Hollow Hearts (The Harkwright Trilogy)

“Hey yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, I heard what Scott and Aeron did to your list of rules and wanted to check on you.”

“Hang on, it was Aeron? Why would he do that?” I can hardly believe what I’m hearing but I’m even more shocked as Maddox takes my tray, sets it down on a free table and takes a seat with me. He should be at the Harkwright table, doesn’t he know what he’s doing by choosing to sit with me? I can’t imagine it will be good for him.

“Aeron doesn’t always think ahead, that’s all I can say. Tucker’s been trying to find out the exact reason all day but he refuses to say anything,” Maddox looks around almost nervously before returning his attention to me.

“You don’t have to sit here, I’m okay on my own.”

“It’s not like that, I’m just making sure Shane stays at the table. I don’t want him causing anymore trouble for you,” he stares at him intently and I’m glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t trust the bastard.

“I can’t see it ending any time soon, I can’t even have friends as long as he’s around,” I didn’t really intend to say that much, but it’s too late to take it all back now.

“What do you mean? He’s not allowing you to have friends,” he sounds as perplexed as I felt when I found out. Minus the anger and sadness that was thrown in alongside it for me.

“He ordered at least one girl to go out of her way to ignore me, I find it hard to believe he only did it once.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he stands up before heading over to the table but he doesn’t approach Shane, instead he goes over to Bradley and I dig into my dinner and try to block the table from my mind.

I guess I’m doing a wonderful job because Daria makes me almost jump out of my skin as she suddenly appears beside me.

“What on earth are you doing over here?” I ask, my hand shooting to my chest.

“Nice to see you too, I’m your new meal time buddy and please don’t get mad at Maddox, he just doesn’t like the idea of you being ostracized. That and this will piss Shane off so much and that’s always a bonus,” she pats my hand a couple of times before digging into her own meal. But I can’t miss the feel of Shane’s eyes drilling into the side of me, I just wish I knew what his issue was.

By the time Liam comes and gets me, I’ve been able to shower and wash the weight of Shane’s stare from my skin. I don’t know what it is about him, his unpredictability, the fact that he can go off the deep end on the drop of a hat or his high creep factor. All I know is that he scares me and I hope I never find myself alone with him.

I shake the thoughts away as I follow behind Liam until he leads me down the south wing and up a set of stone stairs with small arched windows lining the walls. There’s a sconce after every other window and it has quite an eerie feel, especially with the way our shoes sound on the stairs.

By the time we make it to the top, I am more than ready to sit down but my breath is stolen from me as he positions me by the window at the top of the tower he has led me to. I can see across the Academy grounds and the beautiful sun that is slowly dipping behind the horizon.

The space within the tower is bare with only a blanket, a couple of pillows and a lantern on the floor.

“This is where I come when I can’t sleep or if I need to be alone or to think about something. My own little haven within these suffocating walls,” he drops down onto the blanket and I claim the spot beside him.

“I love it up here, that view is amazing,” I sigh, feeling relaxed and it doesn’t feel as though I’m even in the Academy right now.

“I’m happy to share my favorite spot with you,” he wraps his arm around me again and I waste no time snuggling within his arms.

“Do you think you’ll come back?” I ask, arching my neck to look at him and I realize a little late how exposed I am to him and how close my mouth… I mean my face is to his.

“I think I’ll be closer than you think, but no. They don’t need Liam the cleaner any longer, but I’m glad I did this while you were here,” his face drops closer, his nose brushing against my own.

“So am I. You’ve made this place bearable and I’m sad that I’ll have to say goodbye to you in a few days,” our breath mingles but neither of us move as we stare at each other, my hand playing with the hairs on his arm.

“I’m glad I’ve made this place better for you, although surely you realize you could own this place. You just need to own that confidence and make the guys work for your attention. You’re halfway to doing that as it is, but damn Luna, if you put your mind to it I think you could steal the top spot in no time.”

“I don’t want the top spot Liam, I just want to make it to the end,” I say simply and I catch my breath as his thumbs pulls down my bottom lip before it pops back to its rightful place.

“Really, I thought every girl wanted to be number one and score themselves a marriage proposal.”

“Haven’t I told you this before? I’m only here to get enough money to help my family and buy my own bakery. I don’t want to marry a Harkwright, that was never my intention and as for the top spot, who cares.”

“You could walk away with nearly a million dollars by the time you end here if you become number One. It’s nothing to scoff at Luna, it could make all your dreams come true.”

“Sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing coming here, surely having people I love and who love me back just as much is all that really matters,” I say and I can’t miss the heat screaming at me from his eyes, and I wonder if he can see the same thing in mine.

“Is it selfish of me that I’m glad you made that mistake if it turns out to be one,” his mouth moves impossibly closer before we swallow the space up and his lips connect with mine.

I don’t react at first until I’m turning around and kneeling in front of him. My hands sink into his hair and he does the same and it’s so bittersweet. My emotions are running rampant and even though my head is screaming at me how wrong this is, I can’t bring myself to pull away.