Corrupt Me

Chapter 8

My breath came out quickly, my chest rising and falling rapidly as I stomped down the hall, heading for the exit. I needed fresh air. Open space. No walls. And a new fucking house.

Living with Tristan wouldn't cut it.

How the hell had this happened? No way was this a coincidence. I wasn't buying it. Tristan had orchestrated this arrangement. I was sure of it, just as I was sure the damn grass was green. But why?

What did he want from me other than to make me miserable and torture me?

I cursed myself for not paying more attention. Had Anna mentioned Tristan Transferred to ISU over the summer? Or during the car ride here? Had Preston? I couldn't remember. I'd spaced out so often, my mind trailing off into those dark corners I tried hard to avoid. Or perhaps my subconscious had known Tristan attended FSU and buried it so my conscious mind wouldn't object. I was convinced my subconsciousness was obsessed with Tristan.

Sam would lose her shit when she found out we were rooming in the same house as Tristan fucking Malone. Should I call her now? Break the news over the phone or wait until tomorrow? Then we both could march down to the admissions office together and demand, threaten even if that's what it took until they moved us.

I didn't see the point in unpacking since I wouldn't be staying more than a night.

I shoved open the front door, inhaling long as I tossed my head back to the late afternoon sun. Orange, red, and splashes of yellow streaked across the soft blue canvas above. Puffy white clothes moved lazily in the sky, forming and reforming in a variety of shapes. Birds chirped in the nearby palm trees, and a faint trace of orange lingered as a breeze blew past.

My feet started walking, and I let them take me in any direction, not caring where I went as long as it was far from Thorn Hall.

Was it too late to for me transfer to another university? Nothing was impossible, right? Surely, I could start applying now, if not for this semester, then the next because I could not be on the same campus as Tristan—as the guy who blackmailed me. Who had gone from a friend to...someone I didn't know anymore.

I felt the tears rising. The very point of coming to college had been to leave my past behind me, not drag it with me. That's what Tristan represented. All the shit I wanted to forget. Mom. Preston. Who I'd been.

Sam didn't count. She was the only part of my past I wanted to tow with me into my future—the one constant in my life that I needed to remain. I wanted to embrace change and roll with the punches. No, I wanted to punch Tristan, right in his smug, pierced mouth.

Lifting my scowling gaze from the ground, I noticed I'd stumbled onto Greek life, the sorority and fraternity houses of FSU. They lined the street on both sides, large Greek letters posted onto the front of the homes of various colors and shapes, all unique and structurally interesting.

It provided a momentary distraction as I slowly strolled down the path leading to campus. I walked around the grounds, studying the buildings and familiarizing myself with the layout for when classes started. This was something Sam and I planned to do together, but it didn't hurt to get a head start.

The scent of freshly brewed coffee enticed me as I hooked around the corner, and once my nose got a whiff, the craving wouldn't be tamed until I got a fix. Following the scent, I stumbled onto a little coffee cafe, Java Break. If the caffeine was strong, this might become my morning stop before class.

I was surprised to see a bit of a line this time of day but with nothing else to do, I was happy to wait. When it was my turn, I rattled off my order and swiped my card. The barista, a cute guy with shoulder-length wavy hair, smiled at me. "First year?" he guessed.