Page 112 of Drown Like Heaven
I knew I should go home now, shouldn’t be here waiting for her. It was dangerous.Iwas dangerous. My thoughts were a chaotic wreck, ready to stab and slice and cut, disjointed and splintered. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat, hating how poorly I was dealing with this.
Forcing my attention back to thoughts of the gorgeous, brave, broken girl in the building I stood outside, some level of control managed to return to me.
She’s mine.
I won’t let her go.
Chapter 30
Dakota
When I left my class building, Mason was waiting there. I almost wanted to turn around and run back inside the building to hide. There was no reason he should’ve been waiting for me, and thinking about it made me nervous. But I stayed, wanting him even when I shouldn’t.
“Why are you here?” I asked, stepping to the side of the walkway so other students could use it freely. I noticed a few of them staring up at him while they passed, intrigued. “Andhoware you here?”
“I’m here to see you.”
“Answer my second question,” I demanded, crossing my arms.
“I drove here, then started walking across campus once I ran out of roads.”
“You know that’s not what I meant,” I snapped, irritated. I wanted to knowhowhe found me. Sure, he knew I went to school here now since he’d been the one to drop me off earlier, but I never gave him my class schedule.
When he didn’t answer, I got my phone out. My suspicions were instantly proven correct; he’d shared my location with him while I was asleep last night. I unshared it, turning my glare back on his face.
His expression was making me uneasy.
Something was wrong.
Why couldn’t things ever just be simple with us? There was always something darker, somethingworsegoing on. In my mind, I wanted to pretend Mason was the only one causing all this, but my heart was corrupted too. I yearned for this.
I dug us deeper, too.
“I don’t want you to have my location,” I said, squeezing my phone tighter so my fingers wouldn’t tremble.
“But I need you.” He pressed his fingers into the side of my jaw, stepping towards me, my heartbeat stumbling. I was starting to notice how tormented his face was, how wrecked he looked—like he was grasping for something.For me? Why?
“What’s wrong?” I asked, stomach turning. I had no idea what was going on, why he seemed so different right now, but I knew I didn’t like it. The longer he stared at me, the heavier the pit in my stomach got, anxious anticipation spreading all under my skin.
“Come back to my car with me.” He coasted the pad of his thumb over my lips lightly, tracing the shape of them.
“Okay,” I agreed, already regretting it.
Mason took my hand, but he wasn’t speaking now. He interlaced our fingers, pulling me along with him, each step further triggering my fight-or-flight reflex. He wasn’t stable right now. It felt like this morning when he’d dragged me out of the shower to fuck me on the floor, like he needed toownme.
But it was stronger now. It scared me on a deeper level.
It almost felt like it wasn’t aboutmeat all, but I was still going to be the collateral damage.
“Mason,” I said to catch his attention, but he didn’t look down at me, continuing to walk towards the parking lot. “Mason, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
He refused to answer me. It looked like he hadn’t even heard me, or he just didn’t care to answer.
I could see his car now, barely visible through the trees. This part of campus was pretty secluded, surrounded by forest on the edges. I stopped walking, digging my heels in when Mason tried to drag me with him, trying to yank my hand away from him.
His eyes snapped to mine.
“Tell me what’s wrong.” I made my voice forceful to hide the edge of fear lurking in it.
