Page 16 of Eternal

It won’t work. She can hide from every other person on this campus, but she can’t escape me.

I shouldn’t enjoy bothering her as much as I do. But I learned from a young age I wasn’t allowed to want her,so I opted for hating her instead. It’s the game we’ve played for years.

Cat and mouse.

Lord and pet.

This girl thinks I’ve made her life a living hell, but she doesn’t know half of what I’d like to do to her. And now’s my chance.

Paint splatters her overalls when she taps her brush against her leg, leaving spots of yellow and orange. Her shoulders are rolled back, and she’s standing in front of a painting that is as angry as her misguided soul.

I’d like to tether Teal—to tame her. Spill her out like paint. One color at a time so I could appreciate every tone individually. Get to know the shades before they swirl together.

“You were looking for me?” I smirk.

I dip my thumbs in my pockets and lean against the doorframe, smiling wider when I notice my presence draws out the blush on her cheeks. A gentle pink that’s a shade sweeter than the bright blush that climbs her whole neck when I really piss her off.

Teal crosses her arms over her chest, smearing a streak of paint on her skin. “You got my message?”

It was impossible not to after she walked up to one of my newest Sigma Sin initiates and told him she neededto speak with his asshole leader so she could cut off his balls and pin them to one of her latest art projects.

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

My nonchalance irritates her more. She’s raw energy and emotion beneath the surface. She feeds on otherpeople’s reactions because if someone else is emoting, she doesn’t have to. Which is why I refuse to give that to her.

I’ve spent years picking on her. Getting to know every little detail about Teal just so I can use her weaknesses to piss her off.

If I couldn’t have her, torturing her was a close second in a game that’s been almost as satisfying as sex.

Teal is the screw that grinds my nerves, so it’s only fair she pays the price for driving me out of my mind with her presence. And now that I have a real excuse to close this gap, I’m off my leash, ready to show her that everything up until this point was foreplay.

It started with me digging up information on her narcissistic father, but as luck would have it, all his dirty secrets lit the path to the firecracker standing in front of me. Whether she likes it or not, she will help me. I hacked her therapy sessions to make sure of it.

I know every dark, twisted thing that’s gone through this girl’s head, so there’s no more hiding. For her or her dad.

Lifting off the doorframe, I cross the studio to Teal. She holds my stare with a stern glare at my approach. Her spine is ramrod stiff, and her cheeks are flushed. She wants to appear strong, but I’ve known her for years. And the way she digs her fingernails into her palms makes it clear she’s nervous.

“Something on your mind, Teal?” I taunt.

“You’re going to Paris?” She rolls her shoulders back, and I almost laugh at the fact that this is what she’schosen to focus on when she has bigger problems right now.

“Mm-hmm.”

“You’re not even an artist.”

“Says who?”

Teal narrows her eyes. “I’ve never seen you in class.”

“Because you’re in all of them?”

“Well… no.”

I shrug.

“You’ve never entered a piece for the shows on campus.”

“Maybe I’m shy.”