Page 8 of All Bets Are Off

His words are whispered directly against my cheek as his hand turns my head, and the shiver it causes is one of repulsion. “Don’t let it make you forget what I can do.” His lips caress my skin like a knife before he pulls back and offers me that deadly smile again. “Enjoy the rest of your day.”

I don’t say anything else as I push out of the car, my bag gripped tightly against my body. I keep my head high and my eyes focused as I move towards the door of the library, waiting until I hear the engine of his car fade away. I linger by the door just slightly before I turn and check the street is empty, and when I’m sure he’s gone I let my shoulders drop. I’m free to be me for a little while.

Pushing inside I find the help desk and pass over the slip from my purse with the list of books I need. It shouldn’t be long before the lady returns with everything I need. I spend the time people watching. College is so different from high school and yet remarkably similar at the same time.

BSU is known for catering to the elite, for producing moguls, politicians, the faces of companies that will one day grace the Fortune 500 list. There’s prestige, a cultivated atmosphere that demands a certain amount of class to fit in. Yet, as I casually peruse the students in the library, not all of them are as poised and put together as Carson ensured I was.

Most of the students are hurrying frantically, their hair tied back, in leggings and sweaters. Granted, their clothes are designer, but it’s a different scene than I would ever see at Heritage, even if the atmosphere is familiar. Maybe not all is lost. Maybe I’ll be able to find my place here at BSU after all. It’ll never be home, but maybe I don’t deserve that after everything I’ve done, everything I was forced to do. But maybe a piece of comfort can be found in this hellscape my sins have dragged me down into.

I pull myself out of my musings when I see the woman who took my list make her way back to me. She passes over a thick stack of books and smiles slightly when I take them with a huff. I find myself smiling back because for once I am not being looked at like the prestigious Montgomery heir, no to her I am just another college student getting settled in, it feels heavenly after the morning I’ve had.

I pay and thank her before moving to leave, letting my eyes scan back and forth around the large area as I familiarize myself with my new surroundings. I silently tell myself that no matter what Carson does to me, or no matter how much I miss the guys, that this year will still be good, maybe even great. Okay, probably not great. I just have to keep my head down until I can find my way out from under him.

The walk across campus is relatively quick, even with my pile of books. By the time I get to the building that houses my room and push inside, all of this morning's anxiety has completely melted away. Each step further into the dorm is like a step into freedom, like I can feel the heavy weight of the last few months lifting slightly, allowing me to breathe more freely. This is the only place I will be able to feel content on campus, a place that Carson knows nothing about. This is the only place I can truly be the Bri I am and not the perfected little version that Carson prefers.

I sigh in content and then unlock the door and push inside only to be greeted by a shocked squeal as my eyes land on a small girl sitting on her bed. She stares at me wide eyed, a mix of shock and excitement staining her face as I step inside.

I paste a huge smile on my face. “Hello. I’m Brielle Montgomery,” I introduce myself, only chiding myself after the words are out of my mouth. There’s no need to be so formal and polished here. That was the whole point of staying in the dorms. She continues to stare at me with her mouth open as I add, “But you can just call me Bri.” The words seem to break her out of her daze.

“Oh my god!” She dives off the bed and bounces towards me, engulfing me in a hug before I can even think about stopping her. “I was listed as a single, but I got the call last night that someone had signed up to take the room. I can’t believe you’re really here!”

Neither can I.She pulls back and I offer her my first genuine smile of the day. “Trust me, no one is happier that I’m here than me.”

She pulls the bag from my hand before I can protest. “I’m Shelby. I hope you don’t mind, I took the bed by the window. Like I said, I wasn’t expecting to share, but I’m so glad you’re here.” She has a soft voice and a slight accent that draws out her words, making me feel comfortable in her presence.

I can’t help but smile at my new roommate. The natural expression almost feels foreign on my face after the last few months, but there’s something about her that just makes me want to hug her again.

So I do.

She lets out a shocked little gasp before we both dissolve into a fit of giggles. I release my grip on her and turn around to really take in the dorm room for this first time. It’s small, but not as small as I expected. I would have had more space if I chose to stay in the house with the other legacies, but then I would have had to deal with who knows how many female Carsons.

At least here I can have some real privacy, a chance at finding that escape from his clutches that I so desperately need. Maybe even a friend.

My eyes rove over Shelby where she stands at the foot of her bed, pulling on her fingers as she watches me take in our shared space. Her strawberry blonde hair hangs in loose curls over her face as she slightly curls in on herself. I make a mental note to teach her the trick my mom taught me to hold my naturally straight hair in a curl longer.

There’s nothing quite like bonding over beauty hacks and doing each others’ hair, right? I get the feeling I’m going to need this shy little redhead to be on my side if I’m going to survive the year with Carson. She’s a refreshing change from everything he adores.

The guys would love her.

Pain lances through my chest and my smile falls. I curse myself internally for thinking about them again. I just can’t help it, they have been part of my life for so long, or at least they were. There’s nothing I can do now about the choices I had to make. I force my smile back on my face before she notices. She seems more than just nervous to meet me.

I cock my head to the side as I take in her body language. She’s shorter than me by a fair few inches, but it’s hard to guess her exact height when she isn’t standing up straight. I turn my back to her as I start to open my bags at the foot of my bed that were delivered here earlier. I’m relieved I packed several sets of sheets in different sizes now that I’ve seen the full sized bed. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to live in the dorms at the last minute. I probably could have kicked up a fuss and been moved into one of the nicer dorms, but I don’t mind the quaint living area, or the small bed. Not when it means I’m free from Carson.

I pull out the bedding for a full size bed, giving Shelby a chance to relax. I see out of the corner of my eye the way she moves to sit on her bed, crossing her legs under her, but I can still feel her eyes on me.

“Where are you from?” I ask her, making sure my tone comes out light and friendly. She may be my only real chance at a bubble of happiness here and I’m almost desperate to catch it in my hands. I’ve never seen or heard of her before, which can only mean a couple of things.

BSU is much larger than my high school, but not nearly as large as other college campuses. I won’t know everyone I come across, but it’s guaranteed I’ve already met a lot of the students here. The majority of students here can be categorized into three different groups. The first group is the one I, and the other legacies fall into. The families you would expect to send their kids to a school like this. The ones I’ve grown up surrounded by. Old money, and all the pompous attitude that comes with it. I crinkle my nose at the thought.

The next category is families that I would potentially have had interactions with before. The new money families. They have the bank accounts but not the pedigrees. Their circles touch ours, may overlap here and there, but it takes generations of wealth to attain a similar status.

I pull out my pink llama sheets as I peek at Shelby out of the corner of my eye again. Her hair was obviously done by herself, her face is free of any makeup, and her clothes are generic. The black Converse at the foot of her bed have seen better days. She’s chewing on her lower lip, her eyes cast down now as if debating on how to answer me.

Before she even answers I know she fits into the last group. The scholarship students, otherwise known as the charity cases by the worst of my peers.

“South Carolina,” she answers, slightly hesitating. “A small town on the outskirts of Charleston, to be exact,” she drawls. Her accent comes out a little more as if her nerves are getting to her.

I start to pull my sheets over the bed, tucking them under each corner as I try to ease her mind that I’m not judging her for not coming from money. “I adore South Carolina,” I tell her. “It’s such a beautiful state.” She smiles up at me, her eyes once again fixed on my face instead of her own bedding.

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