Page 6 of Cruel Devil
“Perfect. I’ll be back in a jiff.”
Mom brushes a kiss across my temple and then slips past the girl and leaves me standing alone with two very surprised college girls.
“Did your mom just—“
“Offer to go buy you booze after you very obviously failed to confirm that you’re legally old enough to drink? Yes. Yes, she did.”
“Wicked. Your mom is so cool.”
I sigh and force myself to smile. That’s Mom. Always one to be your friend rather than your parent. “Yeah. She’s pretty chill. I’m Kasey by the way.”
“Quinn,” the girl says. “Nice to meet you.”
“Let's show you around and go over the house rules while we wait for your mom to get back,” Hilary interjects. “Quinn, why don’t you go make sure the other pledges don’t need any assistance.”
Quinn nods and leaves to do what Hilary asked, and when I turn to face her, her smile is gone and an annoyed expression rests in its place. “Look,” she begins. “I’m going to be honest. I wasn’t thrilled when I was told we’d be admitting a new pledge. You skipped our entire application process, didn’t show up for a single interview, and didn’t have to jump through any of the hoops every other girl who was accepted had to.”
I keep my expression blank. Is she wanting me to apologize for something I played zero part in and had no control over? It’s not like I asked for this.
She sighs. “But, you’re a legacy and our house takes that seriously. It also doesn’t hurt that your dad made a donation to Kappa Mu in your name.” Huh, look at that. Good ole Dad helping us out. I try not to roll my eyes. He was probably worried I’d ask to live with him full time what with mom leaving. Not that I ever would. I love my dad, but where Mom parents by trying to be my friend, Dad parents with assistants and nannies, forgetting I’m seventeen, not seven.
“So, we’re going to make this work.” She sounds resigned. Join the club. “We don’t want to start getting a flood of running-start applicants. Hanging out with high schoolers isn’t really our thing. We also don’t want any trouble with the dean’s office for exposing you to anything you’re not ready for, so for now, keep your age to yourself.”
“I can do that,” I tell her. It’s not like I was planning on letting everyone know how young I was. I’m not an idiot.
“Good. Glad that’s out of the way. Like the plaque outside the door says, I’m the housemother, but I’m not going to be your mom while you’re here. If you’re upset or homesick, phone a friend. I’m not your shoulder to cry on.”
“Noted.”
“And I’m not your babysitter. The girls here like to have a bit of fun and we’re close with some of the campus fraternities. You’re responsible for looking after yourself. If you can’t handle your liquor, don’t drink. And if you do drink, don’t be stupid and drive yourself home. Got it?”
I give her two thumbs up. “Anything else?”
“Don’t cut classes. Part of eligibility requirements for being a member is maintaining a 3.0 GPA. If you fail any of your classes, you’re out. Legacy or not.”
“Good to know.”
She reaches behind her and grabs an envelope from her desk before handing it to me. “Inside is a map of campus, our events schedule, and your school ID. You’re required to attend all Kappa Mu functions so add these dates to your calendar. We don’t make acceptions.”
I tuck the envelope in the back pocket of my jeans. “Okay.” Not like I have a packed social calendar or anything. I hang out with Allie and Bibiana on most weekends but we don’t generally plan anything official. It’s usually just junk food and movies while the guys lock themselves in the media room to watch videos of past football games. If I have a sorority thing, no one will care if I need to skip a night.
“Your room is on the first floor toward the back of the house. It’s just you and Quinn, the girl you just met, on this level. Everyone else is upstairs. There's a back entrance near your room you can use if you need to and additional parking out back if you have a car.” I nod. My dad bought me a WRX like Aaron’s, only mine is candy apple red, as a ‘congrats you’re going to college’gift, so that will be convenient. He’s supposed to have his driver deliver it sometime this week, so I’ll have to let him know they can bring it straight here. It’ll save me from needing a campus parking pass since I really only plan on driving when I need to go off campus. I walk everywhere else.
“If you have questions, check with Quinn first. All of our new recruits are assigned a big sister. She’s yours.”
I nod. “Okay. Cool.” Do I leave now? I’m not sure what protocol is here exactly. Should I wait to be excused?
“That’s it,” Hilary confirms with a huff.
“Great. Thanks.” I make a hasty retreat and wander around downstairs, ducking around the other girls in the house until I find a long hallway that leads to the back. I figure I’ll get to know everyone later. Right now I just want to track down my room and unpack.
The first door I find is decorated with pictures and drawings. I make a wild guess that it’s Quinn’s since it’s her face in most of the pictures. Further down the hall are two more doors. One at the very end, which I confirm is the door that leads outside. I open it to find a small patch of grass and a concrete slab for parking on my right that leads to the main road.
I close that door and turn to the last one which I’m assuming is mine. I find Aaron lounging on my bed, phone in hand, and take in the rest of the space. It’s a decent size. Double closet. I scan the room for Dominique, noting the pile of neatly stacked boxes next to the bed, half expecting him to burst from behind them just to fuck with me. “Where’s Dom?” I ask when it’s clear my brother isn’t going to volunteer the information, too distracted by whoever he’s texting with on his phone.
“Coach called. The guys had to leave for some team thing.”
Relief sweeps through me and my shoulders sag. I plop down on the bed beside my brother. “I see you found my room?”
