Chapter twenty one

21; Maxine

I had always been careful. Every move I made, every step I took was calculated. Yet, here I was, standing in the middle of the dorm room with Caden’s piercing gaze burning into me. I could see the disbelief etched on his face, his lips slightly parted as if he was struggling to find the right words.

“You’re a… girl,” he finally said, his tone laced with a mix of shock and accusation. I couldn’t blame him though. I would’ve texted the same way if I found out that I had been rooming with someone of the opposite gender.

I shifted uncomfortably, feeling the weight of his discovery press down on me. “Caden, I can explain—”

“Explain?” he cut me off, his cold demeanor slipping into something sharper, angrier. “You’ve been living here, lying to everyone, lying to me, and you think you can just explain?”

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. If there was one thing I couldn’t afford, it was for him to expose me. “Please, just hear me out.”

I cursed myseif inwardly for being careless. If only I had locked the door and not thrown my bag carelessly around.

Why the hell was he even back by now?

He crossed his arms, leaning against the edge of his bed, his icy gaze never leaving me. “I’m listening.”

I struggled to piece together the lie I had been carefully constructing in my mind ever since I came out of the bathroom to realize that he knew the truth. “I… I ran away from home,” I began, my voice softer now, trying to sound as convincing as possible. “My coven, my family, they didn’t let me do anything. I was always stuck, always watched, always told what to do. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Caden arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “So you decided to disguise as a boy and come here? To this school?”

“Yes,” I said quickly, trying to sound more confident. “It’s the last place they’d think to look for me. I figured if I stayed here, I could have some freedom. I could… I don’t know, experience life outside of their rules for once.”

Please believe the lie.

Please! I begged inwardly. It was the only way I could be freed.

He stared at me for a long moment, his expression unreadable. I held my breath, waiting for his response.

Would he throw me out? Would he report me to the school authorities?

Aghhh! I was going crazy with suspense! I didn’t know if there was a spell to wipe someone’s memories, I wish I could do that!

“And that’s supposed to make me keep your secret?” he finally asked, his voice dripping with skepticism. “You think because you had a tough time at home, I’m just going to forget the fact that you lied to everyone here?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said, desperation creeping into my tone. “If anyone finds out, they’ll send me back. I can’t go back, Caden. You don’t understand what it’s like to have your entire life dictated for you.”

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he was going to refuse. But then, something in his expression softened. “And you think this place is better? You think living in a dorm full of guys and pretending to be someone you’re not is freedom?”

“It’s better than the alternative,” I said firmly, meeting his gaze head-on.

He let out a long sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. “You’re insane, you know that?”

“Maybe,” I admitted, offering a small smile. “But I’m also desperate.”

He shook his head, muttering something under his breath that I couldn’t quite catch. Then, to my surprise, he said, “Fine.”

“Fine?” I repeated, blinking at him.

Unbelievable!

My very cold vampire roommate had just agreed to keep my secret?

Haha this has got to be a trap. He was pulling my legs.

“I won’t tell anyone,” he said, his tone firm. “But don’t think I’m doing this for you. I’m doing it because I don’t want the headache of explaining how I found out in the first place.”

I understood what he meant and grinned.

Relief flooded through me, and I couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped. “Thank you, Caden. Seriously.”

“Don’t thank me,” he snapped, his voice cold again. “You’ve made your bed, Max or whatever your real name is. Just don’t drag me into your mess.”

I nodded quickly, not wanting to push my luck. “You won’t even know I’m here. I promise.”

He gave me a skeptical look. “Somehow, I doubt that.” With that, he walked to his part of the room and I let out a huge sigh.

It had been a long day for me. With Henry’s appearance and me studying Xander to know if he was responsible for what happened with Billie. It was all a king and draining event.

I slept off as soon as my head hit the bed and the last thought on my mind was how to unmake a vampire. I had several people I had to unmake. There was Xander, Billie and now Caden who I had come to find to me a kind and understanding person.

When I woke up the following morning, Caden was already up.

“Good morning!” I greeted cheerfully, glad that at least someone here had my back, but it still felt like a dream especially due to how cold he still seemed and the fsct that my greeting had gone unanswered.

“Do you hate me?” I asked and that seemed to get his attention as he stopped and turned around to face me.

There was a moment of silence between us, and I realized how much the tension had drained me. I sat down on the edge of my bed, glancing at him cautiously.

“No,” he replied stiffly, but I still wasn’t satisfied.

“So… you’re really not going to say anything?”

“No,” he said flatly, sitting down across from me. “But I have to ask anyways, why me? Why tell me all this instead of just running away or making up another lie?”

I hesitated, unsure how to answer. “Because you’re not like the others,” I admitted quietly. And I was right. I saw him in a different light since the day he agreed to guide Billie. He had never given off that dark energy I got from Xander.

“You’re different. I don’t know why, but… I felt like I could trust you.”

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to decide whether or not to believe me. “Well, don’t. Trusting people gets you killed in this world.”

“Noted,” I said softly.

For a while, neither of us spoke. I could feel the weight of his gaze on me, but I didn’t dare look up. When he finally stood, I glanced at him hesitantly.

“What now?” I asked.

“Now,” he said, his tone colder than before, “you keep your head down and stay out of trouble. And if you so much as breathe a word of this to anyone, I won’t hesitate to blow your cover.”

I nodded quickly. “Understood.”

He turned to leave but paused at the door, glancing back at me. “And Max?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re lucky I’m feeling generous today. Don’t push it.”

I nodded. “Maxine!”I shouted after him before he left.

He stopped and turned around, narrowing his eyes at me and I smiled. “My name is Maxine.”

He nodded. “Nice name,” and With that, he was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I let out a shaky breath as I ran a hand through my hair. The relief I felt was overwhelming, but there was something else, too. Something I couldn’t quite place.

For all his coldness and arrogance, there was a part of me that couldn’t help but feel grateful to Caden. And, as much as I hated to admit it, a small part of me was starting to like him.

Great! I was starting to like a vampire, was there a better way to start my day?

I shuddere at that thought.

The vampire hunters would be here anytime and I couldn’t let them take him, I had to act fast.

I flipped through my grimoire in hopes of finding some spells or anything that could hide a vampire scent.

When I finally found it, I went to work immediately. It wouldn’t take much time, as I was a witch with much powers.

I glanced at the vial I had made. There was a problem. I wasn’t sure he trusted me, I had to find another way for him to injest it without knowing.

There was a soft knock on the door and I furrowed my Brows, wondering if it was Henry again or Xander.

I opened the door to see that it was Billie and I pulled her in immediately before someone would see her.

“Hi Billie, you look good,” and I meant it, she did looked better and I wondered if it was because Caden had fed her lots of human blood or there was another reason.

“Thank you!” She squealed. “Everyone’s saying the same thing. I’m able to control my thirst. The urge is there, but I can survive on rabbit blood for a while,” she grinned, caring out her fangs and scaring me for a bit.

I placed my finger on my teeth, motioning for her to make her fangs go away.

She reaiized quickly and chuckled nervously. “Sorry! Caden says it’s going to take a while before I get used to showing off only my teeth.

I nodded. “Well, I’m sure you’ll get used to that pretty soon.”

“I just came to see you, to thank you for not making me completely turn into a monster.”

I was just about to speak when I realized that it was Caden. He was the one who had found her in the woods.

“It’s Caden you have to think, he found you in the woods, I only just suggested bringing you here.”

She nodded and then another idea occured to me. She seemed to have lived in this town for a long time, she would know everything and the gossips, therefore, she should know about Davis.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked and she seemed happy as she answered.

“I was born in sunhill, I’ve lived here all my life and do you know the funny thing, I’ve never left here either.”

I chuckled. “Oh, interesting. Do you know about a boy named Davis?”

She furrowed her brows. “I know several Davis, there is Davis Longsdale, Davis Troy, Davis Adams….well, just help me out with a last name.”

I cleared my throat. I had no idea what his last name was.

“This Davis died, he’s dead. He was in this dorm room a long time ago before his death….”

“This is the cursed room?” She half yelled as she stood up abruptly. “You’re the boy? This was that room?”

I scrunched my face in confusion and that of course was because I was confused. And frankly, she was scaring me. “What do you mean by a cursed room?”