Page 1 of Dark Little Game

Part One

Onyx Night

1

Rayne

I know I’m being followed as I run across campus.

My feet hit the cobblestone path that curves toward the meticulously cut grass of the quad.

A place that should feel like home.

A place that doesn’t feel like fucking home at all right now.

When things feel too perfect, I get a feeling deep in my bones, like a certainty that the other shoe will drop, or that I’m in the calm before a devastating storm.

Too perfectis bad.

Dangerous.

And I’m letting myself dwell and dwell andfucking dwellon the one thing I shouldn’t, a person who has clawed his way back into my psyche like a fever I can’t shake.

The way Hunter Knox absolutely fuckinglovesto do.

A twig snaps under my shoes on the path.

My vision darts all around me as I run beneath the canopy of trees.

Look behind.

Look in front.

Glance right, glance left.

When a psychopath is around,youfeel crazier, too.

I’m out on a jog with Weston, but I’ve been gaining on him for a few minutes now. I pull in a lungful of air and hang back a little, waiting for Wes to catch up.

My best friend isn’t a slow runner.

He’s just a lot morechillabout the whole Hunter situation than I am.

“Think he’s here yet?” I mutter to Weston as I match his jog.

Weston is silent for a moment.

“Quit thinking about him.”

“He’s your brother,” I say. “If he’s going to be on this campus, I’m going to talk about him, especially if I have to be his fucking roommate.”

The sound of Weston’s footsteps falls in line with mine.

For a moment, I listen to the sound of his breath. We cut off onto a small gravel path that curves onto the main quad, jogging at a steady pace.

“You’ve asked me about Hunter three times today. Pretend not to be obsessed, Rayne. I don’t know when he’s getting here, and I don’t care.”

Look behind.