Skank: A Dark College Bully Romance (Hillcrest University Book 3)

by Candace Wondrak

  “It’s a long story. Meet me at Sawyer’s place.” I knew he remembered the address. And if not, he could always look at the text I sent him, the one with Ash and Sawyer looking mighty close as they danced together.

  No, Ash deserved someone so much better than Sawyer.

  I would clean up this mess, and then I’d find her. I would find her and I would make that man, Ray Ruiz, rue the very day he was born. He thought he was some hotshot serial killer who got off because of a technicality? Stupid. The real serial killers didn’t go on the news, or go on trial. I would know—my family’s full of them.

  Killers, I mean.

  My family’s full of killers, and once I get out of Hillcrest, I’ll be one, too.

  Technically though, I supposed I already was.

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Ash

  My eyes were slow to open, daylight streaming in through the window and caressing my face in a way no hands could, warming me. I blinked and let out a yawn as I sat up, stretching my hands. Almost immediately, I winced in pain, drawing both hands to my chest to inspect them. Fresh bandages were wrapped on my knuckles and my palms, my fingers covered in smaller Band-Aids here and there. It took me ages to remember what happened last night, and when I did, I felt sick.

  It was too easy for me to revert back to who I used to be. I thought I’d gotten over this, but I hadn’t. I was the same girl I was back then, and just like then, he had me.

  The room around me wasn’t mine; I didn’t recognize it. The clothes covering my body weren’t mine, either. I wore a soft, satin slip of a dress, and nothing underneath. Funny, because I didn’t recall changing…

  I flipped the fresh, white covers off me, half expecting to see chains around my ankles—but this wasn’t Travis’s dorm, and there were no chains around me. Just my bare feet and my bare legs.

  I got up, gazing around the room. The walls were a light tan, the curtains on the window drawn open. Pictures of cityscapes hung on the wall, and I hated that they reminded me of the one hanging in Sawyer’s room.

  Sawyer. I never wanted to think of that bastard again, never wanted to see him. At this point, I didn't want to see anybody. I was so lost, too far gone. I’d stepped into the abyss with wide-open arms, welcoming the chaos and wanting it to ravage me.

  I exited the room, moving into a quiet hall. It looked like I was in a house of sorts, and I headed to the staircase, smelling something delicious in the air. Was that bacon? I followed my nose into a brightly-lit, newly-updated kitchen, finding Ray standing before the stove, cooking eggs and bacon.

  While shirtless, because who cared about stray splashing grease when you defied death at every turn?

  His back was wide, muscled—had to be, in order to overpower the girls he’d taken. Me? He didn’t have to overpower me. I went with him without a fuss, like the stupid bitch I was. Stupid, so, so stupid.

  Almost as if sensing my presence, Ray said, “You’re up. I was just about to go up and wake you.” He threw a look over his shoulder, his green eyes even brighter than I remembered them being. “I hope you still like bacon.”

  I loved bacon. The problem was I think I still loved bacon a bit too much.

  And, of course, I wasn’t really talking about bacon.

  Using metal tongs, Ray grabbed the bacon off the pan and set it on a nearby plate, which he had waiting. I glanced around at the wide, open space. The house was too nice, too fancy and new for someone like him to afford, so I asked, “Did you kill the owners of this house?” Was I wearing a dead woman’s slip? Didn’t know what was worse. I was having a hard time thinking rationally.

  He turned to face me, smiling a slow, deliberate grin. “What would make you think that?” As he asked it, something dark twinkled in his eyes, and my gaze dropped. His chest was lined with scars, but none of them as thick as the one on his lower abdomen.

  Right where I’d tried to kill him.

  “Amorcito,” Ray whispered into my ear. “You’re going to love what I have in store for you.” He hummed as he put a blindfold on me.

  I couldn’t help but giggle. This was our first official weekend away—usually I had to sneak a few hours with him here and there, but now that I was eighteen, I was feeling adventurous. I wanted to live a little, and that meant having a whole weekend with my boyfriend, away from any prying eyes.

  “I can’t wait,” I said, sounding exactly like what I was: a love-struck teenage girl. It was easy to be love-struck when I was dating a man like Ray. On and off for the last few years, but now I knew, without a doubt, that this man was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He was my future; I couldn’t see a single future without him in it.

  Once the blindfold was on, Ray’s breath tickled my neck as he whispered, “Be careful with your footsteps.” He set a single kiss on my cheek before taking my hand, leading me through the log cabin that would be our home for the next forty-eight hours.

  He led me through the house, and down into the basement. The air got colder when we went under, and I shivered to myself, wondering what he could have waiting for me down here. Hopefully he wasn’t going to murder me, I joked to myself. It was a joke Kelsey would’ve made, had she been here.

  But she wasn’t. It was just me and the man I loved more than life itself.

  Ray’s hands fell to my hips, and he forced me to turn to my left. His lips grazed my ear as he murmured, “Are you ready to see your surprise? I got it especially for you.” This time, when he kissed my cheek, it was slower, sloppier, trailing down to my collarbone and making me sigh.

  “Yes,” I said, “I’m ready.”

  And then he untied the blindfold, letting the fabric sway to the floor.

  My heart nearly stopped. A girl was strung to the basement wall, wearing nothing but dirty white underwear and a matching bra. Her wrists were tied with tight rope, the skin around it chafing and red. Her eyes were red and puffy, but dry. She’d long cried out her last tears. A dirty gag sat in her mouth. How long had she been here, and why—

  I saw a black X marked on her abdomen, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when Ray suddenly slid a cold metal knife into my hand. “What?” I asked, my voice dry. Not as dry as her lips were, or her voice—but she was gagged. The girl, who couldn’t have been much older than me, couldn’t say anything, and she couldn’t scream. She could only whimper.

  “I got her for you,” Ray whispered, standing directly behind me. “So we can do everything together, you and I.” He tenderly touched my hair, its long, blond lengths. I immediately wanted to cut it off, but I was frozen.

  “I don’t understand,” I whispered, watching as the girl’s eyes met mine.

  She was staring at me. I didn’t want her to stare at me…

  “Don’t worry, amor, I’ll help you. We can do this together.” He kissed the top of my head, bringing us both closer to the girl he had chained up.

  No.

  No, no, no.

  I held onto the knife, suddenly aware that he’d put on gloves. He had gloves, but I didn’t. Why—

  His gloved hand curled around mine, and Ray guided my hand. He guided my hand and the knife until it was too late. My mouth was open, and I swore I could taste the metal in the air when the knife punctured the girl’s abdomen. She whimpered, crying out into her gag, and her desperate, muffled plea for help only grew louder the deeper in the metal went.

  I was getting blood on my hand.

  I didn’t want this.

  This wasn’t me.

  This wasn’t him.

  This was…some awful, horrible dream I couldn’t wake from.

  Ray’s hand left mine, leaving me the sole owner of the knife in the girl’s stomach. She was still alive, but I didn’t know how long she’d be. “There,” he said, approvingly, “that wasn’t so hard, was it, Ash?”

  The moment he said my name, I snapped back into my body. If this was a nightmare, I was going to have to fight to wake up.

  So that’s what I did.

  I yank
ed the knife out of the girl, splattering myself with bright red blood, twirling on Ray and stabbing him in the side. He wasn’t expecting that at all; I could tell by the way his green eyes widened and he stumbled back.

  I didn’t wait for him to recover himself. I couldn’t. If I wanted to make it out of this cabin alive, I had to do one thing.

  Run.

  I ran, and yet this was where I ended up. Right where I started, as if I’d never run from him to begin with. My gaze studied his scar; it looked a lot better than it did before. In the news, in videos of him, he’d always been hunched over, as if it never properly healed. It looked fine, now.

  Ray must’ve sensed that I was lost in my own head, for he said, “Ash, I let you get away once. You’re not getting away from me again, you understand that, don’t you? I need you. Without you, I’m nothing.”

  Those words sounded exactly like the ones Declan had tried to tell me, the ones Travis had proclaimed. Even Will. Sawyer was the one who said he didn’t need me, and guess what? I didn’t need him, either. I didn’t need any of them.

  He moved toward me, reaching for me. Ray pulled me closer, and since I wore nothing but a flimsy slip of a nightgown, I could feel his warmth and his hard chest against mine. “Tell me,” he said, a darkness shadowing his face. “Tell me that you’re mine, Ash.”

  If I didn’t, would he kill me? If I didn’t…what was the point?

  My lips parted, and I spoke the words I’d probably hate myself for later, “I’m yours.” What else could I say? What else could I do? Heaven nor hell could keep this man from me. He was my destiny, and we’d go down in flames together.

  His mouth curled into a smile, and he brought his face to mine. Our lips met, his hands gripping my sides so hard they’d bruise. His lips fed a warmth to mine, a passion I couldn’t fight. After all, I’d fought this man at every turn—stabbed him, set the cops on him, pretended like he didn’t exist—and here he was, ready to unravel me.

  And he would. In his hands, I was defenseless, helpless.

  My name was Ashley Bonds, and I was his.

  Chapter Twenty-Six – Will

  For whatever reason, Declan wasn’t able to see me home. More than fine, because Dad had it handled. He had it handled so much, he’d even bought me my own wheelchair, which I definitely didn’t need. He tried to get me in it after driving me back to my apartment—which was a hassle getting him to agree to to begin with—but I managed to wave him off and get out of the car on my own.

  A bit sore, with a new prescription of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, but I was home.

  “I am sorry your brother’s not here,” Dad went on, hurrying to call the elevator. “He didn’t give me a reason why, but I will have a talk with him later—” We got in the elevator, closing out the day’s bright rays.

  “You don’t have to walk with me to my apartment,” I said. “I know the way.”

  Really, I just didn’t want him there. It was the one place that didn’t remind me of him, my place, and I really wanted to keep it that way.

  “I know, but I’m worried about you.”

  I knew what that was code for, and I ground my jaw, turning my face to the side, refusing to look at him in the eye. I’d already told him everything that I’d told the police, and there was nothing objectionable there.

  The disappointment of the Briggs family. Me, but then again, it was the only reason I was able to do whatever I wanted. The family secret was safe.

  We made it to my apartment, and I turned to face him, giving him my best smile. “Really, I got it from here.”

  “Do you need help cleaning it up, or—”

  “No,” I said quickly. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay.” Code for: everything will be fine, you can go back to your life as the dean of Hillcrest and forget I exist.

  Not for long, though, because I was transferring next semester. But one thing at a time.

  My dad gave me a long look, a hard look, one that said he wasn’t sure if I was capable of being on my own. He could fuck off. I’d spent the last few years alone just fine, working hard and studying hard. I’ll be the first to admit, since meeting Ash, those habits had fallen to the wayside. It was hard to pay attention to my life when I knew Ash’s life was ticking.

  “Okay, well, if you need anything or change your mind, you know how to reach me.” My dad said nothing else as he walked away, and I made sure he got on the elevator before heading into my apartment.

  It was like I never left, minus a sore stomach and a nasty wound that would scar.

  I locked the bolt behind me, walking slowly to my room. I threw my prescriptions onto the bed, frowning. My blood was on the floor, dried into the carpet. There was no cleaning that; just replacing it. As I stared at the blood, I couldn’t help but remember it.

  The screaming still kept me up at night sometimes.

  I moved to my dresser, sluggishly dropping to my knees. My hand went to pull out the bottom drawer, and I winced as I moved around the clothes, stopping only when I found it. Instantly, I relaxed.

  It was still here, still safe.

  Though it was a bad idea, because every time I looked at it new ideas popped into my head, I pulled it out, lifting it through the clothes. A small black diary, boring at its face, but inside…oh, it’s pages spilled some dirty little secrets. I flipped open its front, running my fingers down the girly handwriting.

  Dad didn’t know I had this. Sabrina’s journal. Her real journal. The one where she actually told the truth. Dad didn’t know a lot of things about me, and if I had my way, it would stay that way.

  I exhaled a sigh, ignoring the ache in my stomach as I put the diary away and shut the drawer, like it didn’t exist.

  Someday soon a reckoning would come. Someday soon the truth would be brought to light. The truth had never tasted so bitter and sweet. This reckoning would rock the very foundation everything the Briggs family thought they knew.

  What could I say? Sometimes you couldn’t even trust family.

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  Be on the lookout for book 4, Psycho, coming soon!