Page 3 of Sweet Temptation

Lexi's eyes hit her eyebrows as she watches me with piercing eyes. "Australian," a girl beside Lexi murmurs.

What does my damn accent have to do with this?

Lexi smiles wickedly, then watches me carefully. "You can live this college life however you want; scream in class for all I care…" Her cheery smile drops, but returns with venom. "But if you touch what is mine, you won't have a college life to live because I will make your entire experience a life of misery, fucking misery. You hear me? Watch yourself, bitch," she bites out.

I watch her carefully, then glance at Damon, my hands becoming all clammy, remembering the electric charge that went up my arm from touching his hand alone. "That's right." Lexi smiles, leaning into Damon. "Mine." She rubs places I wish could be unseen from my mind, then grinds her teeth and watches me with a glare. "If we're clear, then you can scream all you want and no one will care, but if you touch my things, you will pay a price," she says, glaring at me. Fuck, he's just a guy, and I don't care because I don't fucking date.

Looking away, I dig my nails into my palm to calm myself before getting to my feet. I grab my bag, then quickly head for one of the halls. Tears blur my vision, and I can't get rid of them as I stumble out of the room. All the girls snicker behind me as I carry myself away from that nightmare. Once I'm at least a perfectly stable distance away from those girls, I slip into the bathroom and close the stall door behind me. I lean against the wall as heavy breaths fall from my mouth.

My nails dig into my flesh, blood flowing from the cuts created. "This is what I have come to," I whisper as I dig through my bag and grip my switchblade, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip to stop the unnecessary tears from falling. Fucking unnecessary. I shouldn't even be thinking about crying. Fuck! Slowly sliding my sleeve up, I press the knife to my arm and cut as deep as I possibly can without doing too much damage.

Once I feel that the cut is deep enough, I switch to an untouched part of my arm and cut deeply, biting my lip as I remember what those girls said about how I screamed. The screams caused my freaking nightmare that is my life. I close my eyes as the taste of blood touches my tongue, and I push my knife into my bag again. I wanted a fresh start, but I guess Lexi Harrison is going to make that impossible for me. I drop to the floor of the stall as blood from my wounds drip from my arm onto the floor.

Closing my eyes, I remember what she said to me. "If you touch my things, you will pay a price." Squeezing my eyes closed, I bite my bottom lip, attempting and failing to stop the tears that stain my pale cheeks. She can be sure I won't be going anywhere near those blue eyes. I don't have boyfriends, and I don't deal with boys. Not since…

My eyes find the spilled blood on the floor, and I close my eyes again. Third day of college and I'm already ripping into my skin. Maybe I'm better off dead. Maybe, just maybe, this world wasn’t built for a soul like mine. I don't expect nice people, but it wouldn't hurt to make one damn friend. Just one.

TWO

After cleaning up the blood from the floor, I pull myself to my feet. I grab toilet paper and press it to my cuts. My gaze snaps up at the sound of the bathroom door opening, and I suck in a breath. "She's freaky as fuck." A voice carries through the other side of the stall door.

I peer through the crack in the stall, and my eyes find the back of Lexi's blue hair. "She's literally fucked-up, and if she comes near Damon again, I'll cut her." Lexi sneers, fixing her hair in the mirror. I mumble something simple under my breath and slam my head against the stall a little too loudly.

Lexi drops her hands from her hair, eying my bathroom stall before looking at her black-haired friend. "She's probably in there touching herself because she knows no guy wants that." The black-haired girl giggles.

Lexi smirks and rubs her nails over her lips. "Damon's a great lay. Too bad if she ever touches him, I'll cut her. I’ll cut her up." Lexi smiles.

"You just said that," her friend snorts. Lexi's eyes turn hostile as she rolls them.

I close my eyes, throwing the paper into the tampon box, my eyes flicking down to my fresh cuts. "Emma, climb on that toilet lid and see if it's her," she demands.

Emma scoffs before obeying her friend and smirks down at me. "What the fuck!" she screams, looking at the cuts on my arms.

Lexi's heels click loudly as she jumps up beside Emma and follows her friend's eyes. "You're royally fucked!" Lexi declares, her eyes meeting mine. I give her a pointed stare with no emotion because I'm good at that, and I don't fucking care.

"Honestly, get some counselling for fuck's sakes!" Lexi shrieks, jumping down and dragging Emma out of the bathroom with her.

I close my eyes for just a second before shoving my long sleeve down, grabbing my bag, and rushing out of the bathroom. I come to a dead stop as my body crashes into a wall of muscle. I flick my eyes up, my eyes colliding with a piercing blue, Damon's eyes. He stares down at me before looking at Lexi, who stands beside him with wide eyes. He then does something that has my adrenaline spiking. He reaches for my sleeve, and my blood boils as I slap his hand away.

"Don't fucking touch me," I squeak, rushing past them to my next class, English lit. I close my eyes before taking a seat in the back by myself and watch the professor as he explains what is to happen today. Seems like today hasn't started off well, and I don't expect it to end well, either. I flip through my notes and jot a few things he's saying down. My mind is strictly focused on the class, aside from the occasional thought drift. I'm so focused on class that I don't notice Emma entering the class, her eyes filled with fear or maybe pity as she takes a seat a row in front of me. I continue to write as the professor speaks.

I'm grateful when he says that's all for today, about two hours later. Jumping to my feet, I gather all my things and head out of the classroom toward the exit of the college. I get in the line for the bus, only to hear a voice behind me. "Hanna? Is that your name?" a blonde girl asks, stepping in front of me. I take a deep breath and nod. "I'm Bailey, can I give you a ride? Emma Parker takes that bus, so you'll have some issues if you get on." She smiles at me. My eyes fly around, looking for something, anything, that explains why she would offer that.

"I won’t bite. I'm not a serial killer." Bailey giggles.

A frown touches my lips as I watch her. "I'm supposed to believe that?"

All she does is smile before rolling her eyes. "You're not wrong to be sceptical, but I'm not. Come on, please?" Bailey practically begs.

I nod hesitantly before I grip my bag. Bailey leads the way to her blood-red Mercedes Benz and opens the passenger door for me with a smile. I slide into the car, a frown tugging at my lips as I put my bag beside my feet. "Why are you being so nice to me?" I whisper softly.

Bailey slips into the driver's seat and eyes me cautiously. Maybe a little too cautiously. "I was the new girl from another country once. I know what it's like to get bullied by bitches just because they think you want their man or because your voice sounds different," she replies, her eyes staying on mine.

I smile slightly and buckle my seatbelt. "I notice your accent isn't American," I cut in, side eying her.

Bailey shakes her head and her gaze flicks to mine as she pulls out of the parking lot. "I'm from Madrid, Spain. What about you?"

I pick at my nails before my eyes find hers. "Sydney, Australia."