Chapter 40 – The Wrong Drawer
Sam's POV
The morning after Elias’s whisper had been a blur. I couldn’t look at him without hearing the words echo in my head: I know you’re lying. Every time our eyes met, my chest tightened like he was already unraveling me thread by thread.
But worse than his suspicion was the constant, gnawing dread that someone else might notice. Declan. Mason. Anyone in this viper’s nest of a dorm.
So I told myself: today, I’ll keep my head down. Act normal. Keep everything locked up tight.
I should’ve known that was the day everything would go wrong.
By late afternoon, the common room was buzzing again. Mason had dragged half the guys into a card tournament that involved ridiculous bets, most of them involving either money or humiliation.
I sat with them long enough to laugh at a few terrible bluffs before slipping back to the room. My stomach hurt with nerves, my head pounding.
Inside, the quiet was almost a relief. Elias wasn’t there yet. I had the space to breathe.
I tugged open the bottom drawer of my desk, double-checking my stash. The binder. The chest wraps. The spare hair trimmer I’d used to keep my cut short. The concealer stick I couldn’t risk being caught with.
Everything was there. Still safe.
I pressed the drawer shut again, harder than necessary, like slamming the secret back into place.
And then I heard footsteps in the hall.
Elias walked in, tossing his jacket onto his bed. He raised a brow at me. “Skipping Mason’s circus?”
“Yeah,” I said quickly. “I don’t gamble.”
He smirked faintly. “Smart.”
I turned to grab a book off my desk, anything to look busy. But when I bent down, the drawer slid open half an inch.
Not much. Barely noticeable.
Except Elias noticed everything.
“What’s in there?” he asked casually.
“Nothing,” I said too fast. “Just notebooks.”
He tilted his head. “You guard that drawer like it’s gold.”
I forced a laugh. “Maybe I’m hiding snacks. You know how Mason raids everything edible in this dorm.”
Elias’s eyes lingered on me, skeptical, but he didn’t push. Instead, he sat down and started lacing up his shoes.
Relief trickled through me—until Declan’s voice boomed from the hall.
“Cross! Hale! You’re missing out.”
My stomach knotted instantly.
Declan shoved the door open without knocking, like he owned the place. His grin spread when he saw me at the desk. “What’s this? Hiding?”
I swallowed. “Not in the mood.”
“Not in the mood,” he mocked. “Come on, Hale, don’t be boring.” He stepped further in, his eyes scanning the room like a predator sniffing out prey.
Elias straightened. “Leave him alone, Declan.”
But Declan wasn’t looking at Elias anymore. His eyes were on my desk.
On the drawer.
The one still cracked open.
My blood turned to ice.
Declan smirked. “What’s this?”
I moved fast, shoving the drawer shut with my knee. “Private.”
He laughed. “Private? Oh, come on. You’re in Dorm 9. Privacy’s not real here.”
He reached for the handle.
“No,” I snapped, standing so fast the chair screeched back.
The room went still. Elias’s eyes narrowed, flicking from me to Declan.
Declan’s grin sharpened. “Well, well. What are you hiding, Hale?”
My chest heaved. “Nothing. Just… don’t touch my stuff.”
Declan cocked his head, enjoying every second of my panic. “The more you say that, the more I want to see.”
Elias stood now too, stepping between us. “Drop it, Declan.”
“Why?” Declan asked lazily. “Unless you’re hiding something too, Cross.”
“I said—drop it.”
For a moment, the tension crackled hot and dangerous.
Then Declan smirked, stepping back with mock surrender. “Relax. I’ll let Hale keep his little secrets. For now.” He turned toward the door, his gaze sliding back to me with one last warning smile. “But I’ll find out. Don’t doubt that.”
When he finally left, my knees nearly buckled.
Elias shut the door harder than necessary, his jaw tight. “What the hell was that?”
“I told you,” I said quickly, my voice shaking. “It’s nothing. Just old notebooks.”
He stared at me. “You nearly bit his head off to stop him from opening a drawer of notebooks?”
“I don’t like people in my stuff.”
“Sam.” His voice was low, firm, impossible to dodge. “You’re slipping.”
I turned away, pretending to straighten my bed. “You’re imagining things.”
“No. Declan smelled blood, and you gave him a trail to follow. You can’t afford mistakes like that.”
I clenched my fists. “I didn’t ask you to protect me.”
“Too bad,” he shot back. “Because I’m not going to stand here and watch him tear you apart.”
My throat tightened. His anger wasn’t sharp—it was protective. And that scared me more than Declan.
Because if Elias kept pushing closer, he was going to uncover everything.
That night, the dorm was restless. Voices and laughter drifted down the hall long after lights-out.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, every muscle tense.
The drawer was locked, but not with a real lock—just a flimsy latch. If Declan or Mason decided to snoop in the middle of the night, it wouldn’t hold.
I turned onto my side, facing Elias’s back. He seemed asleep, his breathing even.
But just as I let my eyes close, I heard it.
The faint creak of the door.
My blood froze.
Footsteps. Quiet. Careful. Not Elias.
I stayed perfectly still, my breath shallow, pretending to sleep.
The steps moved toward the desk. Toward my drawer.
A soft scrape. Metal against wood.
The latch.
No. No, no, no.
I wanted to leap up, to stop it, but if I moved, they’d know I was awake.
The drawer slid open.
And in the dark, I heard the quietest intake of breath.
Whoever it was had seen.
My binder. My wraps. Everything.
My disguise.
The drawer shut again, almost silently.
The footsteps retreated.
The door clicked shut.
And I lay there, heart pounding so violently I thought it would explode, realizing with bone-deep horror—
Someone knew.