Six

Vespa

Starving, fatigued, and utterly drained from the whole drama, I was relieved to be in the comfort of my room. Without wasting a second, I yanked off my boots, tossed my backpack on the bed, and flopped down on the single couch in the room.

Ria, who was sitting at the desk and working on her laptop, looked up, her eyes roaming over me. "Something wrong? You look like a horse pissed on your leg."

"Is there some Universe diety I need to bribe to cease these back-to-back calamities?"

Ria's face turned serious. She shut her laptop, sprang up, and rushed to my side. 

"What's wrong?"

"You don't want to know," I said, gulping some water. "My unwelcome lap dogs are driving me crazy."

She frowned, trying to figure out what I was talking about, but when she understood, she burst into crazy laughter.

"What's funny?" I glared at her.

"Sorry, sorry. How so?"

"Would you believe it if I told you that they continued with their charade, each of them trying to warm up to me but fighting each other while at it?"

"What the fuck?"

"Soon, they'll be sending me flowers and chocolates and serenading me with poems. I put it to you, those filthy brothers want to have a gangbang session with me."

Ria remained silent, watching me. "That's kinda hot."

My face twisted into disgust. "You need to stop watching those filthy erotica videos. They're messing with your head."

Ria giggled, opening a Nutella jar and taking a scoop. "Well, it's not uncommon for brothers or best friends to like the same girl. It's even a fetish for some."

"I don't want to be a part of any stupid fetish," I groaned loudly. "Don't you get it? Those annoying boys don't take no for an answer. I recently got dumped and don't have the mental capacity to jump into any romantic involvement. It's exhausting."

"So are you going to report them to security or something?"

"Even if I do, what's he going to do? And you know what's worse? I found out that Donovan's pregnant girlfriend is their cousin."

Ria's jaw dropped in a gape."Holy shit. This is beginning to sound creepy."

"I know, right? It's like they're all in on some kind of conspiracy against me."

She moved closer, grabbing my hand. "Be careful, Vespa. I have a nasty feeling about this."

"Let me show you something," I said, reaching into my bag and getting my phone, showing her Donovan's texts.

While watching her reaction, I picked up a hand mirror to stare at my face. My finger grazed the mole on my neck and the freckles on my nose. I didn't like them and thought of having a laser surgery to cover the mole and the weird scar on my back, but Ria said they were cute and discouraged me whenever I brought it up. 

"What the fuck does Donovan want? You can't meet him, you know that, right? That bastard is up to something and is working with his girlfriend and the triplet boys."

Her reaction made me crack a grin. "Wow, you're sweating this, aren't you? You sound more bothered than I am."

"Because I don't want you to get hurt again, silly. Stay away from all of them."

"You know that's not possible. Our campus is a small one, and we've got Donovan's girlfriend and Ziah in our class. Besides, why weren't you in class today?"

A pout settled onto her face "I was binging on a series on N*****x, and please don't remind me of my poor grades. Not everyone can be as smart as you."

I shook my head, amused "You missed all the lectures for today because of some silly romance movie with a predictable ending?"

"Oh, not romance." She gagged. "It was a fucking horror movie where an innocent-looking woman cut her husband's dick with a bread knife and..."

 I covered my ears, blowing a raspberry.

"You're no fun," she grumbled while I took off my shoes and lay on my bed 

My sister, Astrid called me, and it dawned on me that my parents hadn't bothered to call since I returned to school. We were back to the silent treatment.

"Hey, what's up?" I said, putting the phone on speaker.

"Mom and Dad are traveling. Grandma Beryl isn't getting any better. They left this morning."

I frowned. "I had no idea, typical of them to never tell me anything."

Astrid fumbled for what to say. "It must have skipped their mind. But since they are gone, I thought I'd come over to your campus and spend some time with you. Luther is no fun, and I need a change of scenery."

"Fine, but let me ask Ria first."

"Did you even have to ask?" Ria chuckled. "She's always welcome here."

"Yay. I'll be there in thirty minutes and I'm bringing Snowy with me."

"Not the cat," Ria groaned. "That thing scares me. It's going to scratch all the furniture and bite me."

"He's a good boy," I pleaded. "It's just for the weekend."

I missed my cat so much, but pets were not allowed on and off campus. So Astrid helped me take care of him whenever I was in school. I met Snowy at a park last year; a stray cat with mud on its butt and a dead fish in its mouth. 

Miraculously, he traced my house and we became instant buddies. Snowy would sleep under my bed and wake up to rub against my legs. 

Smiling at the fond memory, I remembered my mom almost yapping my head off about how cats scared her. Thankfully, Astrid was a cat lover and begged my mum to let Snowy stay. 

After ending the call, I binged on chips and soda and allowed myself some music while trying to detox my mind from the roller coaster of events that had happened. 

Most of all, why did Donovan want to see me? And what did the triplet boys want from me?

Hours later, Astrid arrived with Snowy and a huge pink suitcase, which she dumped on the floor before she came inside. I scooped up my cat and frowned at my sister's suitcase, moving aside for her to let her in.

"Are you staying for the whole month?"

"Nope. Just the weekend. Why?" She asked breezily and I pointed at the suitcase. 

"You know how impulsive I can get. I got seven of my best outfits for the party."

"What party?" My voice hardened.

Snowy sniffed my shoes, then went to inspect the food in my pantry. After several seconds, he was jumping on the counter, much to Ria's dislike. 

"Hello, it's the weekend, and this is a college premise filled with hormonal teenagers and young adults. I'm sure there's a party somewhere."

"And you think I'm going to let you go?"

Astrid groaned, shooting me a nasty look. "Vespa, I'm seventeen and not five. Stop acting like my mom and start seeing me as a grown-up woman."

"You'll forever be a baby in my eyes. Dangerous werewolves are all over the campus. Also, I doubt there's any party on campus tonight."

"Actually, there is," Ria interrupted, smiling. "It's the official welcome party for the werewolves. And you know this because you are the student union vice president."

"I had no idea," I muttered blandly. "And even if I did, you should help me discourage my stubborn sister from attending."

"I can take her."

Throwing my hands in the air, I let out an exasperated snort. No wonder they say three is a crowd. "Didn't you once tell me you're averse to clubbing and night parties?"

It's nice to relax, Ves" she chuckled. "Besides, I need to go out more and find myself a hot guy. I'm sure Astrid can take care of herself."

"You two are annoying," I muttered. 

My sister and best friend bonded while dressing up and helping each other with their makeup while I tried to catch some sleep. But Donovan began blasting my phone with texts and calls again. 

The idiot was relentless and I kept blocking all his lines of communication until the calls stopped coming. 

I stared at the screen of my phone for several minutes without making a move. "I need to find this guy and wring his neck," I said, lifting my head, but gasping at the sight of my sister.

Astrid looked up and noticed my dazed expression.

"Girl, you look like a hooker. Your boobs are almost spilling out. What's with the short skirt?"

"I think she looks cute," Ria laughed, strapping her heels. 

"You're enabling her. Keep an eye on her and make sure no idiot touches her."

"Gotcha, Captain." Ria whistled and headed out with Astrid.

"My sister is no fun," I heard Astrid say. "Thank God she'll be out of college next year."

Alone, my phone vibrated with an incoming call from an unknown number. Donovan was testing me. My nostrils flared and heat flushed throughout my body.

 Unable to bear it, I switched off my phone. Snowy sat under the dressing table, staring at me.

"Your gender is the worst. Do you agree?"

He meowed in response.

A knock on the door got me on my feet. I opened it and gasped in shock to see the bastard, Donovan, standing outside.