Chapter 2

Delilah's POV:

I choked on the little air trapped inside me but he tightened his hold even more, "Who do you work for? And what did you do to him?"

I opened my mouth and choked out, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

He growled in rage, “Don’t you dare lie to me.”

Once again, I opened my mouth to answer but this time, no words bubbled out. And then, just like that, the very next moment, I was dropped on the ground. I coughed profoundly and looked up at Antonio whose eyes were clamped shut and who was nodding his head as if he was on some invisible phone call.

Rubbing my neck, I yelled out roughly, “What the hell is wrong with you, you psychotic, animalistic bastard.”

Opening his eyes, he assessed me for a few more minutes and then picked up the bullets from the ground. Giving me a dark stare, he started walking in the opposite direction in a calm stance as if he hadn’t been squeezing my windpipes just a moment ago.

I looked at his back in bafflement. This was how my first day in a new and foreign city started. What should I expect in the future?

Back in my room, I found my roommate gone. I was allotted this room with her yesterday but all I got to introduce was her messy bed and poorly organized desk. Donning my day's outfit, I tossed books in my bag and locked the door behind me. With my mind a jumbled piece of chaos, I made my way to the mess hall to have some breakfast.

I filled my plate with toast, an egg, and a piece of bacon and looked for an empty space. As soon as I spotted a table near the window, I settled down. All the time I was chewing my food, I couldn't wipe the image of that man out of my mind. His face was so handsome and yet very sad. I wondered who he was.

After finishing my toast, I blew on the still-hot cup of coffee when I sensed someone standing beside me. Looking up, I found a tall girl with black hair standing right next to me.

With a cheerful smile, she asked me, "Hi, I am your roommate. Can I sit here with you?"

I scooted to the side, "Of course. Make yourself comfortable."

Initiating the conversation, I stated, "So, I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself yesterday."

Her cheeks reddened, "Oh, that's on me. I was in my own mess and didn’t welcome you rightly."

With a small smile, I mumbled, “It’s okay. You must be busy.”

She stopped and looked out the window for a second with sad puppy eyes but then that look was immediately gone as she smiled brightly, "I am Adeline Falcon, by the way."

"And I am Delilah Dimitri. Nice to meet you and I hope to get along with you," I replied.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I already like you," she winked before taking the first bite of her French toast.

Over breakfast, I got to know that she came from Liverpool to pursue higher education in commerce. She was a 19-year-old extrovert who liked parties and socializing. In other words, the exact opposite of me.

Clearing my throat, I told her about myself, “And I came here from California to get a degree in Botany. I am 17 years old, soon to be 18 by the way. And yeah, I am an introvert who likes to live in her own little world.”

Once we were done with breakfast, Adeline helped me find the classroom. As it was the first day, professors basically asked us about our introductions, and by the end of the last class, the word had gotten around the campus that a senior named Eric was throwing a party tonight for all the newcomers.

After classes, when I returned to the room, I found Adeline standing over her bed covered with dozens of clothes. I raised my eyebrow, "Er, going somewhere?"

Still eyeing her pretty outfits, she jutted out her lip, "Not me, sweetie. We.”

I walked to her side, "Wow, that’s news to me.”

She rolled her eyes, "Dee, it’s Eric’s party and no one wants to miss it.”

Wow, I had already gotten a nickname from my roommate. Sucking my lower lip, I replied, “Well, that would make me an exception then.”

She sounded baffled, "You're kidding, right?"

I crossed my arms over my chest defensively, "I don't even know this guy named Eric."

She nodded her head, "OK, so for starters, Eric is my rich, spoiled classmate who loves to waste his money by throwing lavish parties. The kind of parties people would kill to go."

I opened my mouth to refuse but Adeline was one persuasive girl, if I must admit.

At 8 pm, I was all dolled up in a gray, A-line dress that stopped beneath my knees. We waited until Adeline's phone pinged with a text message before leaving the room.

A tall and bulky man with brown hair who seemed to be in his early twenties was waiting for us by the car outside. The way he grabbed Adeline while smooching her face off and grabbing her butt hinted to me that he must be her boyfriend. Adeline took her time to give him sloppy, wet kisses before gesturing at me, "Luke, meet my new roomie, Delilah." She then turned to me, "Delilah, this is my very hot, handsome, cute, and funny boyfriend, Luke."

Luke waved his hand in the air and grinned, "Hi, nice to meet you, and best of luck sharing a room with this little evil."

I couldn't stop the goofy grin after listening to his words, “Nah, I guess I would end up loving this girl.”

Luke looked at Adeline with pure affection, “I know, right? Totally irresistible.”

Gosh, these two. They made such a cute and fun couple.

Luke drove us to Eric's villa and as soon as we entered, the smell of weed in the air coupled with high levels of sex hormones made it very clear that his party was just like any other party where all the people who freshly jumped from being teenagers to adults drowned in booze while dancing their asses off.

Adeline introduced me to all her friends but then I didn't want to be the third wheel so I just excused myself and tiptoed to the bar.

I was on the third glass of my fruity cocktail when my eyes roamed to the deserted corner of the room. I saw two heavy-built men approaching a boy my age. I squinted my eyes but all I could see from this distance was the vivid fear on the boy's face.

Dumping the glass on the counter, I started moving in that direction. Out of nowhere, a girl jumped in front of me and ended up crashing into me. I gasped as the glass in her hand tilted and red wine sloshed on her white dress.

Everyone froze in their places. The girl jerked around and I came face-to-face with a striking and beautiful face. Blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, lifted cheekbones, plump lips, and petite body. The girl would easily pass for a model audition.

I rushed out my apology, “Oh, I am really sorry.”

It turned out that a pretty girl had a really ugly heart as she grabbed a handful of my hair and snarled in my face, “Are you fucking blind? You crazy bitch, do you even have any idea how expensive this dress is?”

I was taken aback by her reaction. Digging my nails into her flesh, I jerked her hands away, “You psychotic bitch, it was you who stepped in front of me. And if you are that worried about that trashy, expensive dress of yours, then you should have come in a cheap bathrobe for all I care.”

Anger steamed off her as she took a step toward me. I stood on my ground and raised my chin higher. Just a moment before we would have started fighting like wild cats, Adeline stepped in front of me, “Back off, Bianca Abigail.”

Bianca breathed out in furry, “Really, Adeline? You are taking her side?” A bitter chuckle left her, “Understandable. There's a reason that you can never be one of our kind.”

And then we all heard an angry roar, “Enough, Bianca. One word against Adeline and I’ll make sure that it’ll be your last.” Luke stepped behind Adeline and wrapped a protective hand around her.

Flaring her nostrils, Bianca turned around and tiptoed toward the restroom.

I felt Adeline’s hand on my shoulder, “Are you okay?”

I was not. But I still managed to nod my head, “It’s okay. Don’t worry. And thank you so much.”

She squeezed my shoulder, “Of course, Dee. I’ll always have your back.”

Before I could get emotional at her words, I excused myself and rushed out.

Outside, the air was chilly. I walked to the back of the villa to get away from the crowd. My thoughts rushed back to the stranger I met in the morning. covered in dry blood, whimpering in pain, sizzling flesh, beautiful eyes.

I didn't mean to walk much farther and get lost in the woods this late at night but when I stopped and looked back, well, I found nothing but woods. Before the panic could kick in, I turned around but halted upon hearing loud shrieking followed by guttural sobs.

The first instinct was to run the hell out of there but my feet stayed glued to the ground. What if it was the same stranger? For some reason, I couldn't bear the thought of leaving him alone in agony.

The painful sobs increased as I started following the sound and reached a clearing. The only source of dim light was the moon peeking through the clouds. I moved behind the tree trunk and saw three men in black capes standing over the boy kneeling on the ground. The boy was facing me so I could easily tell that he was the same boy who was at the party.

I thought of all the sources to help the poor boy when one of the men silently stepped behind the boy. He had a long, sharp dagger in his hand. The cape was hiding his face and all I could see in the moonlight was his mouth. My heart jumped out of me when his lips stretched into a devilish smirk. He knew I was there. He was looking right at me.

My full body trembled under that intense and dark stare. The smirk turned into an evil, creepy grin. I knew he was still staring at me as he moved his hand and slid the sharp blade across the boy's neck.

Blood splattered out in all directions and the devil slid the cape hood off his head. My breathing stopped and I took a step back as my eyes took in the same gray eyes outlined with black. The eyes that were full of sorrow and pain in the morning were now filled with demons and darkness.

The eyes that were now going to haunt me forever.