Priory // h.s.

chapter thirty

After leaving my dorm room the next day after work--and ignoring all Jillian's instructions about condoms and safe sex and about how she still thinks Harry and I would have cute babies if it did come to that--I creep into the Mens' Dorms(which sounds a lot weirder than I intended it to...). There's no sign of hall monitors, but I keep my head down as I tiptoe through the hallways, clutching my laptop to my chest.

Just as I reach Harry's apartment, I run into Cade.

We stare at each other for a solid ten seconds. He takes me in with a look that's both suspicious and mocking all at once. "Last time I checked, you weren't a guy, Amber."

In the privacy of my own mind, I wonder what he's doing near Harry's apartment. Do they have the misfortune of being neighbors? Or is Cade here to visit Harry, too? Neither option is very good.

I laugh nervously at his comment, reminding myself not to be an asshole to him; if he tells on me, I'm screwed, and Harry probably will be too. "So observant. I can see why you're a scientist."

"Thanks." Either he doesn't understand sarcasm or he's too thoughtless to care. "So what're you doing here?"

I glance away from him. "Nothing."

"I don't suppose it has anything to do with Styles?"

Biting the inside of my cheek, I just glare at him.

"I know you two are snooping around the Inc. Sticking your noses where they don't belong, like you think you're bigshot detectives or some shit. I mean, I always knew Styles did that, but I don't understand why you're hanging around with the likes of him and helping out."

"And I don't understand why you're pretending it's your business," I say coolly.

He lowers his face to mine, eyes blazing. "I'm just trying to warn you."

This so-called warning isn't like the other ones I've received; Cade has never expressed concern for Harry and I's safety before. In fact, his presence strikes me as a bigger threat than anything he cares to "warn" me about.

I can't stop myself from shooting back, "Right, like you even care. Like you cared when it was Margaret in danger. You didn't save her, or even try, so why do you care what Harry and I do to get ourselves in trouble?"

Rage colors his face red. "What did you just say to me? I swear to God, I'm going to kill Styles--he told you all of that about me, didn't he? That ignorant, biased son of a bitch. Know what, Amber? Think you're all smart? You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, tangling with Damon--and both of you guys deserve whatever the hell you get as punishment for your idiocy."

"At least we're not cowards," I snap back.

Before I know it, he has me pinned against the wall. His grasp on my wrists isn't tight, but simply the look on his face is menacing, his breath hot and shallow on my cheeks. I swallow and try to ignore the pounding of my heart. "Let go of me," I hiss, tempted to just kick him where I know it'll hurt and make a run for it.

"Apologize, or I get you sent down to Damon's office," he snarls.

I raise my chin. "Fuck you."

At that moment, the door to Harry's apartment swings open. Harry steps out, and for a second just glances around himself with an expression tired from a long day of work. Then his eyes land on us, and his jaw drops open.

Cade flinches and loosens his grasp on me. I rub my arms where he was holding me, trying to restore the circulation. 

"Get. The. Fuck. Away. From. Her."