004

KYLIE AS KAYDEN

Okay, let’s think this through. This is literally my ticket to freedom. I get to be Kayden for a while and then be free. Why should sharing a room with a bunch of other guys be an obstacle to this plan?

“Fret not, Kylie. If you can survive a huge betrayal from Jason, Selene and Thomas, then you can survive pretty much everything.”

This motivation was what I needed to march to the dorms. It happened to be an apartment with four different rooms.

“Oh.”

I let the keys dangle from my fingers as I inspected each room. All of them were locked except for a plain, empty room. It was clearly mine. I just needed a plan and a routine if I wanted to survive here. I hurriedly packed my things in, trying to map out a plan.

Since we were sharing the same toilet and bathroom, it meant I only had to use it very early in the morning and late at night. Nobody would randomly follow me into the toilet on regular hours, so I was safe from that at least.

I don’t have to hang out with them, baring my bare chest in the sunlight and talking about girls they had never met. I didn’t need to do all that. I just had to be a ghost, only appearing when it was absolutely necessary, until I was assigned to another room.

“Yes!”

This was a foul plan. I could make it work. My phone rang. I jumped at it and pressed it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Kylie,” Irene whispered into the phone. “Or Kayden? Have you settled in for me to call you Kayden?”

I felt weird about her calling me the name of her dead son but I quickly brushed it away. I needed this to work.

“I’m Kayden now,” I said. “I’ve gotten to my dorm and I’m packing into the room. It’s nice.”

“Oh.” She giggled. “Do you have the room to yourself? I didn’t think that would happen.”

“It’s an apartment dorm with four rooms,” I explained. “Quite fancy.”

“Hmm, better than bunk cells with six roommates.” She sighed. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay now… Kayden.”

“I’m okay.” I paused awkwardly. “Thank you.”

“Well, if you need anything else, call me.”

“You’ve done enough.”

“Just call,” she insisted. “I’ll let you go now, but be careful, alright?”

“I will.”

She hung up and I got back to work. By the time I was done arranging my things into the room and setting my bed, an hour or two had passed. I rushed into the bathroom to shower, praying and hoping to god that the roommates won’t come back.

It was just 5pm. They might probably be playing soccer or something. Halfway into my shower, I heard the front door of the dorm creak open, voices filling the air.

“Why does it look like someone packed in here?” One of them asked, his voice low and inquisitive. “Do you people smell that?”

“Smell what?” The one that spoke next sniffed the air. “I’m not smelling anything.”

“Exactly! Wait, is that the sound of water? And soap? Do I smell soap?” I could literally hear him straining his ear. “Someone is in the bathroom.”

I looked up at the showerhead in horror as it continued to drip. I could have turned it off then and pretend that I wasn’t there, but it was late.

“Boo!” One of the boys screamed as he opened the bathroom door.

I screamed, shoving the shower head into his face before grabbing my towel. He let out a shriek in return, clawing at the air before slipping and crashing onto the floor. The two other boys watched in stunned silence.

With my head bowed and the towel hanging awkwardly around my chest and bony shoulders, I bolted to my room.. I shut the door behind me and locked it, and then hurried to dry myself and dress up.

A bang came on my door. “Open up right now!”

I squeezed the chest binder around my chest, wincing painfully as it pressed into my tender flesh. I threw on a big shirt and baggy shorts, wondering if I had done too much. But then again, if I hadn’t sprayed him with that water, he would have seen me naked for sure.

“Hey! Don’t let me kick down this door!”

I opened the door with a half glare and half apology. The two boys were right at my door, their gaze falling on me.

“Look, he shouldn’t have barged in my bathroom,” I rushed to explain. “That was disrespectful and—” sexist, I wanted to add, but that would just give me away. “That was disrespectful, man.”

They cocked their heads simultaneously at me. They looked pretty similar, one with locks of brown hair and the other with short, curly hair. Their eyes were identical green, but their shades were somewhat different.

You’re staring, my wolf chimed.

I blinked and then looked down.

“Who are you?” The one with the brown locks asked.

“Uhm… I’m your new roommate,” I stuttered, trying to avoid his eyes. That might be a sign of submission but all I really wanted was not to feel the soul connection I had with these people, which they were totally unaware of.

“Roommate,” he repeated, a slight chuckle in his voice. “Do you hear that, Ryan? The person that caused you to fall is our roommate.”

“Bullshit!”

I whipped my head to the bathroom. Ryan was just finding his feet then, pushing his wet, short sandy out of his face. His eyes were bottle green. I instantly looked away. Shit, a lot was happening!

Ryan pointed distastefully at me, his gaze hard. “Go back into that room and pack your things! Get out! I don’t want to see your face when I next come out!”

I gaped at him, shocked. “What? That was clearly a mistake! I didn’t expect you to fall and mind you—you did that all on your own.”

Silence filled the room. Ryan’s face turned so cold, I literally felt shivers.

“You will pack your things and leave,” he hissed, his fangs threatening to show. “I don’t want to see you here!”

He then marched to the direction of his own room. I jumped when he slammed the door short. The brown locks one hummed as he walked past me, murmuring under his breath.

“These dorm masters should know better than to send us roommates. It’s just going to ruin our mood.”

He, too, vanished into his own room. At least he didn’t slam his door like the other one, Ryan.

“It seems our mates are cold hearted,” Akira whispered inside me.

No shit, that’s one way to put it.

The last boy was still standing. He was watching me curiously. When he stepped towards me, I stepped back.

“What is your name?” He questioned.

I bit my lips. “Kayden, and you?”

“Ross.” He smiled a bit. “Kayden, a piece of advice? You should leave before Ryan sees you again. You’re not going to like that.”

“It seems our mates are not easy to deal with,” Akira said as Ross too, disappeared into his own room.

“It seems we’re going to ask the moon goddess why she kept giving me mates like these, first it was that Bastard cheater, Jason, now cold hearted triplet”