Page 50 of Deliverance

My phone lights up on my bathroom counter as I finish my mascara when my number one goal flashes across the screen.

Asher: Meet me at the Parris Dorm in twenty. Wear something slutty.

I frown for a moment. Why do I need to meet him at the Parris dorm? If he wants a quick fuck, I’m housed in Stroughton. Which, believe me, is not convenient to be housed in Jeremy’s family’s dorm. As if he wasn’t everywhere I looked already. I haven’t full blown told him to fuck off because he could prove himself to be useful if things with Asher don’t work out. Not that I’m letting that register as a remote possibility.

Peeling off the outfit I was wearing, I walk into my closet before grabbing my tried and true slutty little black dress. Every girl should have two LBDs. One for dinner parties, dates, and nights out, and another when you’re trying to bag the most eligible bachelor in town.

I pair my dress with a pair of black stilettos that pinch my toes, but they are so worth it. Moving to the bathroom, I wipe off the nude colored lipstick I was going to go with today and I smear on my favorite red. Something about red lipstick just makes you feel sexy, more confident.

Throwing my keys into my purse, I text Asher back as I head out the door.

Me: On my way, baby.

I’m pushing the limits with the baby and I know it, but he doesn’t correct me or scold me, so that’s something. It takes me almost no time to get to Gallows Hill. I park in the lot near the Parris dorm before locking my car and heading through the quad. Move in day was technically last week, but most don’t like to stay on campus unless we have to. Or in my case, most parents want their kids home until the first day of classes.

I can’t fucking wait for classes tomorrow.

Maggie moved out as soon as the dorms opened. She couldn’t get out fast enough. Whether that was to get away from her mother, me, or maybe both of us, I don’t know. I couldn’t lie; a small part of me hurt as I watched her drive away from my bedroom window. It was like she was leaving me behind.

Shaking my head, I step through the propped open door and find Asher leaned up against the elevator. He’s typing on his phone when he looks up at me. His eyes run over me before his gaze comes back to my eyes. He doesn’t look as pleased as I’d hoped, but I keep a seductive smile in place, nonetheless.

Pushing away from the wall, he closes the distance between us before gripping my chin in his hand. His thumb brushes against my bottom lip as he nods.

“Good color on you.”

Butterflies practically race through me. Compliments from Asher are few and far between. That’s what makes them so special when he does give them.

“C’mon,” he says as he moves to the elevators, hitting the button as the doors swing open.

I nod and step inside with him as he presses level seven before the doors close.

“So, what are we doing in the Parris dorm?” I ask.

Asher’s eyes stay on his phone as he continues typing away on the keyboard.

“Going to welcome my fiancée to Gallows Hill U,” he says casually.

My smile drops at that, my heart physically cracking in my chest.

“Fiancée?” I rasp. “You’re…you’re engaged?”

“Unfortunately.”

What the fuck. How is this happening? I mean, all the men of the Brethren get engaged sooner than later. Especially the Legacies, but it’s usually after graduation. I thought I had more time. I thought…

“Unfortunately? Like you don’t like her?” I ask.

Maybe there is some hope.

His face is blank as he looks up from his phone to me.

“I’ve never met her. My father is sending her by now.”

My brows furrow as we step out of the elevator and walk down the hallway, stopping at the last door. He waves a key card in front of the reader and the lock whirs open before he steps through into a dorm room. Shit. This isn’t like any of the dorms that I’ve stayed in before. Gallows Hill University obviously caters to Salem’s elite. Naturally, our accommodations far surpass what other schools may have, but this…this is something else entirely. The room is easily twice the size of everyone else’s. The closet is bigger too, and I can tell by just the side of the bathroom door that the bathroom must be massive. This room isn’t Asher’s, he’s always housed at the Putnam dorm. So, what? This is hers? Fucking bitch.

“So, why do you want me here? To meet your fiancée?” I ask, the word heavy on my tongue.

Asher shuts the door before closing the distance between me. His hands grip my hips, squeezing tight as he lowers his head.