Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 8~

~Colby~

I slammed the front door so hard it rattled the picture frames in the hallway. Good. Let them fall.

Dealing with a half-dead leech in broad daylight was not how I wanted to spend my first week back on campus. My backpack hit the floor with a loud *thud*, and I shoved my door open hard enough that the knob carved another dent into the wall. That made four this semester. Whatever. I kicked off my shoes, yanked off my hoodie, and chucked it—somewhere between the closet and the window. Didn't give a damn.

Footsteps thundered up the stairs like a goddamn SWAT team.

Elliot barged in like the Kool-Aid Man, eyes wide, mouth already going. "Yo—what the hell happened to you?"

I shot him a glare. "Do you ever knock?"

"That's not a denial."

Before I could bite back, Colton's voice rang out from his room, smug and loud. "He probably didn't get laid again. That'd piss me off too."

"Shut the *fuck* up, Colton!" I snarled.

Seconds later, he leaned against the doorway with that trademark shit-eating grin. "Hey, hey—just a theory, bro. Don't get your boxers in a twist."

"Keep talking and I'll twist something else."

I tugged at my shoelaces like they were trying to piss me off on purpose.

Colton chuckled and disappeared, hands raised. "Damn. Someone's real moody today."

Elliot crossed his arms, watching me like I was a ticking bomb. "You gonna tell me why you look like you just punched a wall and lost?"

"It's nothing," I snapped, flinging the shoes toward the corner. "Just that new girl in Reynolds' Lit class."

"The one Maddie mentioned? Raelyn?"

"Rae," I bit out, like the name itself offended me.

Elliot raised an eyebrow. "Silver eyes?"

My head jerked toward him. "You've *seen* her?"

"Briefly. Walked past the café with Ivy and Maddie. Why?"

I let out a dry, humorless breath. "She's a pain in the ass. That's why."

Elliot smirked. "Translation: she's hot and didn't melt at the sight of your broody jawline."

"I don't *have* charm."

"Tragically aware."

"I don't like her," I growled. "Not even a little."

Elliot leaned against the wall like he had popcorn. "You're getting *real* defensive for someone who doesn't care."

I turned and flopped onto my bed, arms crossed over my chest. "She didn't even say anything to me. Just walked in, stared at me like she was trying to decide where to aim the knife. The second I saw her, my skin started crawling."

"Sounds like attraction," he said with a shit-eating grin.

"Sounds like a threat," I snapped. "Her scent's wrong."

That wiped the smirk off his face.

Heath strolled in then, sweaty, shirtless, and way too calm. "What's going on? You look like someone keyed your car with a crucifix."

"It's the new girl," Elliot said, jerking a thumb at me.

"The half-vampire?" Heath asked, unfazed.

"You know?" I barked.