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Paige stayed on his chest, listening to his breathing and relaxing under the caress of his fingertips. Her mind raced. She hadn’t meant to go this far with Austin. Hell, she didn’t think anything would happen when she turned on the light. It wasn’t until he delivered that damned sizzling kiss that all thought stopped.
That kiss fried all logical thought and she cursed her lack of self-restraint.
He shifted under her and she lifted her head, meeting his tired gaze and she couldn’t help but notice the light blue flecks that speckled his grey irises. She had never had cause to study his eyes before and now that she was, it was like getting lost in a thin layer of fog on the Caribbean.
“I should go.”
She knew he should, especially if Hunter got pissed enough to take him over, and she was really testing the limits of sanity at this point. She nodded and rolled onto her back, allowing him to get out of the narrow bed.
Austin dressed slowly with his back to her and Paige studied each remaining exposed body part until he was completely covered, and a rash of disappointment flashed over her. When he sat in the chair to tie his work boots, Paige wrapped herself in the covers to ward off the chill that settled over the room.
With his head still tilted toward the floor, he said, “I guess this is it.” His voice held such a defeated quality that Paige’s heart squeezed under the pressure.
“Austin,” she whispered and he turned towards her, resting his elbows on his knees. “I never wanted this to happen to you.”
His lips formed a sarcastic smile. “I’m sure you wished worse on me after that first night, and I really wouldn’t have blamed you.”
Paige bit her lip, stopping her plans from tumbling out and alerting Hunter. If he knew she was planning to banish him, he would never show tomorrow night. He had to think there was a possibility of reconciliation.
“Well, you did say yes to Hunter then, too.”
His smile faded, as did the gleam in his eyes and he stood, giving her a nod before he headed towards the door.
“Make sure he knows about the orchard,” Paige said when Austin reached toward the lock. His hand paused and he sent a hurtful glare over his shoulder.
“He knows.”
With that, Austin left her alone with only the slam of the door as a goodbye. She prayed that he would forgive her for the farce. She prayed that everything went according to plan; otherwise, she’d be subject to the wrath of an angry ghost.
* * * *
PAIGE WOKE TO THE EARLY morning sunshine and stretched her aching muscles. The trip to the private bathroom was a heavenly relief from the last few days of waiting for a bedpan. She splashed water on her face before brushing the sleep from her mouth and then studied her reflection in the mirror.
Her face seemed thinner and she wondered just how much weight she’d lost while she was in the hospital. She had been fed three meals a day, but her appetite hadn’t been that robust. What she really wanted was a burger and fries, and she let out a soft chuckle at where her mind had wandered.
The knock on the door caught her attention and she pulled the light hospital bathrobe around her and stepped back in the room in time to see a nurse stick her head through the door.
“Good morning, Miss Turner,” she said with a welcoming smile. “This was dropped off at the desk for you a little while ago.” She placed a small overnight bag on the chair. “It’s clothing and some toiletries that Mr. Shelton thought you might need, now that you are not formally under the hospital’s care.”
Paige cocked her head. “Mr. Shelton?”
“Austin.”
Paige felt the heat rise in her cheeks and offered an awkward smile in return. He had never told her his last name and the thought that he went to all that trouble, after seeing how upset he was last night, layered on the burn of guilt.
“He seems to be quite fond of you.”
“He’s very easy to talk to,” Paige said. “He was one of the few people here who didn’t make me feel crazy.” The honesty in her statement struck a chord, and while he may have initially thought she was bat-shit crazy, he never made her feel that way.
The nurse dropped her gaze and gave her a nod before she shuffled out of the room.
Paige closed her eyes and hung her head. She didn’t mean to make the nurse feel bad. Instead of following after her, she approached the bag and opened it, finding a clean pair of underwear, a bra as well as jeans, a camisole, and a nice sweater. Her thick socks and sneakers were also packed in the bag. The side pocket contained deodorant, a toothbrush and toothpaste along with her hairbrush.
An envelope sat neatly on the pile of clothes. Her name was scrawled in handwriting she recognized. It hadn’t been Austin who brought the bag for her, this was Hunter’s doing and she pressed her lips together before she sighed and unsealed the envelope, pulling out the note written in Hunter’s messy script.
Paige,
I can’t say I’m pleased by what transpired last night, but I guess I deserved that after the mess I’ve made of things. I’m sorry, but if I hadn’t done what I did, you’d be locked up in that place for a very long time and they would have gotten away with murder.
Your boy here thought you might like a pair of clean clothes. We were able to talk our way into the sorority and get some of your things, although neither one of us would recommend going back to your room until they clean up the mess.
I know I have a lot of making up to do, but I’m hoping tonight we can wipe the slate clean and start over.
I forgive you for what you did. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
Love,
Hunter.
Paige closed the note and sat on the corner of the bed, digesting the words before she slid the letter into the inside pocket and zipped it closed. Guilt flooded every fiber, creating an unpleasant filth she needed to rinse off. Unfortunately, the bathroom here only had a toilet and a sink, and that wouldn’t help her feel clean.
And she desperately needed to feel clean after her duplicity.
She stepped out into the hallway with the bag in her hand and the cheap hospital slippers adorning her feet and approached the nurse’s desk.
“Excuse me?” she asked tentatively.
The nurse who delivered the bag looked up from typing her notes and gave her a soft smile.
“What can I help you with, Miss Turner?”
“I haven’t had a shower in a few days. Is that possible?”
She picked up the phone and punched a few numbers. “Dr. Schaeffer, Miss Turner is requesting a shower and I am not sure if I should take her to the patient showers or...” she paused, listening to the voice on the other end, her finger still poised in the ‘give me a minute’ pose. “That seems much more appropriate, given the circumstances.” She gave a nod and hung up the phone.
The nurse stood and stepped out from behind the counter. “Dr. Schaeffer thinks the staff facilities would be more appropriate than the patient showers. The showers for us are a little more private,” she said and smiled over her shoulder. “Plus, I think there is a shelf that has a couple of options for shampoo and soap for you to choose from in the locker room.”
“Thank you.” Paige thought about the showers Austin had taken her to and the locker room she waited for him in, afterwards. She hadn’t noticed any shelving or options in the locker room that night, but she hadn’t been concentrating on much of her surroundings. Instead, she had been marveling over how incredibly satiated and clean she felt, even after such mind-blowing and kinky sex.
“The men have a community shower, but ours are more like the ones you have in the college dorms.” The nurse said and swiped her access key, opening a door to reveal the long familiar hallway Austin had rolled her down that night. There were two doors at the end of the hallway. One for the women’s locker room, and the other for the men’s.
“When you come out, you can press the buzzer,” she said, pointing to the intercom to the right of the hallway entry as we passed it. “I’ll come get you, and take you back to your room.”
“Thank you.” Paige gave her a nod, and headed toward the women’s locker room.
“There is a stack of towels to the right of the showers,” the nurse called before she disappeared back into the belly of the hospital.
Paige found an array of shampoo and conditioners as well as some body wash, and headed toward the back section of the locker room. The showers were indeed like those in the school dorms with the small double cube, one with a bench for her bag and one housing the shower with a thin fabric curtain to contain the spray.
She stripped out of the hospital garb and dialed on the warm water. Stepping under the stream, Paige exhaled, enjoying the lavender-vanilla scent of the body wash she chose. Lavender was a good choice; the calming effects would help later when her anxiety ratcheted up.
The spell was specific, and almost everything she needed to banish the ghost was in her room at the sorority house. While Hunter had said it wasn’t recommended that she go there, she had to in order to free Austin from a lifetime under Hunter’s sadistic ghostly rule.
Her mind drifted to Austin. She wanted to believe last night was all him, and not Hunter’s emotions running amok in his system. Last night had not been anything she could have ever foreseen. It wasn’t a kinky, wild fuck, like the other night in the shower. Austin took his time. He was slow and gentle, and god help her, he elicited something deep within her that she had thought was lost to her the moment Hunter died.
Austin proved she still had the ability to experience a tender moment with a man other than Hunter. Paige had no idea if anything would develop with him once Hunter was expelled, but the realization that love could exist in a world where Hunter didn’t, gave her hope.
She remained under the spray until her fingertips formed waterlogged wrinkles. With a quick twist of the knob, the stream dissipated and Paige opened the curtain before drying off with the hospital issued towel. Her clothing slid onto her skin like velvet in comparison to the scratchy cotton of the hospital johnny, and she welcomed the feel of denim and lace.
She stepped out of the stall with her hair wrapped in a towel and only her camisole and jeans on. In the locker room, she took a seat on one of the benches and finished getting dressed. After towel drying her hair, she ran the brush through her long locks as a hint of lavender wafted around her. The simple act of showering and getting dressed gave her the feeling of royalty after being a prisoner in her own bed for the last week.
She dumped both the towel and her discarded hospital clothes into the laundry bin and headed towards the door at the end of the hallway. Her sneakers squeaked with each step making her slow to a casual canter instead of the rushing pseudo-run she had adopted. She pressed the intercom.
“I’m on my way,” the nurse said in a tone that Paige categorized as chipper.
The door popped open a few minutes later and the nurse waved her through.
“Dr. Schaeffer wanted you to stop by his office,” she said in that same singsong voice.
“Okay,” Paige said, although she had no idea where the doctor’s office was. The nurse soon rectified that, stopping before an open door, and directing Paige inside.
Dr. Schaeffer let her settle in the chair before he adjusted his glasses and leaned back in his chair.
“How are you feeling today?”
“Cleaner,” Paige said, and heat painted her cheeks red. “I got some rest, too.” She shifted in the chair. “I wanted to take a ride out to the sorority and pack up my things, if that is okay?”
His eyebrows rose in shock.
“My car is there and my keys are in my room.”
“The room you shared with April Carlton?”
“Yes, sir.” Paige kept his gaze and pressed her lips together in a sad smile.
“I’m not sure you can do that yet.”
Her smile faltered. If he didn’t let her go, tonight would be a disaster.
“My mother’s music box is in the room, too. It’s the only thing I have of hers,” Paige said. “At least let me get that, and maybe another change of clothes?”
He chewed on the corner of his mouth and rifled through the papers on his desk. Paige adopted that pleading look that neither Hunter nor Austin could deny; the doctor exhaled in a huff.
“Fine,” he conceded. “I will drive you there, but you should only grab the items you need, until we receive word that it is okay for you to either move back in or move your things out.”
Paige nodded. “Thank you,” she said with a measure of relief, and he studied her closer.
“Don’t you plan on returning to school?” he asked after a moment.
“Yes, but I think I’ve had enough of sorority life.” She really couldn’t see moving back there, especially into her old room, and she doubted any of the other girls would trade now. The constant reminder of April’s betrayal and the circumstances of her death would be too much for her to deal with. Besides, she wasn’t sure what kind of reception she’d get from the rest of the sorority.
“Aren’t you close to the other girls in the sorority?”
Paige glanced out the window and then down at her hands. “Not really. I spent most of my time with Hunter,” she said and met his gaze. “I mean, we did sorority things together, but beyond April, I just haven’t...” She trailed off with a shrug. “I was either studying or with Hunter, unless I had to represent the sorority somewhere.”
“So, you’re a lone wolf type?” he asked, but it was soft and not meant as a put down.
“I guess. Ever since my parents and little sister died, I’ve kept everyone at arm’s length.”
“Except Hunter?”
She picked at a hangnail and nodded. A lump in her throat formed at the same time as the conclusion that everyone she loves dies, and she glanced up at the doctor. “I guess I’m cursed that way.”
“What way?” he asked and leaned forward on his desk.
“Losing those I care about.”
His head cocked. “So, your solution is to close yourself off from the world?”
She hadn’t even made a conscious decision to do that, but it made logical sense. “Well, if I don’t let people get close, I won’t have to go through the pain of losing them.” Even as the words tumbled out, she knew how futile a plan that was and how disappointed her parents would be with her.
“That’s no way to live.” It was his only comment and he sighed, glancing at the clock. “I have about an hour before my day begins in earnest. Did you want to run that errand now?”
“Sure,” she agreed, happy to be getting it done early.
Keys jingled and he pulled open a drawer, sliding the clutch she had brought to the Halloween party across the desk.
“I imagine you might need that.”
She pulled it the rest of the way across the desk and unzipped the bag, afraid they might have left a syringe in it, but only her school ID and room keys were inside. She closed her eyes with relief and when she opened them, Dr. Schaeffer stood and slid on his jacket.
“The police took the needle,” he said.
“It wasn’t mine,” she snapped, the reaction automatic at this point, and Dr. Schaeffer gave her a nod. “I’m sorry; I guess the whole thing still has me on the defensive.”
“I can’t blame you for that. I wasn’t exactly accepting of your story. If your roommate hadn’t gone off the deep end, we would still be operating based on the presented facts. It makes me wonder if it had been premeditated. I can’t imagine the flawless job of framing you coming out of a panic situation.”
Paige chuckled as they walked out of the sanitarium. “Max was at his best under high pressure,” she mumbled, but there was a level of coercion that made his words hit home and it also gave some credence to Hunter’s vengeance.
“Max wouldn’t have set out to kill his best friend,” she said, after they slid into the doctor’s car. She met his gaze and repeated what she had said to Hunter the other day. “They may have planned the orgy, but they certainly didn’t plan on someone dying.”
They drove in silence for a while before Paige asked a question that had been bothering her. “What time did they place the nine-one-one call?”
“It was a little after five.”
“In the morning?” she gawked.
“Yes.”
“I blacked out at a little after ten.”
“The coroner said your fiancé died between one and three.” He drove without much direction from her. “That was the only inconsistency in their otherwise flawless plan, and they said they panicked and didn’t know what to do.” He glanced at her just before he pulled to a stop in front of the sorority and threw the car in park.
“By the time they called the cops, whatever they gave me was out of my system,” Paige said and reached for the door.
“Yes, and you had already had your psychotic break.”
She gave him a shy smile. “Can you blame me?” His wry smile met her, and Paige took that as her exit cue. “Thank you for the ride,” she added and stepped out of the car.
“Would you like me to wait until you’ve gathered what you need?”
Even though he posed it as a question, she got the distinct feeling that there was something more behind it. Austin’s words regarding the condition of the room crept into her mind and she nodded. The thought of having someone outside gave her the extra strength she needed to face the aftermath of her roommate’s death.
“Thank you,” she said and closed the door. She paused, staring up at the sorority house with dread lacing its way through her bones. With a deep breath, Paige trudged toward whatever nightmare lay in waiting.