Page 19 of Play Dirty (Villalargos University #1)

Rage spills within me, crashing into my system and corrupting me with hate.

Kicking up the air, I walk towards my bike, not bothering to look back as they climb back into the Mercedes and drive off.

Hopping onto the R1, my bike starts rumbling beneath me, and I put on my helmet.

The dark, wet roads stretch before me, trees blending into the background.

The city limits come into view, and so does the ocean, waves crashing loudly between the rocks. My heart stutters. I need to stop.

To breathe.

So I do.

I do the only thing reasonable to me.

I turn off the bike, kick into the stand, and remove the helmet, almost collapsing onto the ground.

“Easy, Nico,” June whispers in my ears. I know she’s dead, like I know she’s real. Living in my head like a god damn tumor. Slapping the side of my head, I try to shake the voices—her voice, as it merges into a raspier one, so full of love.

One I’ve forgotten with time, “I love you, Nic Nic.”

My knees feel like buckling as I edge closer to the water, as small droplets land on me, cooling my heated skin. Two women were killed in an awfully similar fashion, and that’s where I connect the dots. Right at the edge of the land, under the stars.

Finally, after years, I have the closest thing to answers. A slither of hope. The sudden chime of my burner snaps me back to reality, dragging me back to my prison, back towards my bike. I grab my phone and inhale sharply as I open the unread message.

Anonymous

What if I told you, I know who killed your sister?

My mask slips, and the world turns beneath me. My hand darts out to hold on to my bike, afraid of falling when another message comes in.

Anonymous

You’re playing on a board that’s long been set. You could use an ally. You passed the second test.

A test?

What the fuck? Who the fuck?

I mount my bike and start the engine, revving the engine in the darkness, feeling the familiar rumbling beneath me. Before I take it back to the dorms, there’s something I need to do first.

When I arrive, I park on the left side. My favorite spot.

I can see everything, but no one can see me from this shadowy corner, thanks to the light always being broken and never getting fixed.

It also helps that the building covers me.

Thumping my fingers against the wheel, I wait for the guys to pull away. I shouldn’t be here.

Yet, I find myself always gravitating towards her; it’s even worse now.

It’s been a compulsion, a fucking need to see her well.

To see her confident, sucking up the air when she’s around, and not this shell of a person.

That same compulsion has me moving away from my bike and bee-lining towards her dorm, thank god it’s on the first floor.

With enough windows to peek inside and a very faulty door- I told June I would fix it, but never got the chance to. You would think with all the money they have in this place, there would be better maintenance, but no. Again, this is just diamond-crusted shit.

I creep around the back, noticing the new additions to June’s garden.

Making a mental note to bring some pieces of candy for it, I make my way around the small alley that separates the buildings, and I wait for the guys to step out from inside.

Of course, I have a direct view of what’s going on, and it helps that I can hear.

From inside, Ezra is the one speaking. “What are we going to do with Zander?”

“Nothing,” Thiago grunts out as he places Shiloh on the bed.

“Nothing?”

Thiago rises to his feet, turning and focusing on June’s bed. “Yes, nothing. He’s angry, things aren’t necessarily sunshine and rainbows for them, E.”

Ezra runs his hand through his black hair, irritation written all over his face. “This isn’t a walk in the park for us either,” he stops, his hands shaking .

Thiago shrugs. “I’m just saying, it’s better not to poke the bear. He wasn’t going to kill me.”

“You want to bet your life on it, next time?”

Thiago chuckles deeply, startling Shiloh in her sleep, but she doesn’t wake up. “Let’s go back to the dorms.” He says, patting Ezra's shoulder as he walks past him. I hide deeper in the darkness. I am betting they won’t shut the door the proper way for it to close all the way.

A wave of satisfaction runs through me when I see the way he closes it.

There’s no lifting the handle, hence the door latch won’t connect.

I wait for them to climb back into the Benz and leave before I head inside.

What a stupid mistake this is. There in the corner of the room, I see the ghost of June, sitting and painting her nails the color yellow.

Red towel wrapped around her brown curls.

“You know, you should just try talking to her.” I look around the place, noticing how different the two are. Even their decorations and dorm accents are a stark difference; Shiloh is very minimalist with sage and beige color items. Then June is all abstract and color.

“Not happening,” I reply flatly– she frowns. “You should try to be nicer, Nico.”

I suck my teeth, shaking my head. “Nicer.”

The sound of a whimper pulls my attention back to the present.

Shiloh’s hand reaches towards June's bed. Walking towards the bathroom, I grab a clean towel and wet it with some hot water before walking over to Shiloh’s bed.

I don’t like to touch people, and while this in fact is touching her without her consent, I can’t picture her waking up with the evidence of what happened, for god’s sake cum is crusted on her lips.

I just can’t do it.

Her lips part when I press the warm cloth on the length of her neck, trying not to look at how her skin breaks out in goosebumps, her breath hitches, and her nipples pebble.

Focus, Nico.

I drag the cloth between her breasts, bringing it down her toned abdomen. I suck in a breath, my heart pounding inside my chest, my mouth salivating like a starved dog, and my cock– that traitorous bastard.

It wants in.

Breaking the moment, I rise and walk back to the bathroom. Turning on the faucet, I rinse out the grime from her body and walk towards the body wash. Opening the bottle, I scrunch my nose. Hating the scent of vanilla and opting for June’s.

Hibiscus.

Much better.

Squirting a bit on the cloth, I add more water and work it into a lather. This should do the trick, and this time I don’t linger cleaning her up. I ignore the feelings swirling inside my chest, before I leave like a passing wind. Gone before she even knows it.