I peered through the peephole, not recognizing the boy standing outside. He had one hand in his pocket, the other holding something I couldn’t quite see. Undoing the lock, I opened it, immediately hit with the smell of cologne.
Yes, because in Hillcrest, even the students sported cologne and the kind of clothes one wore when they were plotting to take over the world.
The man before me—because, even though he was a student, maybe a year or so older than me, he was definitely not a boy—wore dark jeans, a button-up grey shirt and a jacket that practically screamed country club. His blonde hair was styled up, its side cut short. His eyes were a color so pure and vivid they were like emeralds, instantly amused the moment he laid those orbs on me. He was tall, too.
So tall, like wow. Definitely over six feet, at least a foot taller than me.
He was smiling down at me, a cute, dimpled, lopsided smile. Like only half of his mouth worked. The expression would look stupid on anyone else, but on him? It was clear he’d mastered the I’m-a-rich-boy-and-you-love-it expression from a very young age.
And, even though I didn’t know him, I found myself pulled toward him. Maybe because he was so nice to look at.
My mouth opened, and I was about to ask him who he was, but no sounds came out, no words formed. Mostly because my gaze dropped and I stared at the object he held in his hands. A rope. No, not just a rope. A noose, knotted and roped together, a loop hanging toward the floor. My heart could not beat fast enough.
He must’ve realized that I was freaking out about the whole carrying-a-noose thing, for he said, “Ah, it’s…it’s not mine. I found it on the floor in front of your door.” He offered it to me, like it was mine. Like it was meant for me.
It wasn’t, but I took it all the same. A stupid decision, really, because by taking it, I must’ve signaled to this guy that he was okay to waltz into my room.
He walked into my room—well, mine and Declan’s—like he owned the place. He studied the entire room. My side, Declan’s side; none of it was safe beneath his calculating gaze. This guy, he was attractive, but he knew how attractive he was. His confidence was near cockiness, and I instantly disliked him for it.
Guys like him were nothing but trouble, and take that from a girl who dabbled in trouble herself.
“Uh,” I said, the door swinging shut behind me, locking me and this stranger in together. He might’ve been drop-dead gorgeous, but I didn’t trust him. “Who are you? And what are you doing here? You can’t just walk into someone’s room—” I stopped the moment he turned to look at me, still wearing that lazy half grin.
“Can’t I?” he asked, cocking his head slightly, as if he was really having trouble knowing whether or not I was serious.
I was. I was so, so serious. So serious it hurt.
His jade eyes examined me, dipping to my feet and slowly creeping their way up. He was checking me out, and not even being sly about it. Heat crept up my back, and I fought the tightening in my lower gut. My body was obviously drawn to his, but my brain knew enough to keep me rooted firmly in place.
“I only came here to meet the girl breaking boundaries at Hillcrest,” he said, taking a step closer to me.
I didn’t want to, but I would swing the noose in my grip at him. Slap him right in the face with the rope if I had to. He might’ve been so sexy it hurt, but he wasn’t about to intimidate me into submission in my own damn room.
Plus, I didn’t even know his name yet.
“Boundaries aren’t the only thing I’m ready to break,” I said, meeting his stare. Some girls—okay, most girls—would swoon under those emerald eyes. Me? No thanks. He smelled like trouble a mile away.
And honestly, just because he said he found the noose on the floor didn’t mean it was true. He could be the owner, the maker of the noose in my hand. I wasn’t stupid.
He flashed a set of pearly whites, perfectly straight teeth behind a cold laugh. He didn’t really find me funny, but that was more than alright, because I wasn’t here for his amusement. “You’re just what I need.” The expression he wore right then was nothing short of smug. “I’m Sawyer Salvatore.”
He wanted me to introduce myself, but I wasn’t about to. “I wish I could say it was nice to meet you, Sawyer, but since you’re trespassing in my room—” I also knew why he was here. He was Sabrina’s brother. If he blamed Declan, whether or not Declan deserved to be blamed, I didn’t doubt he’d come here with the noose himself.
But…he didn’t know that I knew about Sabrina. To him I was just the new girl in a sea of male freshmen, ignorant to all of this.
“You’re not going to tell me your name?” Sawyer asked, easing himself forward. “Or ask why there was a noose on the floor just outside your door?” He wanted me curious, and he was dying to know who I was. Someone like him, I bet he usually got what he wanted. I would never find myself in that number.
Sawyer practically screamed player. Tool. Douche canoe. Whatever word you wanted to use to describe him. They all fit.
“Why should I?” I asked, my fingers tightening around the rope. “You’re not being very friendly.” Hell, with the ego that surely sat behind his pretty face, I was surprised the room wasn’t full to the brim.
He lifted a hand, stunning me by bringing it to my face, lightly brushing his fingertips against my cheek. A light, calculated touch—a touch that sent my heart a tumble. Damn traitorous heart. “I can be friendlier, if you want.” When I only glared at him, cluing him into the fact that I was not going to swoon and throw myself at him—even if I did want to climb him like a tree—the fingers teasing my skin dropped back to his side. “I only came to make sure you were okay. When I heard Declan was rooming with the new girl, well…I got worried.”
“Oh, so I should call you my knight in shining armor?” I deadpanned. His line was bullshit. This whole room reeked of bullshit.
His half smirk was wicked. “I’m no knight.” His eyes surveyed the room, and he waited a while to add, “I’d be careful, if I were you. Declan’s not who you think he is.”
One of my favorite games was being told what to think. “Yeah? And who’s that?”
“He’s the reason my sister is dead. The whole campus knows it. You should, too.” Sawyer finally looked back at me, something guarded clouding his gaze. “He killed her, and if you’re not careful, he’ll kill you, too.”
I wasn’t about to let this guy lead me on a wild goose chase. If Declan would’ve been here, I would’ve asked him about the whole Sabrina thing. But this? This was almost like a warning…though if it was a warning for me or one Sawyer hoped I’d pass on to Declan, I didn’t know.
I did know that I grew tired of this conversation.
I held the noose between us, dragging a hand along its roped length, my fingers curling around it as it slowly moved. “Trust me, Sawyer, I’m a girl that can handle herself.” This guy had no idea where I came from, what I’d seen, how I’d lived. This whole murder mystery thing might be new, but standing up to guys like him wasn’t.
“Okay,” he said. “If you ever need me, I’m sure you’ll be able to find me.” Sawyer, with his hands in his pockets, headed toward the door. He tossed a quick look back at me, giving me yet another half grin. “I’ll see you around.”