Page 3 of Gambit's Property

FRANCI

My grades are slipping, and I know it. I can’t focus on anything but the fact that he kissed me and then walked away. He broke my heart, and I haven’t seen him since. Three other bikers from his club showed up to watch over me that day, and a rideshare took me back to my dorm, where I cried myself to sleep. I still remember the sting of defeat when the tallest of the bikers came toward me and asked for the leather jacket I’d been clutching. I wanted to cuddle up and wear it, keep some piece of him, but I handed it back. It’s been a couple of weeks, and summer finals are here.

I can’t tank my GPA for an idiot. I know that Ley keeps wondering what’s wrong with me, but I haven’t told her. How could I? How do I tell her that a friend of hers broke my heart? She’d be furious with him, and I won’t do that to him.

Sitting in the library, I look down as my phone begins vibrating across the table. I pick it up and walk out to the lobby for a moment.

“Hello,” I answer. Part of me hopes it’s Gavin calling to apologize, to say he didn’t mean any of it, but it’s not.

“Hello, little cocktease.” The voice causes a flashback to instantly hit. I remember him talking about raping one of my sisters.

“Wh-What do you want?” I ask, unable to stop the fear from washing over me.

“I want you. With Angeline dead, I can kill your guardian and finally come after you.”

“Don’t call me again.” I try to keep my voice steady and hang up on him.

I look around to see if anyone is watching me, but I don’t notice anyone out of the ordinary. I throw my phone at the pavement in frustration and then head back inside. Once I’m seated, I open my tablet and send a message to Ley.

Me: I dropped my cell and it broke. Can you get me a new one?

Ley: I’ll have your morning detail leave it in your box.

Me: Thank you.

I hate lying to her, but he said he’d kill her. He doesn’t know that she’s still alive, and I wasn’t going to correct him. A chill washes across my skin, causing me to tremble. I can’t stay here studying in public anymore. I pack up quickly and head for my dorm room.

I unlock the door and punch the code into the panel to disengage the alarm. My room is one of the few private dorm suites with enhanced security. Ley told the school I needed to have special protection, or she wouldn’t let me attend. They gave in when she donated money to set up several other suites as well.

My space is sparsely decorated. I have a couple of shark pictures on the walls. My dream is to join a research team to study them someday. I turn up my music and sit at my desk by the single window to continue studying. But my mind wanders to the day I met Gavin. His leather vest had “Shiver of Chaos MC” emblazoned on it. A shiver is a group of great white sharks,and MC stands for motorcycle club. Intrigued, I can’t help but search for information about the group. I learn that it’s a local club made up of former military and law enforcement.

An hour later, I decide to get ready for bed. I’m exhausted, but I can’t sleep because I keep thinking about him. I’m done giving him my time and attention, though. This weekend, I’m going on a retail therapy run. I want to get some new clothes and change up my style a bit. I still like my edgy clothes and will continue to wear them, but I want some nicer sweater outfits and skirts for next semester. I need to start making a good impression on my professors to ensure I get a strong recommendation for my master’s program next year. Having completed an accelerated program in high school, I had enough credits to start college as a sophomore. With my junior year ahead of me, I plan to pursue dual degrees in marine biology.

Settling here in Eastport was perfect for us. I study sharks, and the depredation that is starting to occur in this port will be beneficial to my research. The sharks directly competing with humans for fish and stealing their catch could lead to increased shark killings, and I don’t want that.

I stand and stretch my back, twisting my head side to side to relieve the stiffness in my neck from sitting for so long. I need to go to the gym tomorrow and work out before my final in the afternoon.

I look at myself in the mirror over the sink, trying to figure out what might have turned him off. My long hair needs a trim. My skin is flawless, just like I remember my mother’s was. My eyes are wide, and my face is oval, with a doll-like quality. I’m what they call a rare light-eyed Kosovan. I have blue eyes, while all my siblings had brown. My father had blue eyes too, so I take after his side of the family.

Memories flash through my mind, and I need to get out of my head. I decide to take a shower before bed. As I turn on thewater, I notice my shampoo bottle isn’t where I normally keep it. I try to remember if I moved it, but then I decide I can’t focus on that right now. The tears are starting to come, and I need to get into the shower before they fall.

Ever since moving to the United States with Ley, I’ve only cried in the shower so she wouldn’t know. I don’t want her to think I don’t appreciate everything she’s sacrificed for me—the scars she bears from protecting me. I won’t let her see this side of me, so it’s become a habit for me to get into the shower before I let it all out.

I stand under the warm water, letting it sluice off my body as the first sob breaks free. I cry for a while, mourning the family I miss, and then for the man who broke my heart. A heart I can’t believe I obviously gave him. Why else would the pain be so intense? I only knew him for an hour, but he left me just like my family did.

When I finally climb into bed, I roll over and reach for my kindle, but like my shampoo, it isn’t where I left it. I don’t bother looking for it. I’m wiped out, so I hit the switch to turn off the overhead light. The bathroom light is still on, so I’m not completely in the dark—another reminder of everything I’ve been through.

The cupboard is small and tight, but I hold my hand over my mouth to cover my sobs as I peer through the crack at the unfolding horror. My sister-in-law is bleeding out, having lost her baby, as the men rape her. A woman tries to fight them. She’s begging them to leave us alone. One of the men hits her hard across the face while another restrains her from behind. I fear they are going to rape her too.

My older two sisters are already dead. I heard them screaming and watched as their throats were cut. One of the men said it would look like Muslims attacked us and killedmy family if they slit the throats. My father is lying there, his sightless eyes focused on my hiding spot.

The men handcuff the woman to a chair and proceed to rape my sister-in-law again. My brothers were all tortured before they were killed. One man even raped them too. It was awful.

Someone slams into the cupboard, and I can’t hold in the scream. The door swings open, and I scream and start yelling in Gheg for them not to hurt me.

I sit up fast, screaming and scurrying away until I fall off the other side of the bed. As my focus returns, I realize I’m far from the Berisha farm. I’m shaking and covered in sweat. My legs quake as I stand up and head to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face. That’s when I realize I’ve been crying in my sleep. Unable to return to bed, I change out of my jammies into a pair of full-length, high-waisted, skintight workout leggings, a sports bra, and a baggy hoodie. I slip on my runners and head out of the dorm with my key on my wrist. I don’t stop running until I reach the gym, where only a few people are working out. I start lifting small weights on the machines before jumping on the treadmill and continuing to run.

One of the many things Ley has passed onto me is the need to work out when I’m anxious or upset. I can’t stop my legs from pumping until I’m exhausted. When I finally step off the treadmill, I notice the gym is starting to fill up. I glance at the clock and see it’s almost eight in the morning. I arrived at five and have been working out for the last three hours. As I walk across the quad back to my dorm, I feel eyes on me. I pause and pretend to stretch, scanning my surroundings, but I don’t see anyone. I could be wrong. It could just be remnants of the dream.

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