Page 85 of Bound By Threads
It’s a constant pressure I can’t shake.
My father will be here in a week—one week to get Elijah and Crew back on track and do what we came here to do, rather than chasing the ghost of our past.
I step out into the cool air, a bottle of water in hand, hoping a walk will clear my head.
I need to find Elijah and Crew, to figure out what our plan is.
Rounding the corner to the quad, I see her sitting on a bench outside the library, her nose buried in a book, completely unaware of me watching her.
The sight of her stirs something in me… resentment, anger, betrayal.
She’s stolen so much from me.
I stalk toward her, my footsteps deliberate, the anger building with each step. She looks up just as I reach her, her eyes widening for a second before she shutters, a mask of indifference falling over her.
“Roman. How can I help you?” she asks in a bored tone, like I’m the one inconveniencing her by being alive.
“You need to stay away from us,” I sneer.
Lottie sighs, closing her book. “I’m not the one grabbing people and demanding answers at every moment they get a chance.”
“We deserve those answers! You pretended to die, Reyes. I fucking hate you, but I never wanted you to die.”
“That’s not how I remember it, Roman. I rememberyouvery specifically telling me to kill myself at every chance you got. I did nothing to deserve your hate. I simply existed, everyone else decided I was the problem,” she says, brown eyes boring into mine.
I step closer, looming over her, but she doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t cower like she used to, and for some reason that pisses me off more than it should. “You were nothing then. You’re nothing now. Do you think for a moment that any of these people give a shit about you? You’re poison, Reyes, you kill everything you touch.”
She still doesn’t flinch.
Not when I tower over her, not when I spit venom right into her face, not even when the water in my hand spills across her jeans and over her book.
Nothing.
Just that same unreadable look like she’s already filed me undernot worth it.
I used to be able to crack her like glass. Now? She’s sitting there and taking it, but that look in her eyes is too calm… and it makes my skin crawl.
Lottie laughs, wiping water from her book and leaving it cracked open on the table to dry. “Do you think a little water bothers me? I’ve had much worse thrown over me…” She tilts her head mockingly. “You should know, Roman, they were always your idea after all. Break the already broken girl because you could never have won against a stronger target.”
“You’re still that same girl, Reyes. You just think you’re untouchable with your new family at your back…”
“Is that so?” a voice sounds from behind me.
I turn, stomach lurching.
Will Roberts.
Tall, clean-cut, cold as stone. Everything about him says money, power… and death. I did my research on him after our first run-in with Lottie and found out that he owns the campus we’re standing on.
He looks to Lottie, eyes softening, then turns to me, his eyes hardening.
“Mr. Roberts,” I say, stiffly.
He doesn’t acknowledge me. He walks straight to Lottie, hands resting on her biceps as he checks her over. “Are you ok, sweetheart?”
She nods, a soft smile on her face. “Was only a little water. I’m alright, Will, I promise.”
“Good.” Then he turns to me, death shining in his eyes. “You assaulted my daughter.”
