~Two Years Later~When I was a little girl, I tried to imagine how my life would be when I grew up. Images of living on a beach in California with my best friend Sasha was always what came to mind. My mother peacefully took up space in her white beach chair as we spent time together like we used to do when I was little, back before my father died, fighting overseas for our country. Back when everything in life made sense.Two years later, instead of the happy fantasy I had hoped for, I found myself swallowing my heartache over the death of my mother while trying to finish school far away from Sasha in an academy that I never knew existed. My hopes and dreams shattered, but a new future on the horizon filled with possibilities kept me going. “Nessa!” an overly eager voice called out from the bar as I walked into JD’s with the sole intention of getting absolutely shit-faced. Which turned out to be a reoccurring thing since I had graduated and escaped my shit situation back home
Walking through the front door of my mother’s home, I had expected her to greet me. But instead, I was welcomed into an empty house. The light yellow walls with tiny white and pink flowers met me like an old friend. The smell of her perfume still lingered throughout the entire home, and I wondered if that’s why my stepfather never came home anymore. It didn’t matter that he had gotten custody of me, because my father was gone, and I had no other family. He had loved my mother just as much as I had, and now she was gone.The only thing I was left with was the notion Trevor would be coming for me.The man who had completely destroyed my life for the last few years, and inevitably would own me now that I was of legal age. After all, this was all I had. All I was good for. My life belonged to him, or so he had told me for years.Tears fell down my face as I walked towards the antique China cabinet, a photo of my mother and me when I was young sat upon the shelf. The sun, shining down
NashI had never been accustomed to how the world worked. Nor had I taken kindly to the hands that I had been dealt in my life. My circumstances never quite added up no matter who had tried to figure me out. A psychological event that had stumped doctors for years as I was growing up. Not that it was my fault. No kid at the age of twelve should have to witness the death of the people they loved the most, and though my godfather had paid a handsome fee to have all the best doctors take a look at me, it was never enough.I was fucked up. A case they couldn’t solve, or so they claimed. But in my eyes, it was because they didn’t want to deal with me. They didn’t want to face the fact that I wasn’t their next case to solve. I was a fucking human, and the bad shit that happened to me wasn’t normal.It was the whole reason I had accepted my fate at this academy. The whole reason why I agreed to the brotherhood. I wanted revenge.I wanted retribution. “Things didn’t go as planned?”
NessaSweat dripped down my back from under my sports bra as I stood wiping my brow. I’d spent all day unpacking boxes in the heat because of the AC issue in the building, and though they sent out a notice saying it had just been fixed—it’d take hours to cool. Lifting my phone from the desk beside me I checked the time.7:57 pm. Fuck, I worked through dinner.I hadn’t realized how long I had been working at trying to get my dorm unpacked, but after the altercation with Nash earlier it was the only thing that kept my mind busy. The only thing that distracted me from the look he gave me before he left me standing alone on the sidewalk. Something about what I said had set him off, and though I shouldn’t have been worried about what he or anyone thought. I couldn’t help it. Especially since I knew that Trevor was lurking somewhere around the area outside the school, and now I was basically confined to the safety of the campus.Even the thought of ordering a pizza made me nervous
Days passed with not a single peep from Nash since the letter I had received on my doorstep. And every single day that passed I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder for him. As if he was going to jump out of the shadows to take me down or something. Crazy? Perhaps, but then again, I knew nothing about him and the only thing I had heard were the rumors that Becca had told me. Not that I want to know how the hell she knew about his sex life.I mean… this man who I barely knew acts as if he has known me forever even though both of us know that wasn't true. And though I’m hesitant about letting him near me… I can’t help but want him to be closer. I can’t help but feel safe around him.Safe around a complete stranger.Even my mind played tricks on me on a regular basis. My thoughts slipping to the gorgeous curves of his muscles and the dark somber expression hidden within his eyes. The way it might feel if he wrapped his massive firm arms around me and pulled me close t
I’d never been the kind of girl interested in parties, but when Becca came knocking at my dorm room door with tears in her eyes at half past seven because Noah and her had gotten into a fight, I couldn’t say no to her. Not that I was ever really able to say no to her or Sasha.“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked her for the millionth time. “I’ve never seen you guys fight like that.”She was quiet for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders nodding. “I mean… no but it’s whatever. He wouldn’t tell me what he was talking about and brushed me off. I mean, we have been together for almost a year and that’s how he acts… I don’t know.”I didn’t know how she felt considering I’d never really been in a proper relationship, but I did know that if I were in her place I’d probably be upset too. Noah was always super sweet, and the way he acted felt completely out of character. But it wasn’t my place to say anything. Instead, I was Becca’s moral support, and looking at what she put me in,
Logan Mitchell. The blond-haired, blue-eyed troublemaker of Becca’s hometown. He stood before us, smug smile across his plump lips. With corded arms crossed over his chest, his lean physique was shown off under the white t-shirt he wore.Becca told me once how she had crushed hard on him growing up, but back then, she was a dorky little girl with glasses and braces. Instead of paying attention to her romantically like every young girl wanted, he picked on her with her graduating class mean girls. Her life spiraled out of control as they tried to make every moment of everyday completely miserable. My heart broke for my friend when she told me, but I was happy knowing Noah picked up the pieces. He made sure she never felt the sting of regret or betrayal, and I loved him for that.“Fuck off, Logan,” Becca snapped, turning away from him and leaving me standing there looking a little more lost and confused than I wanted. I hadn’t expected her to address him so passionately, but I
Nash To think I was going to have a quiet evening, huh, that was simply wishful thinking. Here I had been posted outside of Nessa’s dorm prepared to go speak with her, and I get a message from Brady telling me that she was at our stupid fucking poaching party. It was the night of year when all the guys like me were able to take stock of the new girls on campus, and also a night where sophomore men were able to make their notions known about a woman they wanted.Most men were eager, and foolish, making their selections early. Unlike myself, who waited until my senior year. The same year Vanessa stepped on campus and intrigued me in more ways than one. Irritation grew in me as I sped through the streets headed towards the Bedlam Knight house in search of one figure who didn’t need to be present there. There were to many men as it was looking to get laid, and from Brady’s text, she looked like a walking buffet. The moment my bike pulled up in front of the house, I killed the