Page 99 of Good Girl

“Emery!”

Relief hits me at the tiny reprieve, but the moment I look toward the barista, my heart sinks into my ass.

Derek, Darcy, Hudson, and Xavier are all standing at the counter, in slacks and button-ups and looking fucking handsome. It’s like some sort of weird slow-mo movie effect, where all four of them turn and look at me.

The easy smiles on their faces drop, and my confusion is written on their faces. The noise of the café fades away and is replaced by the rapid beating of my heart.

What are they doing here?

“Order for Emery!”

“Ems, you okay?” Oakley’s voice sounds like she is speaking to me from underwater.

Slowly, I get up and go to collect our coffees, never once glancing away from the four men who spent the weekend rearranging my chemical makeup. But with every step I take, their expressions change to something that looks like irritation and worse. Anger.

I stop several feet away from them, the length of the fancy café coffee machine between us, and start to collect our coffees. Myheart pounds in my chest and my entire body feels hot. All my internal warning alarms are going crazy right now.

Something is not adding up.

Why the fuck are they here?

And why do they appear angry with me?

Did I miss a text message?

Before I can collect my coffees, a hand latches on to my forearm, and I’m jerked away from the counter.

I stare at the back of Derek’s head as I’m all but dragged through Grinder’s door, back out into the warm air. Even if I could get free of his grip, there are three hulking presences behind me, who I highly doubt will let me get away.

“Wait—”

“Not a word,” Derek grits out as he leads all of us around to the other side of the building, which seems to be all but abandoned, compared to the coffee shop side.

We come to a sudden halt, and then I’m backed up against the brick of the building so fast, I’m a touch winded. The four of them crowd into me, blocking my view of anything past them. Ice fills my veins as they all stand there staring at me.

Derek, Darcy, and Hudson all look very annoyed, while Xavier’s face is neutral. Shit, what the hell is going on right now?

“What are you doing here, Emery?” Hudson demands, his icy blue eyes are narrowed and hard as they drill into me.

Nausea churns in my stomach. “I—"

“How did you figure out where we work?” Darcy asks before I can respond.

My heart hurts at the confusion on his face. “No, I—”

“You need to leave.” Derek’s voice is low and a little scary, to be honest. “Now.”

Tears prick at my eyes and my chest aches, but fuck that. I stamp my foot. “Would you let me fucking answer?”

When all they do is glare at me, I take that as a yes.

“I go here. Today’s my first day as a freshman. I had no idea you worked here,” I say as quickly as I can, my voice getting quieter as their expressions change faster than I can understand, but they all move in a direction I'm used to. Dangerous. “I live on campus.” That last bit is said on a whisper.

Something is going on right now, and my heart is racing too fast for me to think. All I know is that it can’t be good. At all.

The warm and fuzzy feelings that I have been holding on to all morning slowly turn sour in my chest. My fingers tingle and I am pretty sure I am hyperventilating, but I can't be sure, because everything feels like it is flowing towards me through a tunnel.

“You’re a student?” Hudson asks, his voice hard, even though his face has gone a little pale.

---