The Cursed Series, Parts 3 & 4 (Cursed #3-4) - Rebecca Donovan Page 0,56

I wouldn’t object to a few of Sophia’s happy pills. And then he starts laughing. Loudly. It’s … disturbing.

“See you in the morning, Princess.” He turns and walks away, still chuckling.

I growl in frustration.

“Was that a yes?” I yell after him.

“Yes!” he hollers back.

I may hate myself later. But for now, it’s a relief to have the stalker on my side.

I’m woken even earlier than Mr. Garner’s tortuous wake-up call by what sounds like the wall collapsing beside me. I bolt upright with my heart pounding, prepared to run for my life.

“No, not there,” a man bellows. “It’s off center. Move it over two inches to the right.”

The mayhem is coming from next door. The sound of a drill and what may be a jackhammer gets louder when I enter the bathroom. I open the door on the other side to find the room filled with men carrying boards and sheets of glass. There’s a man in an eggplant-purple suit with a lime-green shirt standing in the middle of the room, pointing and directing the chaos. He spots me and frowns.

“Where did you come from?” He almost sounds angry to find me in the doorway of my bathroom.

“I’m staying next door.”

“We were told no one was here.” He huffs in annoyance like I’m the one who misled him. “We must finish before Miss Liu arrives this afternoon.” He dismisses me with a wave of his hand. “Leave us.”

I close the door with a groan. Looks like my neighbor’s arriving today. And there’s no way I’m getting any sleep in this room. So I throw on a sweatshirt and trudge down the hall to Ashton’s. It takes several hard knocks before she answers, and she’s not happy about it.

“What?!” Then she sees my sleep-deprived face. “Did something happen? Are you okay?” She opens her door wider for me to enter.

“They’re tearing down the room next door to mine,” I say, collapsing on her couch. “I need sleep.”

“Oh! The social committee’s returning this week!” Ashton exclaims excitedly, suddenly way too awake. “I wonder who’s next door to you. You should totally get on her good side. Social committee members get all sorts of perks.”

“Sleep,” I mutter into the pillow.

“Yeah, we’ll talk about it later,” she agrees, climbing up the ladder to her bed.

I wake a few hours later to the beeping of my phone, which I was somehow cognizant enough to bring with me after being forced to vacate my room.

Niall sent a message. “Be there in a half hour. Meet us in the room inside the administration building.”

I roll onto my back, stretching awake.

Ashton walks in a few minutes later as I’m folding the blanket on her couch. “You’re up! I brought you breakfast in bed.”

She sets the tray filled with cut fruit, muffins and pancakes on the black lacquer coffee table. I pick up the to-go cup of coffee and sip, sighing in appreciation.

“Thank you. But I have to get dressed before my mom gets here.” I pluck the muffin from the tray. “I’ll take this though. I’ll come find you after.”

“Most of this was for me anyway,” Ashton says, drizzling syrup over the pancakes. “You hardly eat in the mornings. Figured you’d have some fruit and the muffin.”

“You know me so well,” I reply, tearing off a piece of muffin and throwing it at her. “I’ll text you.”

The construction noises become louder the closer I get to my room. Men wheel wrapped furniture on flatbeds, and women carry packages and push racks of clothes into the room. The more I see, the more concerned I am that a member of the royal court is moving in next door. I cannot handle sharing a bathroom with a diva. One of us will not survive the term.

Olivia, Mom and Niall are seated in the private room when I walk in. They look serious, and I’m tempted to walk back out.

“How are you feeling?” I ask my mother, sitting on the purple chaise next to the window so I can keep them all in sight. Not that I’m worried they’re going to attack me—not physically anyway. But the tension is palpable. It’s like sitting in a room with strangers, pretending we know each other.

“I’ll be okay,” she assures me with a tentative smile, her hand reaching for the chain around her neck. “I’m sorry if I scared you.”

Olivia is seated next to her on the couch while Niall is in a black leather high-back chair off to the side, like he’s presiding