King of Corium (Corium University Trilogy 1)

“Quinton gave it to me. In fact…” He slides a hand into his pocket and pulls out his phone. My stomach knots, my eyes darting toward the door, which surprisingly has been left cracked open.

If I scream, would anyone come for me? Doubtful. I have to get out of this room and save myself. I have to find a way to leave this place for good.

Whatever monsters are out there cannot be worse than what is hidden behind the walls of Corium. Matteo types something into his phone and then turns the device toward me.

“Remember when he fucked your face?” When he hits play, vomit claws up my throat, and I look away, unable to watch the video. That day still haunts me, and to know that it’s been recorded… “Unfortunately, I have more bad news. Quinton sent me a message saying he wants me to share it with the entire school. Told me he doesn’t care who sees it.”

My heart splinters, and while I expected something to happen, I never could’ve anticipated it would be this. I was stupid to have ever thought I could trust Quinton.

All it took was for one misunderstanding to occur, and he and I were on opposing sides again. There was no equal ground between us, and I was too blind not to realize it.

“Poor, Aspen, got her tiny little heart broken,” Matteo taunts. He rushes toward me, and I dart away, but he’s bigger and faster and manages to grip me by the wrist, tugging me back toward him. My lungs heave in my chest, and my only thought is to escape. I have to get away.

“You can’t leave, not yet. I haven’t gotten what I came here for.” The hand at my wrist tightens, and his other hand comes up to my head, his fingers sink into my hair, and he yanks hard. Fire burns across my scalp, and I let out a yelp as he tosses me toward the bed.

“You owe me a blow job, bitch,” he sneers.

“I owe you shit. Let me go.” I try to shove him away, but he just tightens his grip.

Why did Quinton not show me a move out of this?

“Or what? What are you going to do?” He laughs, the sound only reminding me of that night. I squeeze my eyes shut, wishing that this wasn’t real. Why do I keep ending up in these situations? Why can’t people just leave me the hell alone?

“Let her go, Matteo.” A voice cuts through my haze of fear, and my eyes fly open, just in time to see waves of anger flash over Matteo’s face. I glance past him to the door, and to my utter amazement, I find Ren standing in the doorway of my room.

“What is wrong with you and your cousin? Since when do you care about scum like this, especially this one? You should be cheering me on, holding her down while we take turns fucking her. Did you and your family go soft—”

Ren moves as fast as lightning and grabs Matteo by the neck, pulling him off me with one hand. In the same movement, he slams his fist into Matteo’s face so hard, his head snaps to the side, and his eyes roll back, the single punch knocking him out cold. He falls to the floor like a bag of sand with a loud thud. I would feel sorry for him if he was anyone else, but since he is who he is, I feel like a tiny bit of justice has been served.

Ren turns his icy glare on me, and I shiver at the darkness there. “I still hate your guts, but lucky for you, I hate this guy more.”

I move off the bed, not wanting to stay in this vulnerable position, but then I’m at a loss as to where to go? Matteo is on the ground in my room, and when he wakes up, he is going to come after me regardless.

“You look scared,” Ren states the obvious.

My lip trembles, and a response sits on the edge of my tongue.

Do I tell him how scared I am or keep pretending? Fuck it.

“Of course, I’m fucking scared. Everywhere I go, people have it out for me. I can’t even hide out in my own room without people coming in, trying to hurt me. What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?”

“You’re gonna be okay,” His voice is almost soothing.

Frenzied, I shake my head. “No. I’m not okay. I’m… I have to get out of here. I can’t be here anymore. It’s not safe.”

I don’t know why I’m telling him any of this. It’s not like he cares, and I know he would never help me do something like that, not without there being a price.

“Look.” Ren runs a hand through his hair, and his eyebrows pinch together almost like he’s contemplating something. “Let me help you.”