Page 20 of Heartless Legacy

My stomach burns and I drink some more to coat it. At this rate, the pain might be an ulcer or abscess from how much I drink on an empty stomach. But who cares? My friends certainly don’t, and neither do I.

I swallow the rest of my drink, noting the burning feeling extends through my chest, and there’s a twinge in my right upper abdomen and my back. Liver and kidney damage. Here I come. I grimace at the empty glass I’m holding. This watered down shit isn’t getting me fucked up fast enough. I need something harder. Or another race. I should’ve thought of that option before I started drinking. I’m likely to crash if I tried to operate any kind of vehicle right now.

There’s always fighting. A few more drinks and it’ll almost be a fair fight, I muse, pushing my way through the crowd, bumping into people, and grumbling, “Get the fuck out of my way.”

There’s an unopened bottle of Hennessy on the makeshift bar. I grab it and crack it open, tilting it to my lips as I find another wall to blend in with. A cute blonde with a pixie cut comes to stand beside me. “Hi.”

I grunt in reply. She drinks, not trying to talk my ear off, but her arm brushes against mine every few minutes. Maybe that’s what I need. To fuck and break this hold Thea has on me.

She’s gone. Whatever future I envisioned for us is ruined, and I’m stuck with Eloise. I can’t see past how much I hate her to ever be attracted to her. But what am I gonna do? Be a monk? Someone has to be my first piece of ass after Thea. Why not the pixie cut standing beside me?

Looking down at her, I notice how small she is. Breakable. Am I even gonna get to nut before she’s crying that it’s too much? Thea could take a good pounding. She craved it. Liked to fuck as hard as she fought.

I take another drink. You gotta break a few eggs before you make an omelette, right? And that’s what I need to do. Make an omelette out of my life.

“Pick a friend.”

“Huh?” She blinks up at me, confusion marring her tiny little face.

I spell it out for her as clearly as I can. “It’s your lucky night. I’m gonna fuck you and a friend. You’ve got five minutes to pick one.”

Chapter 14

Holden

Pax is no longer trying to hide his drinking. It’s become a bit of a game, watching as Eloise tries to take the flask or bottle away from him. I tell myself I don’t care, but this shit looks bad for all of us. The girl who was standing next to him rushes to the other side of the room, whispering and gesturing excitedly to her friend.

I stroll over to where Pax is leaning against the wall. He shifts his arm away to hide the scrapes on his hand, but that does nothing for the one on his face. I know road rash when I see it. Was the idiot riding without a helmet?

I voice my question. “Were you racing your bike without a helmet again?” He rolls his eyes and takes another gulp from the bottle he’s clutching. “Are you trying to kill yourself?”

“Yes.”

He walks off. The conviction of that one word falls like lead at my feet. I watch him stagger through the crowd of bodies in our frat house, and make his way up the stairs with two girls in tow. What the fuck is going on with Pax? Is he truly suicidal?

Eloise is watching me. She quickly looks away when she sees I’ve caught her staring. There are three other prospects in theroom who seem to be more focused on me than the girls in their laps. Like I said, Pax’s behavior reflects badly on us all.

It’s amazing the type of shit you see and hear when people think you’re socially awkward. I let the silence drag on too long so they’re happy to walk away, talk too much to fill it, or ignore me altogether. Tonight, I’m being ignored, which allows me to slip out of the frat house undetected.

I trail Eloise across campus and through the doors of Vale Tower, entering the building after she’s already on the elevator. I wait in the lobby, watching as it ascends past her floor, stopping on mine.

Not wanting the main elevator to announce my arrival, I walk to the end of the hall and use the private one. I’m hidden behind the secret panel, watching Eloise through the camera feed on my phone. She jiggles the handle on Thea’s door before pulling out a red key fob.

It must be the one she used last year to get in and destroy Thea’s shit. This floor is a safe zone. Or it should be, but Pax’s new flame is strolling around here like she owns the place. So much for him respecting our space and setting boundaries. What happened to all the rules he was touting when he was trying to keep Thea in line?

Eloise tries the key fob twice more. The light on the panel cycles through green, then flashes red. She finally gives up and goes over to Finn’s door. I watch as she pulls out another key and presses it against his lock. It disengages, and she swings the door open, letting herself inside. When the door closes behind her, I emerge from the hidden passageway and slip into my room, catching sight of her on the patio camera. She climbs onto Thea’s balcony the same way Finn does.

The room is empty, so why the hell does Eloise want to get inside it so badly? My phone buzzes with a message from Finn. I text a quick reply.

Holden

Get to the dorms. We have a problem.

I use the passage between the two rooms, stepping through the closet into Thea’s bedroom. I can hear Eloise muttering about hiding spots. Is she looking for Thea’s challenge items? If so, she won’t find them. Thea took our warning to heart. There’s nothing hidden here.

Eloise’s voice gets louder. “The key didn’t work. Yes, I used the right one. It’s the same one I used last year.” She pauses, then says, “I’m in the room. I had to use the second key and climb over Finn’s balcony to get inside.”

Irritation laces her next reply. “I didn’t exactly plan on having to go through his room.” I inch forward, peeking through the crack in the door. She’s opening and closing cabinets. “There’s nothing here. Not even a scrap of paper. She must’ve packed up everything before she…” She huffs, “No, I can’t do that. I wasn’t friends with her, and there’s no way her parents will believe I was.”

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