The Unlikely Resident of Room 313

Chapter 20

I woke to the sound of hurried footsteps outside my door. I sucked in a breath, expecting it to burst open with ghouls and demons a la The Conjuring, ready to drag me to the Dark Man. That didn't happen, of course, and for the first time in my life, I resented my love of horror movies. A moment later, joyous laughter rippled through the corridor, and my chest hollowed.

Fun. They sounded like they were having so much fun.

That should be me right now. Instead, I got a scary, angry, killer ghost problem.

Why can't that be you? Are you just going to hide in your room and waste away until the Dark Man gets you?

"Asteria!" Melody's voice was followed by incessant knocking. "Wake up! It's one o'clock!" I heard Anna's muffled laughter and Zara's irritated sigh. "Oooooh, Asteriiaaaaaa!"

For the first time in what felt like forever, a rush of happiness and gratitude filled me. This was exactly what I needed; this was exactly what I was supposed to do here at OU.

I sat up in bed. "Okay! Okay! Hold on!" I shouted just as Roy materialized onto the bed. Right behind me. "Excuse me! What are you doing?"

He leaned up on one elbow. "Being the big spoon. Would you prefer I be the little spoon?"

Butterflies erupted in my stomach and I twisted around to face him. "I would prefer being in my bed alone."

"That's not what you said last night," he countered, disappearing when I threw my pillow at him, and re-emerged on the carpet in the center of the room. "I tried to leave but you kept calling me back."

"I don't remember any of that. I'm sorry if I kept you from—where exactly do you go when you're not here?" Melody, Anna, and Zara's knocking intensified. Gracelessly hopping off the bed, I pulled on a pair of Halloween-themed pajama pants over my shorts. "You know what? I'll find out later."

Roy flopped onto his back. "It's a good thing I don't need to sleep, sweetheart. If I were alive, your obnoxious snoring would have definitely kept me up all night."

Pausing at the door, I said, 'If you were alive, you'd be in the suburbs somewhere with a house, a wife, and two-point-five children." A shiver wracked my spine. If Roy were alive, he'd be Maya and Damon's age. I did not need to think about that.

"What's taking so long, Asteria?" Melody whined. "Ohh! Do you have a special someone in there?"

What was it with my corridor mates and believing I had a secret lover in my room at all times?

The door swung open without me touching it, and the three girls gasped at the sight of a beaming, prideful Roy Teller.

"Am I special, Asteria?" he asked with a wicked grin. Oh, I was going to kill him. "You have no idea how long I've waited to hear that."

Whereas Melody and Anna remained in the hallway, Zara stumbled forward, a perfect curl falling out of her perfect ponytail. She looked both ravenous and flabbergasted, and I was very aware of my poorly-pulled-on pants, messy hair, and low-cut tank top.

"Roy!" Zara said with a bright smile. Behind her, Anna glanced anxiously between the three of us. "I thought you transferred dorms."

Transferred dorms?

"I did," he responded coolly. He reached out and slapped my shoulder in a very manly gesture of affection, ignoring my glare. "I'm just visiting my buddy."

I pursed my lips. Your buddy? Seriously, Roy?

What do you want me to say, sweetheart? I materialized in your bed?