1. The Stranger

1

The Stranger

Violet

Intuition.

Instinct.

The hair on the back of my neck prickles with whatever creeps through me.

Liam takes the next turn faster than he should, and my nails dig into the leather seats.

I want to tell him to slow down before we end up wrapped around a tree, but I'm tired of arguing about his driving. I'm tired of arguing with him in general.

He's on edge tonight, and I don't want to make it worse when he's the one who convinced me to leave my dorm room.

Liam takes another hard turn, and the forest whips past us, churning the unease in my stomach. His irritation is rubbing off on me, and my nerves are amplified by every curve as we dive deeper into the forest.

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" I grip the leather seat in Liam's Ferrari and stare out the window, barely able to make anything out in the darkness.

Liam's been driving for almost an hour, and we've taken so many turns since leaving the main highway out of Bristal that I'm not sure where we are anymore.

"Trust me, baby." He plants a hand on my bare thigh and turns to look at me. He's grinning, but I don't miss the undercurrent of something else he's hiding in his smile. "This will be fun."

Fun .

I'm not sure that's what I'd call this when I don't have time between work and classes to waste energy enjoying myself. But Liam doesn't understand that. For him, it's any other day. Partying and drinking away his college years.

While I keep my nose down and stay focused, Liam spends his time indulging in anything and everything that pleases him. It's one of the main differences between the two of us.

Liam comes from money—picture-perfect family and a bottomless trust fund. He didn't get into Briar Academy on a scholarship and good grades like I did. The Westwood family name is plastered all over this town—including the school library. And that was enough for the school to offer him anything he wanted.

So while I spend my spare time working in the coffee shop on campus, he's throwing keggers with his fraternity. We couldn't be more different .

But that's also what attracted me to him. His blinding smile. His confidence.

The first time I met him was in the middle of a double shift at work. He ordered a black coffee and tipped triple what he paid, and something about his smile made the weight on my shoulders feel a little lighter. He asked me to a movie, and then another. It was easy when my life wasn't.

We don't make sense together, but I thought maybe dating my opposite would help me step outside my comfortable little box. I didn't realize at the time that I couldn't be more wrong.

Now I'm stuck in a car with someone who doesn't understand me and, worse, doesn't care to listen.

"Violet?" He squeezes my thigh, pulling my attention back to his sharp blue eyes. A golden strand of hair falls just above his eyebrow as he smiles.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever glow like Liam does.

He's always at ease. Never stressed.

I suppose it's one of the perks of being gifted anything and everything you can want or ask for.

"We'll have fun, I know." I force a smile and hope he doesn't see through it, even if we both know I didn't want to join him tonight.

I prefer it when we stay in. When we're surrounded by my friends and not his. Knowing tonight I'm stepping into his world is unsettling, given that I try to avoid his fraternity whenever I get the chance .

If Liam notices my unease, he doesn't say anything. He grips the steering wheel once more and focuses on the winding forest road.

When he said we were going to a party at the Peterson family cabin tonight, I didn't realize how far outside of town it would take us. I'm already anxious enough that Liam wanted me to tag along to their annual Valentine's Massacre party, and the long drive isn't helping.

I stare out at the passing trees and try not to think about why I'm itching to get out of this car with every passing moment. I'm anxious to get through tonight, like checking it off the list will cure the nerves creeping up my throat with every second.

If the party and Liam's friends aren't enough to make tonight feel monumental, his expectations for it tip the scales.

Liam probably thinks I didn't see the condom he slipped into his wallet while I was getting ready, but the corner of the foil peeked out as he casually tucked it in his pocket.

The pressure is coming, and I've been expecting it.

In every relationship, it inevitably does. One boyfriend after another wonders when I'm going to give it up to them.

I don't blame them; I'm not saving myself for marriage. But every time I get close, something doesn't feel right. And now, here I am, a nineteen-year-old college student with my V-card burning a hole through every relationship. I'm ready to just get rid of it. If only I could get past whatever is holding me back .

Part of me hopes Liam is right about tonight. Maybe stepping this far outside of my comfort zone is what I finally need to just let go.

To live a little.

It's either that or I'm going to die a virgin.

Looking over at Liam again, I try to picture it. He's tall and athletic. We've fooled around enough for me to know he's easy on the eyes when he's shirtless, and he'll be decent in bed.

If only I felt those butterflies everyone's always talking about. The flutter that's supposed to kick up under my ribs when his lips press to mine. I don't know what it will take to wake them up; all I know is I've still yet to feel them. Not for lack of trying.

Liam shoots me a wink when he catches me staring, and I turn back to face the road.

Not one butterfly.

At least he's relaxing from our argument earlier, even if he still refuses to drive the speed limit.

I search the road for a distraction. Shadows, the moon, the stars. There's not one building in sight, and this far into the forest, we haven't passed another car for miles. Trees blend together as Liam takes another turn, and when we do, something catches my attention on the side of the road.

"Is that a person?"

Leaning forward, I try to make out the figure in the darkness. A tall frame is cloaked in the night until the clouds part, momentarily lighting the forest .

"Looks like it." Liam starts to slow the car, and I can't help the irritation that wells up inside me when he chooses now to stop after he's been speeding around every corner just to piss me off.

"What are you doing?" My eyes widen. "They could be a serial killer."

Liam laughs mockingly, and I hate it. "You read too many books. It's probably just someone headed to the same party we are."

"Then where's their car?" It's a long drive and too far to walk.

"Maybe they broke down." Liam shrugs.

"Maybe." Except, I don't remember seeing anything but trees for the last hour.

"Just chill, okay, Violet. You act like I don't know what the fuck I'm doing." Once more, his irritation bubbles to the surface.

The car slows as we approach the figure, and finally, I get a better look at him.

He's tall, wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie. And he's lean, so he probably is a fellow college student. But his broad shoulders and rigid stance have my skin prickling.

He pauses on the side of the road at our approach, and in the silence of the night, the tires crackle against the pavement.

Anticipation.

Excitement?

Something must be wrong with me. Fear stirs up something electric that has my nerves tingling .

The figure stands still in front of the headlights, and my heart hammers against my ribs as I watch him.

"I don't think this is a good idea." It's a whisper more to myself than Liam.

He glances over at me. "It's fine. Watch."

My heart hammers between my temples. Echoing warnings with each thick coursing of blood through my veins. My chest tightens as Liam reaches for his door, hitting the button to roll the window down.

The cool February night creeps in. A tickle that weaves through the car, fighting against the warm air filtering out of the heater vents. It skitters up my bare legs and tickles the back of my neck.

"Hey," Liam calls out to the stranger. "Need a ride?"

The stranger's still for a moment. Not flinching. Not turning. He stands, illuminated by the car's headlights on this dark night. Seconds pass like hours as I dig my fingernails into the soft skin of my thighs, waiting for him to turn and murder us both.

My breaths are shallow, and my head is light.

One breath.

Two.

I try to tell myself that maybe Liam's right. Maybe this is just another college student going to the same party in the middle of the woods.

Maybe good deeds can go unpunished.

But when the stranger tips his chin to the side, my breath lodges in my throat at the sight of the mask covering his face .

It's solid black that melts into the obsidian darkness of the forest. And it's lit with neon blue Xs for eyes and an evil grin.

He turns to face the car, and even if I can't see his eyes, I feel his attention on me.

Watching.

Waiting.

Weighing our fate as his arms hang at his sides, and he clenches his hands into fists.

"So, what do you say?" Liam asks, sounding unfazed by the masked stranger walking alone in the middle of the empty forest.

"Sure." The stranger tips his chin, and the growl of his tone sends a shiver up my spine as he makes his way toward the car.

Intuition.

Instinct.

Something flutters inside me with the heavy beat of my heart.

Butterflies.