Crimson {COMPLETED}

CHAPTER XXI

EMILY'S POV

NOVEMBER 2
4:45 p.m

I WALK back to my car parked in the campus parking lot, my bag thrown over my shoulder.

"Emily!" A familiar voice calls.

I turn around and Connor from my last class is running up to me.

"Emily, hey." He smiles. "Can I borrow your notes? I recorded the lecture on my phone but most of Professor Richard was drowned out by the snoring dude in front of me."

"Wow that's unfortunate luck." I place my bag on the hood of my car, digging inside for my notebook.

"Yeah, I know." He sighs. "I wish Mr Richard would just give us copies of the notes."

"Welcome to college, where they make you work for everything." I chuckle, pulling out my notebook.

"More like 'Welcome to life, where you have to work for everything'." He heaves. "Hey, I promise I won't lose this, okay?"

"Yeah, that's probably a lie. I'll put my name in it just in case." I grab my permanent marker and start to scribble my name on the inside cover.

"You should put your number too."

"What?" My head pops up.

"You know, so if anyone finds it they can call you? Since you're so sure I'm going to lose it." He smiles.

"Oh. Yeah. Right." I shake my head a little and scratch my number onto the inside cover. I hand it to him with a tight lip smile.

"Thanks Emily, I owe you one alright?"

"Yeah yeah. It's whatever. Just get it back to me, got it?" I zip up my bag and throw it in the passenger seat.

"You got it." He grins. "See you later then." He waves, walking in the direction of the dorms.

"See you later then." A voice mocks behind me.

I whip my head around and Jackson is there, hiding under the shade of a tree.

"Jackson, hey." I grin ear to ear. "What are you doing here? You stalking me or something?Because that's pretty weird." I lean against the car.

"Not exactly. I needed to talk to you about something but clearly you're too busy letting that frat boy flirt with you." He crosses his arms.

"Aw, is little Jackson jealous?" I smile. "Don't worry, he was just getting some notes."

"You friends or something?" He seems bitter.

"We've worked on some group projects but I wouldn't call us friends." I shrug. "You wanna ride with me?" I point to the car.

"Sure, you want me to toss your bag in the back?" He opens the passenger side door.

"Yeah, get in." I slide into the drivers seat and put the keys in, turning them.

He stares out the window, turning away from me. Still, I can see that his brows are furrowed.

"Are you actually mad about that?" I pull out of the parking lot. "I thought you were joking."

He grumbles something under his breath.

"C'mon, don't be like that. I don't look at Connor that way, alright? You can check my mind and everything." I steady both hands on the steering wheel.

There's a pause of silence but then he turns to me, gaping.

"You gave that frat boy your number?!"

"He's not a frat boy." I laugh. "And no, I put my number in my notebook in case his irresponsible ass loses it."

"He's a frat boy." He insists. "And he only suggested the idea of putting your number in there as a casual way to get your number."

"I doubt it. I barely know him."

"Exactly." Jackson exclaims. "He wants to get to know you better so he can get in your pants."

"Okay, that's a possibility, but I'm not stupid. I'm not going to sleep with him if that's what you're worried about."

"Good." He smiles. "It's tradition in the realm for the bride and the groom to lose their virginity to each other on their wedding night."

I burst out laughing. "Jackson, hate to break it to you but I'm not a virgin."

He goes pale. "Excuse me, what?"

I laugh again. "Sorry to burst your bubble."

He sighs and presses into the passenger seat.

"Jackson Reed, are you a virgin?"

"Yes Emily, I am indeed a virgin." He sighs.

"Oh that's adorable." I turn down the radio. "You said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Ah, right." He smiles. "My parents would like to meet you."

"Oh god." I chuckle.

"My thoughts exactly." He taps his foot. "They also said they'd pay for your education if you come to the realm."

I take my eyes off the road longer than I should. "What?"

I don't feel the collision, but I hear the impact. The airbags burst out and both Jackson and I jolt in our seatbelts.

Then I feel it. The feeling of the car spinning.

But I don't see anything. When I jolted in my seatbelt, I hit my head on the steering wheel. My vision is blurry and my head hurts.

"Emily?" A voice calls to me. "Em? Em? You'll be okay Em, I promise."

Jackson? Jackson.

Jackson.

Is he the last person I'll ever hear? See?

Would I be okay knowing he was the last person I talked to?

Yes.

Yet I would be a little less happy knowing that one of our last conversations was about his virginity.

For the first time, living in the realm with Jackson doesn't seem all that bad at all.

Because at least it's living,