Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dante took a giant step back and cut off Kevin. He stared at me and frowned. “Please, head somewhere safe. If someone is out here, we want to catch them. And I don’t want to leave you alone when you were clearly scared.”

Even though he’d dismissed me, he’d done it kindly, and I didn’t want to make a further fool of myself.

My phone dinged again, no doubt my parents wondering why I hadn’t checked in. Without another word, I marched past the three of them and went toward my car.

I waited for the snickers and snide comments to begin, but nothing happened. The three of them remained silent as if they’d disappeared.

I glanced behind me.

Only Dante was there. The other two had vanished.

Our eyes locked, and my heart started to race. Something strange surged between us. He sighed, shoulders slumping, and his face twisted as if he were warring with whether to say something. Then he said tenderly, “Be careful, okay? Things aren’t as safe as they seem around here, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Butterflies took flight in my stomach as our gazes remained locked. We both took a step closer to one another, something drawing us together.

Then his eyes glowed again, and he huffed. “I need to check on them, but I can’t until you’re away from the woods.”

Great. I was lingering, his effect on me obvious. How stupid. It wasn’t like something would ever happen between us.

Snapping my head forward once more, I hurried to my car, determined to forget Dante and the eerie sensation of the woods.

“Everything is fine,”I told my parents for the hundredth time, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. My poor lilac comforter was taking the brunt of my frustration. I yanked on the edges, smoothing out the wrinkles as I finished setting up my room. I moved away from my new queen-size bed and took in the room, which was far nicer than I’d expected.

I heard some shuffling on their end, likely a hand covering the speaker while they whispered to one another. They always thought I didn’t know what they were doing, but it wasn’t hard to figure out, especially since it happened every time they were worried about me.

Waiting for them to say whatever else was on their minds, I snatched the string of butterflies I’d cut out of craft paper to hang up and add some purple to my room. All shades of purple were my favorite colors. I hadn’t expected the room to have a small chandelier, but it was perfect for what I had in mind. I removed my lilac sneakers and climbed onto the bed then threaded the butterflies through the curved arms of the light fixture so that the butterflies hung down like a cascading chandelier of their own.

“We know you try, honey, but… try not to do those… things.” Mom sighed then laughed as if to lighten the mood.

Sometimes, I believed they regretted adopting me, and honestly, I couldn’t blame them. I was weird, I freaked out teachers, and I’d been expelled from a few schools because parents refused to let their kids attend class with someone who petrified them. I did believe they cared about me, but I didn’t fit in with them. Hell, my own biological parents had given me up, and I’d never once wondered why. Iwasa freak. “I’m going to try really hard, Mom. I don’t like it when those things happen either.”

“Of course, none of that matters to us. We love you,” Dad interjected. “But if you want to make friends—”

It was the same speech they’d given me millions of times over my twenty-one years. You’d think they’d have realized it didn’t help. “I know. I know. I love you too.”

The door to the apartment opened, and I stiffened. “Hey, my roommate just got back. I need to go.”

“Oh. Okay,” Mom said excitedly. “Just remember—”

“Noted, Mom.” I didn’t let her finish. She’d already said it five times in the past five minutes. “I’ll call or text you two later. Love you. Bye.” I hung up and jumped down from my bed onto the fake wood floor.

“Bella?” a warm female voice called out, and my blood went straight to fizzing.

Ugh. My hands grew clammy as footsteps walked down the small hallway between our rooms, and a girl stuck her head in my open doorway.

I swallowed and immediately felt inadequate. Her long caramel-brown hair hung over her shoulders, highlighting her light olive skin and delicate features.

“Hey, I’m Samantha. Sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.” She stepped through the doorway, her hauntingly luminous gray eyes scanning my room and stopping on me. She sniffed, and her brows furrowed. “Something came up, and I had to leave.”

“No worries,” I squeaked then cleared my throat. With her looks, she fit right in with Kevin, Dante, and Nick, which meant the two of us probably wouldn’t get along. “I’m Bella. I got delayed too, and I don’t blame you for not waiting.” I rubbed my hands along my jeans, discreetly wiping the sweat from my palms.

“I figured something came up,” she said as her gaze landed on the painting I’d hung on the cream wall over the bed. “Nice artwork.”

“Thanks.” It was a picture of a purple sky on a cloudy day with messy purple, pink, and white flowers that appeared to be wet with rain. It brought me calm when I needed it, and I’d pulled it out first thing after I’d moved everything into the room.

An awkward silence descended, and the fizz damn near increased to a hum. Fear clawed into my chest, and I felt naked. I shouldn’t have come here. I couldn’t even escape to my room because I had to share this small apartment with her, including the one bathroom.

Lucy glanced at her watch. “The bookstore closes in an hour. They stayed open for students who arrived last minute. You could still go if you need to.”