I slither out of his grasp. He snarls and grabs at the back of my blazer, but I shrug it off and dive toward the crowd.
It’s chaos.
Whoever’s DJing obviously hasn’t noticed anything amiss, because the song switches to another thumping beat. The part of the crowd that has no clue what’s been happening cheers and starts dancing wildly while the other half just starts to stir agitatedly.
Me? I jump into a dense cluster of dancers and chance a look back.
Heath and Beck are still as statues, both stunned into silence as their secrets settle into the crowd around them, leaving them exposed. The dean is yelling something, Jasper is paying no mind as he claws his way through the dancers, and Dean Robin stands still and calm while she coolly scans the room.
I have to get out of here.
I’m small and I’m practiced in dodging thanks to the last weeks in lacrosse. I weave my way off the dance floor until I stumble out near a table where several couples who are much too cool to dance sit with blank expressions. Startling them is a bit satisfying, but I rush past and charge out of the double doors and into the hallway, leaving the dance behind.
Even above the bumping music and yelling crowd, I hear Jasper absolutely screaming my name. The butler dudes by the door look alarmed. I rush past them, down a random corridor, and start trying classroom doors.
Locked. Next one. Locked. Next one. I glance over my shoulder to see Jasper come out of the dance like a hurricane, breathing hard, looking crazed and impossibly strong. Our eyes meet. I freeze.
And then he starts running.
What a horrible mistake I’ve made.
And I’m not even thinking of Olive, of this travesty of some kind of attempt to humiliate Jasper.
I’m thinking of coming to Bleakwood in the first place. That was the mistake.
“GET BACK HERE!” Jasper yells as I turn and run full tilt down the corridor. I’m not even sure what wing I’m in. Have I been down here?
I leap sideways down a branching hallway at an intersection, then quickly turn the first corner I find afterward. My heart is pounding as I hear Jasper skid to a stop as he tries to follow. I’m out of his sight, but I’m sure he can still hear me. I duck into another, narrower hallway and keep going.
This place is like a maze when you’re not paying close attention. The halls feel eerily empty as I hear Jasper’s pounding footsteps echoing from behind me. I throw myself around another corner and try the nearest door. Miraculously, it’s unlocked, and I slip inside and gently pull the door shut as quietly as I can.
Now if only I could still my beating heart.
I press myself flat against the wall by the door and allow myself several deep breaths. I’m in a dark classroom. All the desks are pushed against the opposite wall and piled on top of one another, leaving the middle of the floor empty. Beside me is an empty shelf so dusty I can see the layers of grime even in the dim light.
Now I just have to wait.
I hunker down in the classroom to rest, hide, and catch my breath. I can hear Jasper prowling around the hallway and yelling, then occasionally hiding himself as one of the deans pass by, searching for him as well as me.
I’m exhausted—not from the chase, but from the panic, the adrenaline. My limbs shake as I crouch with my back against the door, just under the long, rectangular glass pane that serves as its window.
My breathing regulates. It’s quiet. Maybe it’s safe to leave my sanctuary and run to my dorm. Even Jasper has to calm down eventually, right? Tomorrow morning I can go to the infirmary and ask for Nurse Weber’s help as far as the medical records go.
I should have gone to her in the first place.
Now that I don’t hear my own blood rushing in my ears, I realize how stupid this whole thing has been. Everything here tonight could have easily been avoided. Coming to Bleakwood might have been something of a mistake, but that would be nothing compared to giving up now … after everything I’ve done to stay here.
I chance a peek out of the slim window in the door. The hallway looks clear. Moving slowly and quietly, I grab the door handle and turn it—
And it’s yanked out of my hand as Jasper flings the door open.
I scream and stumble back, but he grabs me by the forearm and steps close, pulling the door shut behind him.
There is no sign of him having started to cool. That fire, rage, jealousy, and humiliation—just as my own angry self wanted him to feel—still burns in his eyes.
But this time, Heath and Beck aren’t here to check his rage. I haven’t heard from or seen either of the deans
in a while. Nobody else knows I’m here—not that anyone but Rafael would care to look for me.