Except that’s stupid, and I don’t have anywhere left to go.
I can’t stay with the guys if I’m not allowed back in their dorm building. And I can’t go back home, because I no longer have a home. I didn’t get into college, and I don’t have a job. Even if I can get a part-time job, how long will it take for me to earn enough to get my own place? And where would I go until then?
I can feel tears and frustration bubbling up. There’s only one way to keep them at bay, so I start to sing.
I picture myself as a cursed, sleeping princess. Snow White. Or Sleeping Beauty. At least she has a place to sleep, a place to stay, while I’m homeless.
In my song, I’m waiting for my handsome princes to rescue me from Marcus the RA Dragon. They ride up on their white horses, dressed from head to toe in shining armor. Then they leap from their mounts, swiftly scale the tower, and emerge victoriously through the window.
They could easily slay the dragon on the way up... unless they don’t know I’m not allowed in their dorm. What if they side with Marcus the RA Dragon and decide he’s right? What if they tell me that I can’t stay?
I force myself to focus on the song, this time on the part where the princes approach the sleeping princess. They tip back their helmets, revealing tousled hair and gorgeous faces. Their chiseled jawlines, kissable lips, and piercing eyes hover over the beautiful princess for one delectable moment. And then, they know what they must do.
I close my eyes as my song princes jostle against each other. I can picture them trying to shove their way forward, each one wanting to be the first to press their heavenly lips gently against the princess’s.
Who will win? Tate? Charles? JJ?
Only their kisses can make my delicate eyelids flutter as I awaken from my cursed sleep. Only they can bring this terrible nightmare to an end.
“Watch where you’re going,” someone shouts gruffly. I freeze in place. Without turning around, I know who it is.
My shoulders droop, and my heart beats erratically in my chest.
Silas pushes past me, looking as pale and haunted as ever. The dark circles under his eyes seem even more pronounced in the light of day. I hadn’t noticed back at the music building, but his clothes are wrinkled, and there’s a hole in his right sleeve.
“Do everyone a favor and don’t block the path.” He scowls as we make the briefest of eye contact.
Why don’t you do everyone a favor and fall off the edge of the earth? That’s what I want to say, but I can’t. I can’t speak at all. Why does my voice always leave me around Silas?
Silas starts to push past me, and I barely avoid stumbling into a bed of roses lining the path.
“Hey!” I rasp, too quietly for Silas to hear. At least, I think it is too quiet.
But Silas freezes and turns to glare at me.
He leans in toward me, so close I can feel his breath tickle my lips. I pull back, my heart pounding under his smoldering gaze. I try to back away, but the roses lining the path block my escape.
“Did you say something?” he challenges with his snake bite grin.
My eyes lock on his lip piercings, and I can’t respond. I also can’t tear my eyes away.
“You clearly called me back for a reason.” He leans even closer so we’re nearly touching. “Don’t act all innocent now.”
His skin, his heat, his cocky attitude... the way his breath grazes my lips. The way he’s staring at me. It’s all too much.
When he leans forward, I melt into liquid lava. Then he tilts his head, and his breath grazes my ear. “Well, Roonie, did you have something to say?” he hisses like a snake.
What? I think, though I can’t get the actual word to squeeze past my lips.
Silas chuckles. Then, to my complete shock, he gives my earlobe a gentle bite.
The unexpected sensation makes tingles shoot down my arms and race down my spine.
With a yelp, I thrust my laptop forward and shove Silas away.
His eyes widen in surprise and he takes a few stumbling steps backwards, right into a rosebush. Except he staggers and trips over an ankle-height fence that outlines the edge of a flower bed.
His feet fly out from under him and he rolls backwards, shrieking as his tight T-shirt catches on a sheet of wire fencing. It is ripped to shreds, revealing his toned chest and tight abs.
I cover my mouth and gasp. Silas keeps rolling.
He thuds down a hill and lands heavily in a cluster of prickly roses. Slowly, he raises his head and glares up at me. His long hair falls in front of his eyes as his face turns red with rage.
“I’ll get you for pushing me, Roonie Hill!”
Squeaking, I leap back and hide behind a rose bush.
I hum to myself to calm down, in harmony with the chirping birds and chattering squirrels and the screaming Silas. I can’t help but feel like the roses are reassuring me, telling me that this is not my fault. Silas, however, has a different opinion.
He screams up the hill at me, unintelligible and furious. I can’t make out his words, but his intentions are clear. The only thing on his mind is to make me pay.
Chapter 10
“I’ll get you for this, Roonie Hill!” Silas shouts in outrage, and I realize that the rosebush I’m hiding behind won’t protect me. No one can protect me!
I jump to my feet and run.
I race past rows of roses, back toward the dorms I’m not allowed inside. Marcus the RA is gone, but his words stay with me. You can’t go in there.
My key card burns a hole through my pocket, but I ignore it. Maybe the door will just happen to open and let me in? Like a castle’s drawbridge that keeps dragons and dark princes out, but lowers for the true princess. Maybe it’ll let me seek refuge inside and leave all the darkness out.
“Does your key card not work?” a familiar voice calls out from behind me.
Tate!
I instantly stop singing and spin around to face him. He’s with Charles, but there’s no sign of JJ.
“Are you okay, Roo Roo? Did something happen?” my Prince Charming in shining armor—in this case, LUV Academy sweatpants and a hoodie, both armor-gray—asks.
I nod, and my eyes drift to Charles, who frowns. “Don’t tell me you were waiting out here this whole time?” he asks.
I shake my head. Technically, I wasn’t out here; I was in the rose garden. Which reminds me. Silas!
“We should go,” I whisper, keeping my voice down in case the Dark Prince is nearby.
I know I’m not allowed in the dorm, but there’s no sign of Marcus the RA. If we move fast, I can sneak in with the guys before Silas finds me.
Tate nods. “Actually, class let out early, so we thought we could all go grab some coffee.”
“He’s getting a coffee. I’m getting tea,” Charles corrects. “Which one do you prefer, Roonie?”
I look between them, my heart racing. How can I even think about coffee or tea when an angry Silas could come after me at any moment? And, even worse, when Marcus the RA could pop out of nowhere and tell the guys I’m not allowed to stay.
Should I just tell them the truth and hope they’ll help me sneak back in? What if they refuse? They probably didn’t even realize they were breaking the rules, and when they find out I’m not allowed in their building, they’ll make me leave.