Page 20 of Play Dirty (Villalargos University #1)

Chapter Fourteen

Shiloh

W alking down the halls, my heart races inside my chest. June isn’t part of tonight's event. She was granted the wish to not participate in Delta Keppa Thetha, but not me.

Not Joselyn Johnson’s daughter– the child of a crowned.

Today, I will initiate as a petal. I swallow hard as I walk down the dark path.

It's eerie and cold. Candles dance with the small draft that comes from the open windows.

I suck in breath, trying to fill my lungs– expand them with life.

The closer I get to the end of the path, the harder it is to breathe and the more this feels like death.

Mom warned me that this is a rite of passage. A privilege. A great honor to be part of the crowned. Part of the women who lead by example.

“You only have to bleed a little bit.” She said as she dusted my nose with more powder, trying to hide the imperfections tonight. The long, satin, red dress clings to my skin— I’m still a virgin.

It’s important; however, it didn’t matter to Asher that I needed to stay intact. If I didn’t give him something, he said he would leave. So I guess I’m only a virgin where it matters. I swallow the bile and glass of champagne that’s worked its way up my throat.

I put on the best smile I can muster, as I slip on the lace mask and open the door.

I almost let out a scream when I realized how petals are broken in and what mom meant by bleeding. You would think she would have warned me, told me something more than vague statements. A hand wraps around my thin arm. The man is fully masked, and I can’t tell who he is.

He drags me towards a room, shoving me onto a bed, and in an instant, I understand my mother’s teaching. Her words become a sacred prayer as my legs fall open and my eyes fix on the ceiling.

That was the origin story of the ice queen– that was the night I lost my virginity and whatever warmth I had left in me.

The sound of my phone brings me out of the same nightmare. I bypass all the text messages of screenshots and go straight to the notification from the blog.

The Pulse Blog

Warmth spreads through my cheeks, working its way up to my ringing ears as I re-read the words. This doesn’t make any sense. I was with —

The fragmented memories are hard to recover. I remember arriving at the club, walking to the room, but once I started to sip on the bourbon, it all becomes a blur. My body hurts, so I know he got his way with me, but how did I end up here?

How did they manage to get in here?

The rage inside me grows and grows until it consumes me. Grabbing the nearest pillow, I do what any person in my situation would do. The only reasonable thing.

I scream.

Hard and loud.

Until my throat contracts from the dryness and the overextention. Plus, someone is knocking at the door. Throwing the pillow into the far corner of the bed, I let out a groan as I move. My lips feel cracked and sore. Especially the corners.

The knock grows more insistent.

“OPEN UP.” Tatiana chirps from behind the door, and I almost trip over how fast I move to open the door and bring her in for one long hug fest. Tatiana wastes no time in pulling out her phone and showing me the blog.

Her golden brown curls frame her face, as her long braid slips from her shoulder to her back.

“Care to elaborate?”

I don’t, but I know she won’t let it go. It’s not in her DNA. If she weren’t one of the richest girls in the room, I would say she could go and become the best detective because she never stops until she gets the truth.

Closing the door behind us, we take a seat on the bed. She tries her hardest not to look at the empty part of the room, the one usually occupied by June. Instead, she pushes the hair from my face, cupping my chin. She looks at the cuts in the corner of my mouth.

“Still?” Her perfectly arched brows knit together, Tati’s olive skin is such a contrast to mine. Her long hair is perfectly placed in a long braid, and she’s already dressed for school. “Now explain, I can understand Thiago and E. But Nico?”

I shake my head, trying to relocate my memories, and my hand clutches the side of my head. “I don’t remember, but I know where we can find some answers.”

Jumping out of bed, I get moving first. I need a shower to get the sticky feeling off my skin.

I walk into the bathroom and close the door behind me.

I grab my toothbrush and add toothpaste before turning on the faucet of the shower and stepping inside.

The warmth of the water feels good on my sore body. I close my eyes and let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry,” Tati shouts from outside the bathroom. Pushing the avocado cat curtain courtesy of June to the side, “It’s okay, it’s not like you weren’t busy.”

“Still, I wanted to be here. I just couldn’t manage to get back on time.”

Placing the toothbrush into my mouth, I begin to brush my teeth. Yes, I’m one of those people who likes to shower, exfoliate, and brush my teeth all in one go. “Don’t feel bad, her dad didn’t show either.”

“What?”

“That’s what I said. It was short and cold. You didn’t miss anything.” The words taste sour and leave a bitter residue in my mouth. I finish the rest of the shower in silence as Tatiana vigorously types on her phone.

“New victim?” She laughs in a soft and throaty sound, looking up at me through her curly lashes.

“There’s always a victim,” and with that, she continues to type while I finish getting ready.

“Do you have any idea who's writing these blogs?” Tatiana asks, breaking the silence between us. I stop mid-spray of my Burberry perfume. Now that I think of it, no– at first I thought it was a joke. It started last summer before break .

“No, actually.”

Her brows pinch together. “It’s strange, how do they know everything?”

“Beats me, but given that they see so much,” I raise two fingers. “Either cameras or literal stalkers.”

“I don’t like it.”

I let out a breath. “Same, now let’s go.”

We stroll through campus like royalty, the girls wanna be us. The men wanna fuck us. And me, I’m on a fucking mission.

“Keep the coach busy.” I turn to my friend and watch as a smile stretches across her features.

“Consider it done, make it hurt.”

“Oh, I plan on it.”

Storming past the team players running a lap— I’m sure it's a punishment. I stalk to the one place I’m certain that I’ll find him. My hand flattens out as I push the heavy locker room door; the smell of feet, body spray, and sweat assaults my senses .

The steam from the showers instantly clings to me—making me all hot and not fucking bothered. That’s when I spot him, towel hanging low on his waist, exposing his V-cut and fabulous abs as he slips on his boxers.

“Hey, asshole, care to tell me why you were in my dorm?” I snap at him, catching the attention of the boys.

All of them.

They all look to be holding their breath as I close the distance between us, my hand darting out and slapping Nico square in the face, but the moment of victory lasts shorter than any I’ve ever experienced.

He grabs my hand and in one swift movement, I’m pressed against the door; suddenly, I become too aware of Nicolas Reyes.

I note the way his black widow tattoo ripples with the movement of his pectoral muscle, and the way his veins bulge on his forearm as he leans into me. “Maybe try asking questions before you assault people?”

I scoff, rolling my eyes, trying to break free from him. “Get the fuck off me, where are Ezra and Thiago?”

“I’m right here,” Thiago answers as Ezra cowers in the shadow like the rat he is.

“Why were you in my dorm?” I ask.

Thiago steps in, his features soft, hazel eyes swimming with affection. “Shi baby, not here,” It’s all he offers, silencing me because he was the one who brought me home. It meant that they knew what happened to me. They saw it.

And the solemn look on their faces tells me— I’m not wrong.

I swallow hard, pushing Nico off me with all my might. He steps back, his hand darting to the towel, but he’s too late, and the towel falls. And fuck, I look straight into the thick and long length outlined in his boxers.

“This conversation isn’t over.” I hiss out, staring at all of them in the locker room. I look like an alley cat surrounded by dogs, and I hate it.

“It is for now.” Nico is the one to reply. I step forward, inching myself taller.

“You and I will be talking. Soon.”

He laughs, his brown eyes dancing with amusement. “Whatever, just get out.”

“Before I go, tell me where you found me?”

Thiago clears his throat. “Shiloh, not here.”

“Fine. What about the fucking blog?” I open my arms, scanning the room. “Does anyone have any clue who it is?”

They all shake their heads in unison.

No.

“Tonight, my dorm.” I snap at them before retreating with the little dignity I have left. And as expected, the coach is deep in conversation with Tatiana. His eyes fixed on her large breasts, “Tati, let’s go.” I call out, watching as the coach realizes what just happened.

“You’re not allowed in there, Shiloh.”

I just smile and weave my arm around my friend’s waist as we head to the first class of the day. “Find anything out?”

“No. You?”

She shakes her head, “No, but I think the coach likes me.”

“And?”

“Velarium.”

Dad’s club. What does Velarium have to do with any of it? Not that the club isn’t shady, but what does that have to do with any of this?

“What are you thinking, Tati?”

“I think we should participate in the hunt.”

My stomach knots. She must be out of her mind. “You know what happens after you’re caught?”

She shrugs. “Nothing that hasn’t happened before, the only thing different is we will use it to our advantage.”

“For what?”

“Call it a hunch, I don’t know. The last time I talked to June, she was at the club.”

I stop and look at my friend. June never goes to the club. “Why?”

“Beats me, she was hiding something, that’s for sure. But first, let’s get through today, and then we investigate.”

“Sounds good to me.”

We continue down the path when our phones go off, and once again, The Pulse strikes.