Boyfriend Material (Hawthorne University, #2)(35)

“No.” I wiggle underneath him. “Let me go!”

“Stop struggling.” He runs his nose up the middle of my chest to my face. “I smell your fear. I hate that, I really do, ’cause you’re brave and that mouth on you, Jesus, you don’t know when to stop, but no one leaves me . . .” He pauses, his tone hardening. “Especially a piece of trash that strips.”

I swallow thickly. I try to appear calm. “That’s right. I’m not worth the trouble. I’m done with Channing. You got what you wanted. Scott is a loser. I’m glad you beat him up.”

He kisses me hard, his teeth grinding into my lips as I wrestle to get him off me. His hands fumble with something above me, and I have a three second reprieve from the pressure of his grip, and I use it for all it’s worth. I squirm and buck to shove him off me, but he easily overpowers me. He pulls me to the top of the bed, and I feel something cold and hard click around my wrist. Then he stretches out my other arm and does the same. He stares down at me, and everything I ever thought was handsome about him is replaced by something deranged.

“I’ve got you now,” he says.

Forget being calm. I spit at him as I jerk against the hold. “You’re insane!”

He stands up, breathing heavily. Blood drips down his arm to the floor from where I bit him, and he studies it thoughtfully.

He squeezes one of my breasts through my hoodie and I growl, arching my back to shove it away.

He smiles. “I like your fire, Ju-Ju. We’re gonna have fun now.”

He goes over to his phone and cranks up loud music.





14





Eric





After the game, I tag along with Reece and Boone to the Kappa house.

At the moment, we’re in the basement as Boone pounds on the table and chants our fight song. Beer is getting sloshed everywhere, girls are hanging on us, and we’re yelling like Vikings back from a victorious battle.

Boone tips his glass at me and I smile, and yeah, the love and congrats we get from the fans is cool, but it’s still Kappa and my mood is off. There’s not a girl here I look at for longer than a second.

Hooking up with randoms feels empty.

Lonely.

Depressing.

It kept me satisfied for years, but there has to be more than this. In the past, I’ve never wanted more than sex because making myself vulnerable to someone meant the possibility of getting hurt, and no one needs that shit in college.

I’m buzzing from a couple of beers, and part of me wants to go to Julia’s place while the other side of me knows I shouldn’t. I can’t show up like some fool.

The lights come on, the music dies, and Kappa guys motion for people to leave.

Since I left my jacket on the main floor, we head that way instead of exiting through the basement. I’m just grabbing it out of a closet when I hear a scream from upstairs. It’s hard to tell with Boone’s drunken singing.

I look up the stairs and see a couple guys, but they disappear out of view.

I snap my fingers at Boone, who breaks from his group and staggers over to me.

“Hey, did you hear something?”

“Hear what?” he says, weaving on his feet. “Lighten up. We’re super stars here.”

I glance upstairs. “No, it’s not that. You didn’t hear—”

“I’m going to find this girl I was talking to,” he says, then walks to a group of college girls.

All right. Fuck it. I’m out of here.

As I reach the threshold, there’s another sound, a thump. Maybe I’m not thinking clearly, but considering the fact that Parker is missing, my gut tells me to check it out.

“Hold on,” I tell Reece, who’s been standing at the front door waiting for me.

“You go ahead. I’m walking home,” he says, then heads out.

“Fine.”

I take the staircase two steps at a time. I’m not sure why I’m doing this. Could be the beer. Could be that freshman at the beginning of the semester.

At the top landing, I stop and listen, but all I hear are the sounds of rap music from Parker’s room.

A Kappa appears next to me, frowning. “Hey. Parker says he’s busy. No visitors.”

I size him up. “I’m pretty sure you aren’t going to stop me from doing whatever I want.”

He puffs up his chest, thinks for a moment as he assesses me, then steps aside.

The door isn’t locked and I shove it open to a dim room.

Parker stands at the foot of his bed, staring down at a girl handcuffed to the headboard.

A roaring sound echoes in my head. Anger rushes in so fast, I get dizzy.

“Julia?” I breathe, the air sucked from my lungs.

Parker turns to me, his mouth gaping, incredulity on his face. His shirt is off as he weaves on his feet. “What the hell? What are you doing in my room?”

My entire body tightens, every muscle ready to pounce. To destroy.

He holds his hands up. “Whoa, simmer down. It’s not what it looks like. I just wanted to talk. She never lets me talk. Nothing happened.”

“Eric,” Julia croaks. Her voice sounds raw as tears stream down her face. “Help me. Please.”

Parker glances down at her, then back to me. “Hey. I’d never hurt her. I care about her.”