Page 85 of Savage Desire

“Fuck if I know,” I admit, wanting to console him somehow, but he’s vibrating with tension and I don’t want to make it worse. “What do we do?” I ask, hoping to put the ball back in his courtso he relaxes, but it seems to have the opposite effect as he starts pacing by my bedroom door.

“I don’t know… I don’t… I need to get out of here,” he blurts, grabbing the door handle, and I rush toward him.

“No, you need to stay and we need to figure this out. I don’t remember seeing you, I don’t remember anything at all. That’s strange, don’t you think?” I plead, planting my palm against the door in a feeble attempt to stop him from leaving, but he opens it with little effort.

“This whole fucking place is strange,” he groans, his eyes so dark they’re almost black from corner to corner.

“Are you doing okay?”

“You keep asking me that,” he bites, his nostrils flaring as his hand white-knuckles around the doorknob.

“And you’re still not giving me an answer,” I retort, my own desperation getting the better of me as he hangs his head.

“I shouldn’t have come here,” he breathes, stepping out into the hallway, and I hurry after him.

“B, wait,” I beg, but it’s too late.

He’s gone.

30

POLARIS

I’ve had some long-ass days at Trinity Falls Academy since I arrived, but I think today takes the cake. I want to close my eyes and start the day again. Before there were gifts awaiting me from The Crow, not a single feather or card in sight. Where there was no let down from Asher, and no B sitting on my bed.

B. Ben. Benjamin. He still didn’t say what he preferred, but more than that, he’s here, he’s okay. Or he seemed it for the most part.

The water from the shower beats down on me as I hang my head, my eyes closed as I try to breathe through the carnage that remains of my thoughts. I never would have guessed something else would happen today with the strength to overshadow my concerns over The Crow, but this place constantly proves me wrong.

I’ve seen him three times. I’ve lost my memory three times. Is that a coincidence? Maybe, but if so, why? It doesn’t make sense, but nothing here seems to.

To top it all off, he disappeared before I could say or do anything more, leaving me to reel in my thoughts, tearing them apart to try and figure out why the hell I can’t remember. I’ve pinpointed the probable cause as compulsion from a vampire,but I’m still left questioning their motives, orwhospecifically it might be.

Sighing, I tilt my face up toward the spray, letting it wash over my face as I slick my hair back. The second I think I have any reprieve from my worries that revolve around B and his sudden reappearance, I’m quickly drowned in the turmoil that comes from Asher.

I’m mad at him, but I’m more mad at myself.

Turning to him when I needed help, knowing full well he could turn out to be a total ass like Lincoln, only to be burned by his initial reaction, is my fault. I told myself not to put too much hope in him, but I did it anyway.

Now he’s ready to help and I’m being just as stubborn. I’m going to have to speak to him eventually. Tomorrow, maybe. But tonight is going to involve absorbing as many pages of my grimoire as possible. I need to learn and actually put my magic into practice instead of just saying I will.

With my mind able to focus, even just a little better than before, I run through the motions of washing myself before shutting off the shower.

Blindly searching for my towel hanging on the back of the cubicle door, I press it to my face, taking a deep breath as a cool chill sweeps over my skin. The sound of the door slamming across the room makes me pause, calculating the footsteps that will follow, but all I’m greeted with is silence.

A sickly feeling nestles in my gut as I strain to hear any sound, but there’s nothing, yet my pulse quickens with the sensation that I’m not alone. Lowering my towel, I drape it across my front as I open my cubicle door an inch.

“Hello?”

My panic heightens when only the sound of dripping water greets me, but I swallow down the nerves and close my dooragain. The second my limited view of the rest of the bathroom is gone, heavy footsteps bounce off the walls.

I stumble back, plastering my back against the cool towels as my eyes widen and my heart rate escalates. Every thundering footstep is a bullet to my chest, leaving me breathless, until black boots appear beneath my cubicle door.

I’m dead.

I’m going to die.

I didn’t think to bring my sand in here with me.

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