Page 12 of Tethered to the World
She watched out the window as the campus came alive, the students seemingly so innocent. She had another hour before she needed to meet with the school to officially sign her papers. She overreacted last night and made a fool of herself, but something about those guys triggered her emotions, and that made them dangerous.
If she kept her distance, maybe she could maintain her shaky equilibrium.
No roommates, no dates, no friends, and definitely no assholes.
She didn’t fit in with the others at the school, so it was better to keep it to just work.
It was the only way she would survive with her sanity intact.
Friends meant danger and vulnerability, which she couldn’t afford, not until she found a way to eliminate the threat of her uncle.
She carefully folded away her meager cash supply. It wouldn’t get her far. As she collected the snacks from the machine and shoved them into her pack for later, she wondered what kind of apartment she’d be able to find.
When Annora clicked her tongue, the two ferrets charged toward her and dove into the bag as if it were a race. She gently stroked their silky heads, then pushed them down and closed the zipper until only a small opening remained. “Be quiet. You’d be considered a quick snack to some of the predators here.”
They chittered, almost as if they were agreeing with her or laughing at her, but they seemed to understand and burrowed deeper into the bag.
As people began to file into the building, Annora looped her bag over her shoulder and began the trek down the stairs. She didn’t even glance at the elevator, unwilling to be trapped inside a tiny box…not again.
Pausing by the door, she pulled up the hood of her sweater, then pushed open the door. She was halfway across campus when Loulou appeared at her side, slightly breathless.
“Where have you been? I’ve been searching for you all morning.”
Annora winced at the bright, bubbly smile, then she caught a movement over her shoulder, and barely resisted the urge to turn and run when she saw the giant determinedly making his way toward her. To her surprise, his hair was even wilder than last night, now standing up straight like it was full of static, and she had a hard time tearing her attention away from him. “Shit.”
Loulou turned, her mouth dropping open as she watched everyone scrambling to get out of the guy’s way, the man not even sparing his fellow students a glance.
“Uh…what did you do to piss off the troll?” Loulou’s stage whisper was loud enough that more people turned, her blue eyes seeming to grow bigger as she watched, something in them sparking in alarm. The bunny retreated until she was slightly behind Annora, and clutched her arm, her grip surprisingly firm.
“Troll?” Annora was stunned. She’d never known such a creature existed, but as she watched him, it made sense. She lifted her chin at his approach, not in the least bit afraid of him for some reason. He noted the gesture, his eyes narrowing dangerously, his speed picking up until he was throwing people out of his way.
“We had a slight disagreement last night,” she muttered to Loulou.
Not wanting to wait around for whatever he had to say, she began heading toward the administration building, Loulou’s dead weight dragging on her arm. They didn’t make it more than a few feet before the troll planted himself in her path and crossed those massive arms of his.
“Umm, I should get to class. Meet you later?” Then without an ounce of hesitation, Loulou sprinted off into the crowd, her white hair streaming behind her.
Annora didn’t blame her for bailing and gave a couple of thoughts to following her, but something on the troll’s face said he would catch her before she could make it two feet. In the daylight, standing only a few feet away from her, he seemed almost bigger than he had yesterday, a solid mass of muscles…and pink hair.
“How do you get your hair to do that?” She tipped her head back to get a get the complete picture of him. “And how do you get it to be that color? Doesn’t it draw attention?”
He cocked his head slightly as he studied her, his pissed-off expression gradually fading. When he reached up to push his hair down, it only sprang back up. It was almost like she’d flustered him by asking. The flash of his horns made her cheeks burn, and she shifted her feet, feeling a bit flustered herself.
“Sorry about yesterday.” She blurted out her apology, looking anywhere but at him, because, yeah, how does a girl apologize to a guy she accidently felt up?
When he didn’t say anything, she sidestepped him. “Look, I’m going to be late for my appointment.”
“You disappeared last night.”
Disappeared…not ran away. Annora clutched her bag tighter at the accusation, picking up her pace, hoping he would drop the subject, and she cursed her short legs when he easily kept up. “Don’t worry. I won’t bother you again. I’ll find an apartment so you guys don’t have to worry about little ol’ me upsetting your life.”
Something snagged the back of her bag, nearly pulling her off her feet when she tried to leave. The momentum pulled her around until she was facing the scowling troll once again. “You will do no such thing.”
“Excuse me?” She lifted her brows, surprised at his savage tone.
“You were assigned to us. Teams live together.” He tightened his hold almost possessively on her bag. “You’re not going anywhere.”
She was barely able to smother her snort. “Then I’ll ask to be reassigned. We’re obviously not compatible.”
