Chapter 4 - Welcome to Hell

Nova

"No way!" I exclaimed, staring at him in complete shock, my mind refusing to accept what I was seeing. As if my day hadn't already gone horribly enough, the universe had apparently decided to have one last laugh at my expense.

"I've been patiently waiting for you, roomie," he said, a small smile appearing on his face.

I pulled myself out of his arms and planted both feet firmly on the floor, putting as much distance between us as I could. My eyes darted around the room as though there might be some mistake I hadn't noticed yet, but there was nothing. This was Room 001, the room the dorm master had just given me, the room I had been so relieved to finally get.

"Don't tell me..." My voice trembled as I looked back at him. "You're the..."

"You seem to be in shock." A smirk tugged at his lips. "Why? Scared now? I thought you were the strongest." He gestured casually around the hostel apartment, the smirk widening. "Welcome to hell, roomie."

My heart slammed against my ribs.

"No, that can't be!" I shook my head quickly, my lips trembling as panic began crawling through my chest. "No!"

I turned around so quickly that I nearly stumbled over my own feet and rushed straight back toward the dorm master's office.

When I reached his desk, I was barely catching my breath. He looked up at me with obvious confusion, his brows pulling together.

"What is it again?" he asked. "I gave you another room."

"Sir, I really can't accept that room," I blurted out, trying desperately to steady my voice. "Please, I want another room."

He stared at me for a moment, visibly annoyed. I clasped my hands together, practically begging him with my eyes, but his expression remained firm.

"You can go ahead and meet the previous roommate," he finally said. "If he's willing to change, then maybe that can solve the problem." He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to me.

I grabbed it and followed the address straight to the infirmary.

The moment I stepped inside, I froze. A student was lying unconscious on one of the beds, an oxygen mask covering his face. I glanced at the nurse nearby.

"Is he the previous roommate from Room 001?"

The nurse nodded. "Yes. He was admitted after something happened to him shortly after moving into that room."

I stared at the unconscious student in shock. Was I really about to move into that room? What if I ended up just like him?

Chirp!

The sound snapped me out of my thoughts. I pulled out my phone and froze when I saw the name on the screen.

The anonymous account.

I opened the message with trembling fingers.

"Heyy, why have you been ignoring my messages? Did I do something wrong? I couldn't sleep well last night. Let's meet up. See you soon."

Fine.... I was done running from Jaxon. I would meet him and end everything once and for all.

He wanted to meet the girl behind the anonymous account, not Nova, and I couldn't risk him seeing my white hair. I didn't have a female wig with me, which meant dyeing my hair was the only real option, except the dye never lasted. My hair always turned back to white within the hour.

Panic rose as I stared at my reflection on the dark screen of my phone. There was no way I could meet him like this, not when one wrong moment could expose everything I had spent years hiding.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to calm myself, but I still needed to meet him. With that thought, I turned around and headed back toward Room 001, hoping desperately that Alaric wouldn't be there. Maybe I'd get lucky for once. Maybe he would be gone.

When I reached the door, I slowly pushed it open and stepped inside. The moment the door closed behind me, I let out a deep breath, my shoulders finally dropping.

For one second, there was silence.

Then a deep voice came from behind me.

"I see you're back, roomie."

I froze, my entire body going rigid as I slowly turned around.

Alaric was standing there, his red eyes fixed on me, and the moment his lips curved into that familiar smile, he began walking toward me.

My heart started pounding.

"So, you're trapped with me now?"

"I guess so," I muttered, staring at him.

Alaric's expression shifted slightly as he walked toward me, his eyes roaming over my face with that irritating look of amusement that made me want to throw something at him.

"You seem awfully calm for someone who's hiding so many secrets."

My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't." His smile deepened as he took another step closer. "You're doing a terrible job looking innocent, though."

I forced myself to hold his gaze, even as my heartbeat grew louder.

"What exactly do you think I'm hiding?"

Alaric's eyes flicked briefly toward my back before returning to my face.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the fact that you're not exactly what you pretend to be." He leaned closer, his voice dropping into a teasing murmur. "Or maybe I should ask what else you've got tucked away beneath those clothes."

Heat rushed to my face.