That whole twisted scene only happened because I was in a life-threatening situation.
Survival instinct is the strongest instinct any human or animal has, and at that moment, I was ready to try anything as long as I left that place in one piece. So under normal circumstances, the entire event holds no meaning.
Still, I kept watching my surroundings long after one of the bunny masks gave me zip bag number twenty-three that held my belongings, then escorted me off the property.
I kept watching as I ran all the way to REU’s dorms and even as I put in the code for the flat.
A part of me thought Orange Mask would follow me to finish what he started. He’d trap me against the nearest wall and tell me in that deep voice of his that running away was only the beginning, not the end.
However, that was total paranoia on my part. A sick person like him who gets off on hunting and inflicting pain wouldn’t have left all the potential prey just to come after me.
Once again, I’m thankful for my invisibility traits. I’m safe.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and I flinch, then release a long breath before I fetch it and check the text.
Landon:You alive, love?
My heart skips a beat and butterflies erupt in my stomach.
I’ve always thought those sensations were clichés that only existed in shoujo mangas, but it took real-life experiences to realize just how true they were.
How one word, one text, from the person who matters, is more important than the whole world.
I straighten and reply.
Cecily:I think so. Just got back.
Landon:Meet me?
Cecily:Sure. Where?
Landon:Same place.
I smile at that. We have a place. It’s not big nor special, but it’s our little secret.
Cecily:On my way.
* * *
Thirty minutes later,I stop my car near the deserted rocky shore of the beach.
Since Brighton Island, which is situated near the south coast of the United Kingdom, is surrounded by sea on all sides, there are a lot of beaches and shores.
But we from REU don’t usually hang out in places that TKU’s students frequent to avoid unwanted fights.
This part of the beach is ours, and yes, it’s a public place, so we can’t stop TKU’s students from coming here, but they know not to unless they’re ready to face our club’s wrath.
Just like TKU has Heathens and Serpents, two notorious clubs whose members are part of the mafia, our university has the Elites.
They’re not mafia or anything that shady, but they’re equally lethal in an ‘old money rules’ kind of way.
And the one I’m meeting is the leader of this club.
I step out of my MINI Cooper, do a sweep of my surroundings, then open the passenger door of the black car that’s parked facing the sea and slide inside.
My heart does that skip again when my gaze falls on the most ethereally beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen. So blue and deep, they might as well rival the ocean and swallow anything in sight.
Landon King is three years older than me, so while I’m a second-year psychology major, he’s already getting his master’s degree in arts and sculpting masterpieces that galleries all over the world snatch up before they’re even complete.