Page 45 of Virgin Sacrifice

No. But that didn’t mean it was my responsibility to tell them anything.

“I know you can’t be that stupid,” Nixon huffed with exasperation.

I said and did nothing in response.

I didn’t have any answers he would find acceptable and despite—or perhaps because of—the weird energy between us, right now I wanted nothing more than to retreat and prepare for a long, uncomfortable night on Autumn’s floor.

My lack of reaction hung heavy in the air, and I watched Nixon’s expression closely. Like a prey animal observing a nearby predator, frozen, waiting rigidly for them to make their move.

It was only because I was paying such close attention that I caught the twitch in the outer corner of his right eye. The sneer on his face transformed into a weary expression, and he sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

Interesting.

“Look, I don’t have time for our usual banter, as much as I enjoy it. Has anything else happened to you that we should know about?”

It was a marvelous performance on his part, breaking from his cruel rich boy persona in an attempt to evoke reciprocal honesty from me.

“I told the police everything I know, Nixon,” I said, looking down at the floor submissively, “and you said that you knew everything I told them.”

Two could play this game.

Technically, I had told the police everything I knew about what had happened to me since my arrival at Hollow Oak.

At that moment, Nixon’s phone chimed loudly from the front pocket of his pants. He cursed under his breath at the interruption before retrieving it from his pocket.

His brow furrowed slightly as he read it, and I held my breath, hoping that whatever message he had just received would call him away. Even if there was something about his physical proximity that made a part of me only want to step in closer.

He cursed again before sliding his phone back, and I wondered if my prayers had been answered.

I looked up again to see him looking at me quizzically, something I wasn’t sure how to interpret.

“You said you’re staying in tonight, correct?” he asked sharply, the sudden change in conversation throwing me off.

I nodded, not sure where he was going with this.

He took a step back and looked at me with careful appraisal before sucking on his teeth and releasing a heavy breath. “Alister and I have social obligations to attend tonight. We won’t be around,” he stated, as if we often shared our evening plans with each other.

“Um . . . hope you have fun?”

Nixon shook his head while mirth danced in his eyes. His bad boy smirk was firmly back in place, and I swear he swayed his hips on purpose as he walked backward away from me down the hall.

“Stay out of trouble, puppy,” he called out, reaching up to slip his skeleton mask down over his devilish expression. “We won’t be watching you tonight.”

He stepped into the elevator and disappeared behind the sliding metal doors.

“Happy Halloween to me,” I muttered to myself before turning back to my door and finally letting myself into my room.

After my exchange with Nixon, I grabbed what I needed before returning to Autumn’s room. I had been pretty careful with my credits, so I could afford to splurge on some of the overpriced but accessible sodas from the vending machines in the common room, along with some extra snacks.

I set about arranging my duvet cover and some pillows on the floor across the room from Autumn before curling up in the armchair she had managed to squeeze into a corner and pulling out some treats and my laptop. The plan was to take a well-deserved break from studying and watch some of my favorite Halloween movies.

It was time to settle in for the evening and get scared.

Chapter twenty-one

Luz

Autumn continued to snore softly away while I watched Trick ’r Treat, a Halloween horror-comedy from the noughties that I had seen a million times before. Anna Paquin’s character, Laurie, was my favorite, dressed to kill as Little Red Riding Hood.

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