Page 19 of Deadly Sacrifice

I really wanted to be friends with Annie. That day we met, she seemed kind of like me; a little lost in this big ass world. Something about her drew me right in. And I still feel like we could have a great friendship if it weren’t for Mark. But since I haven’t seen her without him pretty much since move-in day, I doubt that friendship will ever be realized.

I let the ridiculous notion drift from my mind as I get some homework done. Usually, I have to do it in the library because my room is occupied, but that requires putting on a bra and pants, and I don’t think that’s going to be a thing today. Sometimes, a girl just needs to free-boob it, and what better time than when I’ve got the space to myself?

An hour slips by, and then another, while I get my work done. Before long, I’m all caught up on my assignments for the next two weeks. That’s a fucking relief. Like I said, college was never my dream. I wasn’t sure how my grades would fare now that I’ve gone against every cell in my body to be here. But I actually like my classes, and finding time to do homework hasn’t been too much of an issue yet.

Even with my extracurriculars.

Speaking of which, I groan as I push myself off my bed, walking over to the sorority calendar we’ve got hung on our wall. Lots of events coming up. All mandatory. How the hell am I going to have time for the real reason I’m here in between Greek shit and college shit? Oh, and dumb boy shit, because Asher has taken up a firm residence on my shit list after that confrontation the other day. He’s one I’ll need to be extra wary of going forward.

The door creaks open behind me, and I turn just in time to watch Annie stroll in, casual as ever, but surprisingly alone. She gives me a tight smile, closing the door behind her before sitting on the edge of her bed.

“No Mark today?” I ask, trying not to sound like I’ve been on the edge of strangling that guy since we met.

Annie presses her lips together, shaking her head. She doesn’t say anything, though, and neither do I. While she gets out her phone and does whatever the fuck she does, I carry on with charting out the Greek events coming up.

A philanthropy fundraiser two weeks from today. A color run a few weeks after that. Various mixers with other houses on Greek row every freaking Friday night. That’s not including all the unofficial parties that happen all the time, although those aren’t mandatory. And then, to top it all off, the annual Fall Ball before the end of the semester.

Oh, yay, a chance to get dressed up and fight about which one of us is prettiest and who brought the best date.

I roll my eyes at the stupid calendar, already dreading that dance. I don’t have the money to buy anything nice, and even if I did, I can’t rock up to the ball in anything suitable without showing off some of my scars. I scowl down at my left arm, the scar covered right now by the sleeve of my thick sweater.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear Annie stand up. She taps my shoulder, startling me half to death.

“I’m sorry,” she bursts out, a frown on her pale face.

Blowing out a breath, I shake my head. “No, it’s alright. I was deep in thought.” I try to hedge my way around her, but she steps with me and blocks my path.

“I mean about Mark,” she whispers, biting her lip when it begins to tremble.

I’m not sure what I can say without admitting how much he bothers me. It’s not even that he’s really spoken to me since the day we met, but every time the dude looks at me, I get a creepy vibe. He’s bad news, and either Annie can’t see that or she’s choosing to ignore it.

Finally, I say, “He’s pretty attached, huh?”

Her face crumples up. “I know he can be intense and kind of rude, but I swear, he’s a good guy,” she mumbles while I awkwardly shift on my feet.

“Okay, well then, good for you. As long as you’re happy,” I reply, wincing at myself. I should tell her to dump that jackass and save herself, but we’re not close and it’s really not my place.

She shrugs, her cheeks red and her dark eyes wide with emotion. “It’s just that he’s… he’s a very particular kind of guy, and he gets mad if he doesn’t get his way. And our fights are legendary, so I do my best to avoid it all together.” She furrows her brows, dropping her gaze to the ground. “It’s easier to go along with him than stand against him.”

“So taking over our room and kicking me out is the easy route?” My voice is bitter, and I almost feel bad, but then I remember all the times I’ve come home from class and they were locked inside fucking away like I didn’t exist.

She blanches, looking shocked that I’d say something so brutally honest. “I’ll try to keep his visits to a minimum so you’re not turned away so often… I just…” She sighs and shakes her head. “He’s kind of a creature of habit, I guess. He’s used to, um…” Annie trails off as her blush gets darker. “Well, he likes to have sex at least, uh, once a day, sometimes more. And I made the offhanded comment before the semester started that my room would always be open, you know, as more of a joke, but he’s made it a point to take me serious this one time, a-and he—“

Fuck, she’s giving me a headache.

I cut her off with a hand on her arm, smiling tightly. “It’s fine. What goes on in your relationship is none of my business. You don’t need to go into the details of your sex life with me,” I tell her as nicely as possible as I grab my phone and fall back onto my bed.

Annie breathes out a laugh, nodding as she sits on the edge of her bed. “Sorry. I’m not good at this.”

I quirk a brow at her. “Good at what?” Talking? Knowing when to stop talking? Having a backbone against Mark?

“Making friends,” she says quietly, playing with a loose thread on her pink and black comforter.

Annnd there I go, feeling like a dick.

This time when I smile, I try to make it genuine. “Hey, it’s not easy making friends as adults. I get it.” The silence between us is still weird as she chews on her lip, so I add, “If you can really try to leave the room open for me more often, then I can try to be more okay with the times Mark is here and I have to be somewhere else. Deal? Can we compromise like that?”

Annie blows out a hard breath, a small smile finally breaking through her expression. “Yeah. Definitely. I’ll do my best, but Mark—“

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