Shame (Ruin #3)(52)
Author: Rachel Van Dyken

“Come on.” He walked into my room, grabbed my bag and held it out to me. “Just a quick snack, and, for the love of God, lock your door.”

“It was locked.”

“You sure?” He nodded to the door. “Looks to me like your intruder has a key then, because if what you say really is true, and you did lock the door, and he did break in… the only way in would have been to use a key or somehow bobby-pin the crap out of it.”

Shivering, I folded my arms around myself.

“Food.” Jack winked. “Let’s go.”

I followed him out of the dorm. I was missing something. I had to be! I know what I felt. I mean, I didn’t see anything, but I wasn’t crazy. It wasn’t like I heard voices. I wasn’t Taylor. I shivered as the wind bit into my arms.

“Mel,” something whispered.

Gasping, I turned around and looked at the building and the trees nearby.

Jack paused. “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, just… the wind… my imagination.”

“Please tell me you’re thinking of moving out!” Jack squinted. “I mean, I think it’s probably best considering…”

“Yeah… tonight.”

“Where to?”

Yeah, like I was going to tell him that. Talk about getting a professor fired. “Somewhere safe.”

“Good.” His jaw clenched. “Safe is good.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

I tried to flirt with other guys… I pretended to be that girl, the fun slutty one who partied all the time, was too loud, wore her clothes too tight. And it made me feel better for about a minute, until a guy took me up on the offer and I lost my lunch in his face. Kissing wasn’t even the same… nothing was. —Lisa

Tristan

I WAS EARLY picking up Lisa, but after hearing what the guys had told me, there was nothing I wanted to do more than pack her an overnight bag and kidnap her, bring her to my house, and keep her safe.

I knocked on her door. No answer.

I knocked again.

Panicking, I dialed her number just as I heard laughing coming down the hall. Lisa and Jack were talking about something clearly hilarious, and she was standing a bit too close to him, and I… I was caught. Again.

“Dr. Blake.” Jack grinned. “Fancy seeing you here.”

“Right,” I said in a clipped voice. “How was studying?”

“Got a lot done.” Jack nodded, looking between the both of us. “And you’re here because?”

“Tutoring,” I said smoothly. “Sorry, I thought Lisa might have mentioned it to you. I’ve been tutoring her for the past three weeks.”

“Is that what they call it?” Jack sneered.

“It?” I raised both eyebrows and crossed my arms, knowing I looked intimidating compared to his shorter frame. “Mind explaining, Jack?”

“Whoa!” He held up his hands. “Didn’t mean to ruffle feathers. I would really hate to flunk just because I saw something I shouldn’t.”

“Jack,” Lisa warned.

“No, it’s cool.” Jack shrugged like he didn’t have a care in the world. “In fact, it’s perfect… too damn perfect. I’ll catch you guys later.”

He whistled as he charged down the hall, shoving his hands into his pockets like he hadn’t just acted a bit off.

“Well, that was fun.” Lisa gave me a wide-eyed look and unlocked her door. “Did you know you’re gaining a roommate?”

“I may have heard through the grapevine she’s really hot.” I followed her into the room. “Then again, that means I’ll just have to double my efforts to keep myself from mauling her every time I see her.”

Lisa froze then turned around. “Every time, huh?”

“Your look of complete satisfaction with yourself isn’t helping.”

“Should I pack a bag?”

“Thought you’d never ask. Grab what you need, and I’ll help the guys pack you up later this weekend, alright?”

She went into her room and returned fifteen minutes later with a large duffel and the rest of her books stuffed into her book bag. I took the heavier one and double-checked that she locked the door behind her, and then we made our way down the stairs. At that point, I didn’t even care if other students saw me. Then again, the campus was so big it didn’t really matter, and hell, even if someone saw me helping a student move, I’d just deny it, or maybe I’d claim it and quit so I could be with her twenty-four-seven. It wasn’t like I needed a cover anymore. It was blown, and I was officially ready to move on.

With her.

“Oooo, you brought a truck today,” Lisa said, running toward my new Ford. “And it’s red. I think you like red.”

“I like red because you like red, though I got this last year. Now hop in. We’re going to get takeout before I take you home.”

“Home.” Her hand hovered over the handle. “I like the sound of that.”

I sighed, wishing I could pull her into my arms and kiss her senseless. “Me too, Lisa. Me too.”

****

Lisa wanted Thai even though she’d had a sandwich with Jack. When I’d asked her why Thai, she’d said it was just another food that apparently Taylor had destroyed. I didn’t mean to pry, but honestly, I was curious. Curious about her past, not that it would change my opinion of her. I was pretty sure that’s how you know you’re falling for someone — when you want the good and bad, when you want everything, regardless of how horrible, how dark. You want it all, because at the end of the day, it’s still them.

“Did he kiss you here?” I pulled down Lisa’s sweatshirt and placed my lips on her shoulder.

With a shudder, she closed her eyes and nodded.

“Here?” I tapped her collarbone and kissed, lingering against her skin because it felt so good against my tongue.

Another nod.

She was quiet, sleepy. Then again, I’d fed her enough food to put her in a coma. We were sitting in front of the fireplace downstairs in the family room. It was one of the only fireplaces I had that wasn’t gas; the real thing was more soothing to me, the sound of crackling wood like my white noise. All the lights were off, but I liked it that way because my focus was totally on her and nothing else.

“Let’s just assume…” Lisa shuddered, burrowing her head in my neck. “…that he touched and claimed everything he thought was his.”