Destroyed by Deception (Amethyst College Saga Book 1) Read online

  “You okay there?” He asked in a husky voice and his eyes roamed all over me, as though he was checking to make sure I was okay. I shifted, struggling to get up and he leaned down.

  “I’m fine, thanks.” My tone was snotty and as he leaned over, my eyes explored his toned stomach, noticing his happy trail dipping into his pants.

  As his warm hand closed over mine, a tingle shot up my arm and I gasped at the feeling, my eyes shooting to his. He pulled me up and I took a little longer than I should have to drop his hand, enjoying the warmth and the firmness of his grip as he held my hand. After a few seconds where his eyes never left mine, he seemed to remember why he was standing in the common room in only his sweats and with a swallow, which moved his shoulders, he squeezed my hand gently before dropping it and stepped back from me.

  I rubbed at my ass where it stung from the collision. He watched my movements and growled at me as I drunk in his gorgeousness. His low hanging sweats accentuated the fact that he was ripped, as though he was carved from stone and as I made my way up to his eyes, my body fizzled with attraction. I took all this in, in about ten seconds until he sneered at me, “quite finished eye-fucking me?” His shoulders tensed and he stormed away from me to resume banging on the door.

  After a few seconds he shouted, “Olivia if you don’t turn that shit down, I’ll break the fucking door down.” He said it while still banging on the door. I slipped by him and walked into my room, figuring I’d go to the bathroom later. His eyes trailed after me and he shook his head, before resuming thundering his fist on the door as the music somehow got louder. I paused, watching him from the shadows in the doorway as he continued pounding on the door.

  “Olivia, come on, I have class tomorrow. Turn it down.” It went up again and he roared, before slamming his foot against the wood. As he booted the door a second time, the music disappeared and I heard the door opening.

  “Hey Abe,” she mewled at him, “long time no see.” He huffed before answering, “Cut the crap Liv, I need to sleep, Jefferies is my first class in the morning and it’s two ay-em.”

  “It’s not my fault. I’m raging at that little bitch sharing this FUCKING DORM.” She screamed the last part and I shivered.

  This year was going to suck so badly with her as my roommate, but I had to stick it out. My dad was already disappointed in me and I couldn’t let him down again. Abe, the Greek god’s voice, cut into my musings and I swallowed the lump in my throat.

  “I take it you marked her face?” His voice sounded low and I could hear a hidden emotion in it, which caused my arms to erupt into goosebumps as I stood there in the darkness, looking out into the common area. Her voice caused me to jump again as she answered him.

  “Damn right I did, bitch touched my stuff and no one touches what’s mine.” After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again. “Come in, Abe. Make me forget about having a bitch for a roommate. You know how good I am in bed.” Her voice turned sultry on the end and I watched as he shook his head,

  “Liv, we aren’t going there again. I told you that last year and leave that girl alone. She hasn’t done anything wrong.” I heard a huff before her door slammed and he turned and walked across the sitting room. He paused at the door diagonal to mine, turning around and peering through the darkness, his eyes found mine and he held my gaze for a heartbeat before turning on his heel and slamming his door closed, as her music went back on at a lower volume than before.

  My heart thrummed at the heat that shot through me when his eyes met mine and the butterflies that flipped through my stomach when I thought about how he had stood up for me. Shaking my head, I softly closed and locked my door and went to bed, for once not needing to try and think about anything but my past since I was consumed by the boy next door. He was cute, and for no reason, he’d stood up for me. I could still feel his hand in mine and it comforted me enough that I fell asleep dreaming of his blue eyes and luscious lips covering mine.

  For the first time in a long time, I felt like a teenager should. I was excited and nervous for the days ahead, as I hopefully got to know him and settled into college life.

  I had to rush to get dressed when I awoke in the morning, but the bathroom was occupied by my neighbor and a few of her friends. I realized, after standing just outside of the communal bathrooms, how much of a psycho my roommate was.

  “Have you seen the girl next door to me?” Her voice asked someone else.

  “No, I don’t think so?” The other voice replied.

  “She looks dreadful. Olivia replied and my skin crawled at the thought of going in there.

  “Wait, did she arrive yesterday, limp blonde hair in a bun and sweats, carrying a box?” A third voice asked.

  “Yeah, that’s her, Rach’. By the way, you better watch out, Abe might be carrying a torch for the little cow.” I stood there shaking with rage as I realized that they were all talking about me. There was no way could I go in there now, so I turned and snuck back into my room, shaking hard. God, I hated bitchy girls and I just wanted to avoid her and get my schedule. Maybe I could just avoid her all year and I wouldn’t have to see her ever. I stood for a moment leaning against my door, trying to stop my body shaking and rubbing my hands together, as I tried to control my breathing. It was still early, so I shoved on some clothes and rushed out hoping to avoid the bitch next door.

  As I locked up my room, I heard a soft click and spun around to see the gorgeous guy, Abe, from the night before. He smiled at me and moved across the sitting room towards me. “Hi, I’m Abe.” His smile reached his eyes and he licked his lips as he waited for me to answer.

  I moved slowly towards him, feeling my mouth curve up in a smile as I whispered, “hi,” back to him.

  I didn’t want to say too much, but he was sweet and held the door open for me. He walked along beside me, humming Sugar under his breath and I smirked at his music choice. As we descended the stairs, he stayed a step beside me. Where other men freaked me out, he relaxed me and I didn’t for once in my life, feel on edge around him. He opened the doors at the bottom and as I passed him his fingers brushed against my back. Sparks shot from the spot and I shivered. He glanced down at me with wide eyes and a surprised expression on his face.

  He rushed around me, almost flying out of the doors into the early morning sunshine, but he turned back at the door and glanced at me once. He gave me a small wave and took off. I smiled to myself and moved towards the quad, trying to find out where to get my schedule.

  As I strolled around in awe at the size of the campus and the beauty of my surroundings, I realized I had no idea at all where to go for anything. I stopped and searched my bag, hoping I’d put my letter inside it, but I’d forgotten, so I decided to try a few buildings and hoped I could ask someone to lead me to the right place.

  As I entered my third building, I plowed into a warm chest and when I glanced up; my eyes were sunk into a sea of blue fire. I tried to step back as Abe’s hand wound around my waist. “Hi,” he smiled down at me, “I can’t seem to stay away from you.”

  My butterflies erupted when I touched his hand as I moved out of his embrace. “Yeah, that’s true. Can you tell me where to get my schedule please?” I smiled at him hopefully and his eyes lit up as he stared down at me.

  He nodded and lifted his hand to run it through his hair, showing me a hint of his sculpted abs as his shirt rose. He spoke again and I almost missed it, because I was drinking in his sexiness. “Sure, but you need to give me your name, princess.” My back stiffened and I lifted my gaze back to his, seeing the fire dancing merrily in his eyes.

  It was time to try out my new name finally. My voice was low and hoarse as I muttered, “my name’s Ella,” without looking at him.

  His hand engulfed mine as he shook my hand and my eyes shot back to his as flames licked up my arms, “nice to meet you, Ella.” He pulled my hand and linked my arm with his, “Valentines Hall is this way.” He told me pointing across the quad and moving with me. His arm holding onto m
ine was the only thing making me keep up with him as he led me quickly into the building. He pointed down the hallway and I took in the surroundings as he dropped my arm, “it’s just there, Ella and if you need anything else, just give me a knock.” His smile was sweet with just the right amount of shyness and as he stepped back, I thought maybe college wouldn’t be all bad.

  I moved down the hall, floating as I glanced back, catching his eyes on me as he backed out the main doors. Once inside the office, I was brought back to earth with a bump when they couldn’t find my file, and although I asked for my name to be changed, my records were still under Arabella Neilson. My student I.D. was thankfully under Ella Kircson and there was a note on my file, but the girl in the office didn’t care. She blew gum bubbles and twirled her hair as she handed me my I.D, information pack, class lists, timetable and recommended reading. I scanned the file as I left and noticed that I’d been registered for a Shakespeare class that was one hour on a Wednesday and one hour on a Friday. At least my interests were on the list. I loved reading and I was glad that my dad had at least informed Grant about the classes I enjoyed. It surprised me that he’d been that thoughtful.

  I popped into the bathroom in there and quickly scrubbed my teeth and splashed water onto my face. Thoughts of my dad always set me off since I was such a major disappointment to him. I walked out and bumped into a girl with the biggest brown eyes and the straightest brown hair I’d ever seen. She threw me a glittering smile and drawled in a southern twang, “Are you alright, sweetie?” I nodded to her and she dazzled me again, gesturing at my face, “That’s some bruise you have, how’d you get that?” I shook my head in dismay at her and turned away. She put her hand on my arm as my eyes shot to the floor, “hey, sorry honey, I didn’t mean to pry. My momma is forever telling me I’m too forward.”

  Her eyes drank in my face and I glanced back up at her smiling at her, as she continued, “I’m majoring in journalism because I’m like a shark with a taste of blood. What are you majoring in?”

  I shrugged at her, “I’m not sure yet.” I murmured quietly and she smiled at me, and moved towards the doors slowly.

  “Well hopefully we’ll have some classes together then. See you later honey.” I nodded politely at her and off she went.

  I felt guilty all morning about how standoffish I was. I used to be a nice person, friendly and fun, but the past few years had robbed me of everything and as I went over to the library, I found myself reminiscing about how much I’d changed. I went into the library checking my map constantly, to see if I could borrow the Biology and English textbooks I needed, but I came up empty on both.

  My classes didn’t start until the following day, so I decided to take a trip into Amherst and see if they had a bookstore where I could find my books. I hurried back to my dorm, hoping to avoid Psycho Liv, while I grabbed my purse out of my room. I unlocked the door and the common room looked empty, so I padded over to my bedroom, turning the lock and freezing as I took in the scene. My breath huffed out as my legs gave way and I began hyperventilating. My eyes closed and I rocked back and forth, hoping and praying that it was a dream.

  Opening my eyes, the nightmare didn’t end and my eyes roamed the scene, my breath catching in my throat as I took in the walls and bed, spray painted bright red with ‘freak’, ‘bitch’ but worst of all was the box. It was all smashed up and the contents were all over the wooden floor in little pieces. I couldn’t stop the sob that broke free, as I took in the pieces of the snow globes that my mom and I had collected from all the towns and cities we had visited.

  Every single one of them was crushed into tiny splinters. I collapsed in a heap on the rough carpet. I had left the door of my dorm open as I mourned all over again for the loss of my mother. I couldn’t breathe and tried to remember what my therapist had said when this happened, but nothing came to me. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks and snot ran down my nose, but I couldn’t care less. I heard footsteps behind me and a vindictive voice at my back, saying, “it’s not nice when people touch what doesn’t belong to them.”

  I couldn’t move, even when her fingers locked in my hair, I didn’t try to, I couldn’t fend her off or fight back, because all my fight was gone. She had destroyed me, by wrecking some of the only things I had left from my mother. She pulled my head back and lifted her hand. I couldn’t see her through the moisture in my eyes, but suddenly she was yanked backward and she dragged me a little along the floor with her, as a voice I was slowly beginning to recognize spoke, “let go of her Liv.”

  She whimpered but held on fast. “No, no way. She deserves this.”

  “No, she fucking doesn’t,” came his reply, “let go of her now.” Her hand released its grip on me and I crawled away, leaning my head on my knees as wave upon wave of grief crashed over me. “Give me the key to this room, and get the hell out of here.” I heard footsteps getting louder and softer before I heard the door slam. He didn’t say a word, just sat beside me as I sobbed over broken pieces of glass. His hand splayed on my back as he sat there, but I couldn’t move as the enormity of what had been lost, crashed over me like a tsunami.

  After a while, he got up and left me on my own. I curled into a ball on the floor, unable to cry or feel anymore. I was destroyed, like the pieces of glass; I couldn’t be put back together. My soul fractured more as I thought of the fun times with my mother, when I was younger, stopping at gift stores on our travels and picking up a snow globe. It was our thing and usually, the memories made me smile, but all I could feel was pain. What had possessed her to do that? Who destroyed other people's belongings? I found it hard to swallow around the lump in my throat, but I pulled myself forward seeing a little piece of green amongst the glass and glitter that littered my floor. My hands caught on the glass around it, as I picked up the little shamrock.

  My breath caught again, as I remembered that it was in the box picked up while my mom was mad at me, because I had snuck out and I wanted to surprise her with something nice for mother’s day. I drove a few miles out of town and picked up an Irish themed one, with a leprechaun sitting on a shamrock that played Irish Eyes. My mom’s dad was Irish and she was fascinated by Ireland. She cried when she saw it. The memory of her tears at my thoughtfulness had the tears I was struggling with break free and I remembered as she hugged me, how she smelled, how soft her skin was and how she loved me, completely and unconditionally. She was the only person ever in my life who completely loved me and it was my fault she was gone. I hated myself every single day and it wasn’t okay. I clenched the tiny piece of glass in my palm, feeling relieved as the edges cut into my palm. The last present I’d ever given my mom was destroyed and in pieces on the floor of my dorm.

  The memories washed over me while I lay on the floor unwilling to move. A few minutes later the sound of soft footsteps reached my ears and I gripped the shamrock tightly. The glass around it cut into my palm and my body shuddered as the hands slipped under me. I struggled to get out of his grip and he leaned down.

  “Ssssh, Ella, it’s Abe. You’re okay honey, I’ve got you.” His voice calmed me and he scooped me up into his solid arms and carried me to the couch in the common room. I was lowered gently onto the sofa, and a soft blanket was draped over me. I closed my eyes and heard the footsteps move away. I lay there dreading going back into my room when the smell of bleach reached me. After a while, the noise of a vacuum starting up, roused me from my private misery and I scrambled upright on the couch, my head woozy and spinning, hair hanging across my face, eyes red and puffed up from crying. Then it dawned on me what the vacuuming was for.

  I crashed across the room, ripping open the door to my room and tearing the plug from the wall. My eyes darted around and took in the faded red paint on the walls. He’d scrubbed the walls, but as I stood there, plug in hand he looked round, mouth open as if he had been about to speak, and closed it again. His eyes widened as they took me in. I knew I was a mess, my blonde hair was greasy, and my face was swollen and blotchy, but I had
to stop him. He was sucking up my memories with my mom. He stepped up to me, tilting my head back until my eyes met his. Taking a deep breath, I swallowed and muttered, “Thanks, but I need to do this.”

  He shook his head at me, staring all the while into my eyes, his blonde hair, less messy than the night before and his cheeks rising in a smile. His gentle touch kept my tears at bay and I held his gaze steadily, as he stared down at me. He had dimples that caused his eyes to crinkle at the corners and although he was gorgeous and looked at me with a smile, I couldn’t open up to him.

  He leaned down and kissed my cheek gently, “it’s okay, Ella. I can do it.” My resolve strengthened as his warm lips held, just a whisper from my skin. Fire danced through me, but I didn’t trust myself not to get him or anyone else hurt and I couldn’t explain to him why I had to be the one to clean this up so I hardened my gaze and spoke to him in a bitchy way.

  “I’ve got this, you can go.” His amused look vanished and he shrugged, before walking out and closing my door. I collapsed against the wall, holding my chest as agony laced through me. Guilt rose at how mean I’d been to Abe when he was just trying to help me, but the jagged piece of the reminder of my mom squashed the feeling. A second after the door closed, it opened again,

  “I’m right across the sitting room; bring the vacuum back when you’re finished.” I bobbed my head to acknowledge him and began the task of cleaning my room, placing the small shamrock into a pair of socks at the back of my drawers. After half an hour, with tears flowing freely down my face, I finally finished cleaning my room.

  I stood gasping for breath, as grief overtook me again and I collapsed onto my bed. I lay there for over an hour before I remembered Abe’s words. I dragged myself up and across to his room, sure I was looking frightful as I stood knocking on the door. He didn’t answer and I was about to walk away, when the door opened to reveal the dark-haired girl from the corridor who had barged into me. She had answered the door in her underwear and was holding the door at her side. Her gaze was icy as she took me in standing there holding the vacuum. “Can I help you?” She asked with a bite in her voice.