Savage Royals (Boys of Oak Park Prep #1) - Callie Rose Page 0,27

last thing I wanted was to re-injure myself, possibly permanently this time.

I’d finally caught up in my classes, and Leah and I had had several intense chemistry study sessions. Both times, we actually got a few hours of real studying in before the conversation drifted to which guys she thought were the hottest, and who she hoped would ask her out.

I listened, but didn’t have much to offer on those topics myself.

For one thing, no guys would be asking me out anytime soon—not unless they wanted to ruin whatever social standing they’d managed to build up in this school where image was everything.

And for another thing, I had no desire at all to talk about who I thought the hottest guys in school were. The answer to that question made my stomach flip-flop like a dying fish. I hated that I was drawn to the boys who’d single-handedly ruined my life, but the undeniable truth was that they were stunningly gorgeous. I shouldn’t feel guilty for recognizing that fact, but for some reason, I always did.

It felt like a betrayal of myself.

On my third Friday at Oak Park, Leah came over to study at seven. We ended up hanging out in the common room with Maggie after we finished, and Maggie pinned me down talking about some romance novel she was reading for a good thirty minutes after Leah flashed me an apologetic look and made her escape.

I really liked Maggie—and I wasn’t in a position to say no to any friends at this point—but the girl could talk my ear off when she got on a roll. I was usually pretty good at recognizing the warning signs and making an escape before she really got going, but I’d missed them this time.

By the time I finally made some lame excuse and escaped upstairs, it was almost midnight. I wasn’t sure what the other kids at Oak Park did for fun on the weekends, but I’d fallen into a habit of hiding away in my room, trying to build up my fortitude for the coming week.

I trudged upstairs to my dorm and opened the door, not even bothering to flip on the light. A yawn tugged at my lips as I shuffled into the living room, kicking off my shoes.

Then I stopped.

My living room had windows on two walls—one facing the stretch of campus alongside Hammond hall, with the main dormitories in the distance, and one facing the woods to the west, which were interrupted by the wall that surrounded the entire campus.

I crept slowly toward the windows, glad I hadn’t turned the light on. It made it easier for me to see out, and harder for anyone else to see in. And I swore I had seen—

Yep, there.

People dressed in dark clothes were crossing the stretch of lawn alongside Hammond. For a moment, I thought they might be coming for my dorm, and my heart thudded hard in my chest. I wasn’t sure quite what my wild imagination expected—an attack with pitchforks and torches?—but it didn’t matter in the end, because before they reached the Wastelands, the figures veered west, disappearing into the trees.

What the hell?

I stood silently by the window for a while, watching as several more people followed the same path. One or two turned their phone flashlights on briefly when they hit the trees, but most of them made their way in the dark. Obviously trying not to get caught.

My pulse sped up, and I chewed my lower lip anxiously.

Shit. I should just go to sleep. Whatever it is, it’s none of my business.

But curiosity tugged at me like a physical force, and before I could think about it too long, I crossed quickly back to the door, slipping my tennis shoes back on. I’d changed out of my school uniform into a pair of dark gray sweats and a t-shirt, so I threw a black hoodie on over that, tugging the hood up over my head.

Then I stuffed my key card into my pocket and slipped out the door.

Outside, I squinted into the darkness, but I couldn’t see anyone else coming from the other dorms. Wherever everyone was going, they must already be there.

Clutching my phone, ready to turn on the flashlight at any moment if I needed to, I made my way into the wooded area near the wall.

As soon as I reached the wall itself, I realized where all the students had gone, and a little thrill of excitement and nervousness trickled down