Chapter 1
ELIANA
“Don’t tell me you’re watching that show again.” My friend, Sophia, asked as she padded around our dorm room barefoot, drying the strands of her hair with a towel. I watched her only for a second, my eyes returning to the phone screen. The sounds of the characters’ voices filled the air. I recited the lines with them, a smile stretching on my lips.
“Is that a problem?” I asked playfully.
“There are other shows out there. Find them.” She moved towards her burning incense she insisted was for protection.
“Not one like this.” Sophia huffed out a frustrated breath and rolled her eyes. “You’re going to be late,” she said, dropping the towel from around her head at the edge of her bed. The air conditioner hummed in the distance. The sounds of other people moving around drifted just behind the door. A trickle of sunshine passed through the slits in the blinds.
I gave Sophia a quizzical look, trying to remember if I had an appointment with a professor or anyone. My mind went blank.
“I thought you told me you’re having breakfast with Callum.” She grabbed her phone from her bed and checked the time. “Yep, definitely late.”
I shot to my feet so fast my vision blurred. Quickly, I grabbed my bag from a chair, threw it around my shoulder, and approached the door. How could I forget something so important?
“If that man ever breaks your heart, I will kill him.” I rolled my eyes at her, waved her goodbye, and rushed out of the dormitory.
The grounds outside were crowded. Students moved up and down while some talked quietly in groups. Others sat on the well-manicured grass, taking in the sun. I waved to a few that I knew as I walked down the path that would lead me to the cafe.
The building of Raven’s Hollow University towered over me. Beautiful and extravagant in the way they were built. RHA was one of the most prestigious universities in the country, founded over a century ago, and I was lucky to be there.
That thought led to a slew of others. All of them involved the pile of problems I had. I shook my head. I would not think of them. Not now. Maybe when I lie in bed with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company.
I curled my hand around the strap of my backpack, staring at my phone in my hand and thinking whether I should call my grandmother. Two days had passed since we last talked. I missed her. And I felt guilty that I had left her alone at home when her health had recently taken a bad turn. It worried me.
Still, I shoved those thoughts away. She told me to enjoy my time here, but I couldn’t. Not when I worried that I could lose her.
I pushed the doors of the cafe open and stepped inside. The smell of coffee, bacon, doughnuts, and other delicacies floated into the air. My mouth watered as I scanned the surrounding faces. He sat at the farthest table, his back facing me. My stomach fluttered, and I walked towards him. Another kind of guilt settled over me.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, sliding into the chair across from him. Callum was always punctual. I knew he had arrived on time.
“Let me guess, watching show again?” He pushed the strands of his dark hair out of his face, his vivid blue eyes trained on me.
“I got so…”
“It’s okay, Elle. I just got here, too.” I was about to respond when he leaned over the table, his hand grasping my jaw, his lips connecting with mine.
He kissed me as if he had been waiting for it his whole life. His lips pressed firmly against mine. My body lit up. My lips parted to give him entry. Callum slipped his tongue inside my mouth, tilting my head back to deepen the kiss.
I moaned. The space between my thighs clenched with the beginnings of a sweet ache only he could quench.
I was so lost in him that I jumped when someone cleared their throat. I slumped back into the chair, my lips still parted, my heart beating so hard I worried they would hear me.
The man who had interrupted us cleared his throat once more. I chanced a look at him, and then at Callum, who glared daggers at the guy until he cowered into himself. Don’t get me wrong, there were times Callum’s behaviour scared me. This was one of those times. The way he scowled at the server scared me. As if he wanted to bash his head against the table and be done with him.
“Would you like something?” he asked.
“Of course,” Callum answered, his voice so deadly a shiver rolled down my spine.
“What would you like?” The tremble in the guy’s voice was so hard to miss. I took over, trying my best to ease his worries.
The server relaxed a little. He left, his shoes echoing against the marble floors. I turned to Callum. He had his eyes shut, his jaw clenching and unclenching as if he was trying to keep himself in check.
“What was that for?”
“It’s nothing,” he hissed out. I took his hand in mine and almost dropped it. He was burning up. His skin burned so hot against mine.
“Jesus! You’re burning up.”
“I’m fine, Elle. Stop worrying.” He opened his eyes then, sighed, and again pushed the strands of his hair out of his face.
“No, you’re not.” How was he even alive? His body temperature wasn’t normal. And looking back, this wasn’t the first time I felt him burn up like this.
“I’m fine,” he breathed. I watched him, not knowing what to do.
“Shouldn’t we rush to the hospital?” He chuckled under his breath, his eyes meeting mine.
“I’m perfectly fine,” he repeated. I dropped it, all the while watching him like a damn hawk. Worried he would collapse on me, or even worse.
We ate in silence. Even so, I kept my eyes on him. Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. His movements were quick, as if he were rushing to be somewhere.
“There’s something I forgot to tell you,” he started, shoving food into his mouth. I knew what he wanted to say before he voiced it. He did it a lot. I had grown so used to it by now, I never questioned him.
“I need to visit my family,” he finished. At least these days, he came up with his excuses. In the past, he used to disappear without a word.
But deep down, I knew he was lying. There was more to his monthly disappearances than just visiting his family. Even though we had been dating for years, I knew next to nothing about him, while he knew everything about me. He knew my story. He knew the only family I had. He knew where I lived, and I didn’t know where his family lived. No one I had asked did.
“Alright.”
Callum looked up, placing the fork down. He looked like he wanted to say something, but an invisible force kept him from saying it.
His hands were trembling. I opened my mouth to tell him when he abruptly shot to his feet. “I need to go,” he said.
He stopped near the table and said, “I love you.”
“I love you,” I said. Longing for the day he would trust me enough to tell me what troubled him so.
“Don’t stay out…”
“I know.” He left then, his shoulders slumped, his head bowed. I sighed, my appetite gone as my eyes escorted him out of the cafe.
Whenever he left like this, he left me with one warning. Don’t stay outside late at night. Somehow, I listened to that warning every time, not knowing what compelled me to do it.
