait. When it was my turn, I rattled off my order and swiped my card. The barista, a cute guy with shoulder-length wavy hair, smiled at me. “First year?” he guessed.

“That obvious?” I replied, tucking a piece of windblown hair behind my ear.

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