Page 94 of Ruthless Chaos

An attachment to Allie would alter the course of my life.

It would go against everything I’ve taught myself for the last decade.

If I make space for her, I can’t undo it. Things will never go back to the way they were. Is she worth the risk?

I stare at her soft, sleeping features.

Leaning over, I press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

I take a chair from the living room and place it at the foot of the bed, facing her. Taking a seat, I watch her as she sleeps.

Is she worth the risk?

I fucking hope so.

TWENTY-FOUR

ALLIE

I wakewith blurry vision and a gravelly throat.

Ugh, I feel horrible.

It’s like there’s an elephant sat on my forehead. The headache is brain-deep and pulsing to my heartbeat. My vision clears a little at a time.

Panic rises in my chest.

Where am I?

I’m cocooned in a huge bed, in a ridiculously lavish room—even by my standards.

Thick golden curtains diffuse the sun’s rays, casting glittering specks of light over a room filled with furniture carved from rich, dark wood.

My limbs are too heavy to move. Even as my foggy memory clears, I don’t remember much from last night. All I know is that I feel worse than I did after that party by the lake.

How many drinks did I have?

I piece together the shards of what I can recall.

There was dancing with Tara. She was having a good time, so I left her to get drinks then…then, there was Liam. That’s where my recollection gets sketchy—the memories are close, but still too far away for me to identify them.

I remember fear.

Then, pure panic followed by the terror that he might die.

There was so much blood, but it wasn’t mine.

Alexander was there, too.

My heart thunders in my chest. If I got so drunk I blacked out, I could have done something that put my identity at risk. What if I’m not even on campus anymore?

Oh god.

I sit up in agitation, fighting against the pain racking every inch of me.

That’s when I spot him.

Alexander’s sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed, asleep.